Africastrophe IV: Gold is Unbreakable

They run like ants, scurrying here and there to protect these lands. However, every second, the scape they claim becomes nothing more than holes for their carcasses to coat in fresh red paint. Their arrival was sudden, as it always is, leaving the many little time to prepare for the few monstrous creatures that soon flooded out of the hole one by one. Then came their lowly servants, beings turned slaves by the one true God of all: Asher, Warlord of Alhireth. To keep the tale short for the readers with attention deficits, the war is not boding well for our so called heroes.

As everything is besieged and trampled upon, one creature in particular has found another means for the Shinigami and Quincy that stand before it.

"One, Two, Three- Ah... I lost count."

Littering the Earth, combatants stood eerily still, their bodies shining under the lazy sun's light. Immobile, the golden statues could do nothing but be pretty as other soldiers ran past and through the Hollow army. Though, their numbers slowly dwindled as something huge ran through them, its form a blinding gleam as those who are approached by it are left as lifeless as the statues around them.

"Oh hoh! That's at least 25 more! Excellent. Excellent. My Lord, Asher, will be pleased!"

Then something clacked against the creatures back, its golden body clinking as a sword tried to crack its surface. That's when the creature turned its golden head, six beady red eyes looking down at the individual who dared leave an unsightly scratch on it. That man found his head crushed within the giant white hand of who he dared assault.

"Ah- Oops. Sorry about that. You scratched my paint job."

If Kanae had her way, she would spend the afternoon painting the battlefield with the blood of mooks. Underlings. Worthless ants unable to put up a fight against her steel paint brush. She wasn't chomping at the bit to risk her body when instead she could ease the ever-nagging demand for blood in her head, a voice that had only grown more and more deafening over the last few weeks. Ever since that vile Hollow managed to escape with its life. Asher.

That name gnawed at the Fourth Squad's captain as she could sense its owner's presence somewhere on the field of battle. She had arrived too late to stake claim to the creature's head as other capable individuals had reached it first, and she certainly had no plans to fight alongside those fools. Worse still, her plan to slaughter weaklings wasn't going to work out either as this time it seemed there were many powerful Hollows littering the area and Kanae knew if she didn't do anything about them it wouldn't reflect well upon her as a Captain. Ugh, those fools and their expectations.

With an annoyed sigh and her lips distorted into a grimace, Kanae made her way slowly across the barren landscape. Her own soldiers, the capable warriors of the Fightin' Fourth, gave her a wide berth, knowing well enough to not get in her way in battle. Enemy Hollows either turned and ran upon sensing the abominable, malicious Reiatsu flowing off her, or were promptly cut down for impeding her. Her eyes were already set on one presence, a large Reiatsu source nearby.

Kanae was greeted by a platoon of golden statues surrounding a huge multi-eyed Hollow. Were some of these her own men? It was clear based on their robes a few were Shinigami, while others were likely Vandenreich soldiers. The strange, shiny creature seemed rather nonchalant for being in the middle of such a chaotic battlefield. Confident? More likely arrogant, in Kanae's estimation. All Hollows are.

"This is what you call killing, Hollow? Making people shiny? I'm feeling generous today, scum. I'll teach you how to kill." spoke Kanae, her gentle voice belying the seething, violent hatred emanating from its owner.

His nose twitched. There's something spicy nearing.

Eyes twitched, snapping here and there before they all focused to the tiny individual coming his way. Even from a distance, their height difference is evident, him a creature seemingly caged by the armor around its form, but even that seemed strained by the bulging muscle underneath. However, he did not feel himself the center of attention as he always should, finding a weird amount of apprehension towards this strange woman.

"Ah- You. Yes. The one who battled Lord Asher."

Recognition soon came. He was not there during the exchange between his Lord and this Captain, but her body matched the small description that survivors shared. That Haori around her clearly signaled her importance. In a moment of desiring less troublesome prey, he almost thought of leaving, but as he dropped the lifeless body of the Shinigami who had attacked him, he found himself rising to his full eleven foot height.

"Killing? What better use are the weak but statues in the garden? Well, anyway, it's useless to remember the nameless by name, so this'll do, don't you think?"

With a harrowing laugh, he threw his head back, laughing at the calamity that has graced him. Lord Asher would belittle him if he ran from this challenge. He could never face his Lord again unless he brought her this woman's head, golden and served on a gold platter of course. Yet, he hid his worry behind laughter and ego. This will not be easy.

"Ah- I wonder if your name is worthy of being etched in gold..." He then pondered aloud, the golden jewel on his chest suddenly glowing hot red before a Cero is fired straight at the Captain.

