Kousei Bengonin, Ch. 71

...con't...



The word succeeded in catching the demon Master’s attention, and briefly caused him to hesitate in route to his destination. He stood there for a moment, unsure of the consequence behind the blond girl’s proclamation. Where he was familiar with the second release of a Zanpakuto, and the potential capacity behind it, it wouldn’t prepare him for what he was about to happen.

Kousei Bengonin’s Bankai was unlike anything he’d seen before.

Aurora stood before them, her spiritual pressure in check. Her intention pronounced, she started speaking again, which puzzled Hauniro. As she did, the directions of the sky above them began to darken respectively. “Azure sunrise in the East… Crimson day of the South… Fading white hours in the West… To the pitch black of the North… Gather together from deviation… Allied as one… Under my blade, let the heavens rain down upon my enemy! Tenrai Dageki!”

The demon lord wasn’t aware of any Bankai that required a release command. The girl’s words came so fluently, he wouldn’t have had time to stop her if he have abandoned his quarry, either. As she finished speaking, there was a blinding flash, completely whiting out the area after a magnitude of energy amassed above her. By the time he could see again a few seconds later, an unfamiliar anxiety began to claw at the pit of his gut. The scene rapidly unfolding before him had seemingly turned greatly out of his favor.

Her kimono that she had been wearing while walking back to the Shino Academy with her companion had faded away, replaced by an ensemble intended for fighting. Clad in a darkly-hued blue ao dai, the katana she’d been holding had gone under a transformation as well.

Kousei Bengonin had altered form. Now something of a broadsword, rather small, if not simple, compared to other Bankai’s he had seen in action, her grip on the black handle tightened as she readied her stance.

At first sight, nothing seemed overtly unusual. Hauniro glanced her over hurriedly, trying to work out the quintessence of the move she had made. From head to toe, his red eyes searched. Once his gaze rested on her feet, the apprehension he had began to grow.

The blond girl a few paces away from him was standing in the center of a glowing circle, patterned in the fashion that he’d seen their kind use to depict the directions of the night sky. North, East, South, and West quadrants all lay pointed at her feet. The directions were patterned, true to the compass in the area they’d set down in.
Whatever connotation there was behind the layout was wasted on the demon Master. At a glance, he had no idea what to expect.

Without delay, once her release was complete, Aurora narrowed her eyes in concentration. She slid one of her feet over to rest on the Eastern section of her circle. The instant she did so, the darkened skies overhead shimmered. The reishi there abruptly collected, forming hazy white lines in the dusky blue created by the starlight. Crude at first, the instant the lines joined together in shape, it came to life. From the heavens, a great dragon roared its discontent. It swooped down from the stars, and dove at Aurora’s opponent.

Hauniro held up his hands and used his own brand of magic to shield himself. Whatever strength he had, even there in person, wasn’t about to stand up to the fury of the astral dragon. Once it’s jaws snapped together, the barrier he had made around him, and Jushiro, didn’t endure. Broken as easily as it had been called, the conjured guardian beast, flew past him. As it did, the dragon whipped his tail, and successfully knocked Hauniro away from Aurora’s companion.

The demon lord tumbled several feet before he caught his balance a fair distance away from Jushiro, who remained where he was, stricken but unharmed by the sudden onslaught.
He rolled to his feet eventually, spinning to find his challenger. She was still in the center of the glowing circle, but her feet had moved.

It was obvious that she had directed the motions of the dragon that had assembled, powered by the reishi in the stars with the gestures from her hands. He was confident if he got it away from that ensignia she was standing in, she’d be powerless. Knowing he had to face her head on, Hauniro shook his head to regain a bit of his equilibrium before he started moving again.

Those few seconds were enough for Aurora to secure her position, however. While the demon Master attempted to recover, she prepared herself for an attack. Guessing what he would do, she stood confidently in her circle with her feet firmly planted in the North quarter of her circle.

Hauniro vaulted away from the place he had landed, streaking off faster than she could see. Nonetheless, his speed was of no consequence. Aurora was ready for him.

Like any predator would, the demon lord snuck up behind her, taking advantage of her blind spot. As he went to strike her, collecting a massive spell of his own, meant to impale her, he unexpectedly ran into something. Almost as if he’d walked into a glass wall, Hauniro