Though large, Kanae had fought larger enemies than this Hollow. She was equally unimpressed by his apparently jovial nature, a characteristic that only annoyed the Fourth Squad Captain further. This creature was clearly powerful and some sort of ranked officer in the enemy's army, but there were no reports of his presence around the chasm over the last few months; Kanae certainly would have remembered reading about this thing. Oh well, thought Kanae to herself, everything dies one way or another.

The sudden spike in Reiryoku at the resplendent Hollow's chest made clear what was to come. Acting quickly, Kanae brought her right hand to bare in front of her and said aloud a spell's name "Hadō #63: Raikōhō!" Glowing yellow energy formed at her palm before being released in a charged bolt of lightning aimed to collide with the Hollow's Cero somewhere between the two.

Not satisfied simply standing there idle, Kanae used the ensuing dust cloud the two attacks kicked up as coverage to close the gap between herself and her target. Half a dozen feet ahead of her foe, she kicked off the ground, drew her Zanpakuto, aimed a slash across its golden chest, and continued over and past its shoulder. With any luck, she thought as she landed somewhere behind the creature, she'll have disposed of this freak in one move and can do as she pleases for the rest of the battle.

His attack was repelled it seems. Well, he shouldn't have expected any less from the woman who had left his Lord in such exhilaration. Never before had he witnessed his Lord strive for power as he had before these Shinigami and sorts arrived. How wonderous?! How Stupendous!?

"How Golden!" He screamed before he found his body cleaved.

Having had focused entirely on his own thoughts than his opponent, that attack that had came to take his life had landed without an issue, a line that meant death running down his large frame like a practiced artist. The next second, red is splayed forward, sprouting from his large body like a leaky faucet, replenishing the dry dusty ground with toxic nourishment.

However, a Hollow isn't something you should ever turn your back to.

His heavy frame creaked and lurched before he moved, but as he did, his body seemingly disappeared from the world. She'd sense him though, but sensing and reacting are different beasts. Despite his size, he moved just as fast as her, possibly even faster, a large white finger gliding through the air to press itself against the side of her head, its print as big as her skull.

Whether it'd kill her or not, she'd find herself feeling impending doom coming towards her like a ballistic missile.

After dealing with Asher, Kanae had no illusions about the survival abilities of these Hollows, creatures she likened to cockroaches in their capacity to avoid death. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it's fools who don't know well enough to just die. So, even as she stood with her back to the gold beast, her Zanpakuto once more tucked away, Kanae was not blind to the Hollow's machinations. Though faster than expected, its attack would strike steel instead of skin as the Captain swiftly released her Shikai and raised her weapon to guard.

Dirt and dust kicked up as Kanae skidded across the barren wasteland that once housed millions of humans. She came to a halt some two dozen feet from her attacker, now face-to-face with him again. Blood trickled down from her forehead and followed the subtle curve of her cheek, dripping gently from her chin to the dry ground below. Wrath burned in her violet eyes as she stared down the freak who struck her.

These disgusting creatures and their lack of releases makes them hard to read.
They'll die all the same, Tosatsusha. We'll make sure of it.

The earth cracked as Kanae launched herself forward, fueled by fury to slaughter her enemy. She wasn't just interested in killing this thing, however; she wanted it to suffer for injuring her. A few yards away from her foe Kanae shot up from the ground and hovered a dozen feet above it, where she raised her Zanpakuto which began spinning in front of her like a pinwheel. "Hadō #58: Tenran!" At this command a tremendous vortex was summoned from her weapon which quickly expanded and sought to encompass all of El Dorado and more. A keen eye would notice this was no mere tornado however as glowing green splotches pervaded it. If struck, the Hollow would quickly feel the horrific burning sensation of caustic acid raining down upon him.

She is fast too. He had surmised that his dropped guard was the only reason for his injury, but if she were a normal opponent, her blade would not have even reached him. However, he had pushed her already to release. Her uptick in energy told him enough. However, she did not mutter a phrase like her brethren. He thought that lame, but she had already proven herself a party pooper.

"Ah- You're still alive too... Marvelous."

Whatever could he mean? Again, he lacked awareness as winds surrounded him. His weight alone was enough to fight against the turbulence assault, but she did well to continue her assault with a sneak attack. His guard instinctively went up as he sensed something strange, but acid is not something one can simply defend. Splashed, the golden armor on his body burned, his unarmored skin singed.

Discomfort. He found this feeling uncomfortable. It battled against his regeneration, so the best option is to simply leave. Lurking forward, he soon bent his knees and jumped. His massive body blitzed into the air as he posed midflight, turning his body towards the ground. Hands soon pressed against his hips as he poked his chest out.

"Brilliant, Dazzling, Bright, Resplendent, Super Amazing Beautiful, Golden Cero of El Dorado! The Many Roads!"

The red piece in his chest glowed brightly as he let out one of his signature moves, a massive glob of energy bubbling into mesmerizing red ball before him. Then it flashed golden before it began raining, that one ball exploding into multiple globs that rained down like a torrential storm onto the battleground, lighting it up with spectacular vigor.

This freak was really getting on Kanae's nerves. Beyond how difficult he was making it to kill him, more than anything else it was his creepy personality annoying her the most. Treating a fight to the death like a game, apparently ignorant of what she had planned for him. Her usually-soft features contorted into a look of vehement hatred for El Dorado.

When the Hollow shot upward Kanae ended her spell and dropped softly to the ground, her attention now focused on the floating enemy above her. Lets see what ridiculous trick the cretin has in store for us, Tosatsusha. She listened to the Hollow's exclamation, one which was almost reminiscent of a Kidō incantation, and took a relaxed stance as energy gathered in front of it, ready to simply dodge out of the way. A Cero, after all, was a simple thing to avoid.

Unless it's dozens of them.

Annoying.

The first to near the ground was dodged with ease, the second was evaded too though with more difficulty. The size of each explosion required Kanae to Flash Step a considerable distance each time, quickly eating at her stamina. The last had very nearly reached her, but she continued maneuvering evasively. With each movement Kanae moved upward through the air, making each successive dodge more difficult, but the gap between her and her prey was narrowing enticingly. An arc of green erupted from her Zanpakuto which cleanly sliced another blast in twain a dozen feet ahead of her, allowing her to pass through unharmed.

With only a short distance remaining before her, Kanae opted for the most direct route: Directly through the final Cero. Her sword glowed a caustic green, its blade searing with acid. She knew the consequences, but they mattered little in the face of overwhelming killing intent. Her arms burned agonizingly, her hands numbed from the ferocious energy licking at them, but Kanae could not be dissuaded as she slashed through the Cero and Flash Stepped through the exploding energy.

Hanya Jincho-ryu: Chizome no Tsuki (半夜人屠: 血染めの月 , Midnight Manslaying Style: Blood Moon)

The glint of steel flashed in a wide arc as Tosatsusha, a sword to match its partner's blood thirst, glided through air and Hollow alike. Neither the smell of burnt flesh from blackened hands and arms nor the destruction of her Captain's haori could distract Kanae from destroying this vile, repugnant enemy.

She danced, a ballerina of death and decay. Her prose a butterfly, fluttering and plain. Yet, her steps all but focused, determined, a wasp zipping for the kill. He could only rate her a 7 out of 10. However, she came at him with her whole form barren. There is nothing to hide, nothing to fear. She reeks of determination, an assurance in her ability. Unfortunately, he too shares that stench with her.

"I have been slain!" He yells as he felt his body cleaved in half.

"Ack! Agh! Ah!" He screeched as his upper half left his lower. Her hit was clean, slicing through him as intended.

But if she is a wasp, stinging its prey to death, he is the bear who cannot feel its bite.

"Just kidding~"

His body lurched, suddenly spinning in the air, his upper half following her movements. She had landed her attack, but she must remember he is a Hollow. She has faced Asher and should know that they are similar to roaches in many ways. Again, as he spun, he pointed his finger at her. Aiming at her back, he would focus pushing his finger through her with a force beyond what that simple attack should accomplish.

There's no creature in the three worlds who screams in pain without fear permeating their voice, a fact Kanae knew better than perhaps any other. She had heard more death rattles in 484 years of freedom to make up for 1000 years of imprisonment hundreds of times over, each as deliciously harmonic to her ears as the last. This thing had no music in its voice. No fear. The second those words escaped its mouth, Kanae knew this battle was not resolved.

Given ample opportunity to defend herself from the Hollow's would-be surprise attack due to it announcing its survival, Kanae did just that by twisting mid-air and striking forth with Tosatsusha to parry his finger. She could feel the tremendous impact of their blows meeting within her arms as shock waves from it reawakened the pain of her burns; but she wasn't the only one likely to feel that same sensation. Her sword was thoroughly coated in glowing acid, which was promptly showered onto El Dorado's finger.

The force behind the colossal Hollow's attack sent Kanae skidding backward through the air a dozen yards or so. Upon coming to a stop she once more hid her Zanpakuto within its sheath and spoke to her foe, disdain pouring off the words as they left her lips "You seem to be entertained by this fight, Hollow. It seems you cannot fathom your circumstances. The instant you, your arrogant leader, and the rest of your ilk made the decision to leave the safety of your little hole, you were already corpses, you just didn't know it yet."

Sazaeta (刻餌食, Minced Feed)

The gap between Kanae and El Dorado was gone, eliminated by the Captain's blistering Flash Step. Then the gap between her sword and its prey was gone too; then again, and again, and again, and again. Ten, then twenty, then fifty, then a hundred acid-coated slashes filled the air, a malevolent typhoon of glinting steel to fulfill Kanae's words to the resplendent Hollow.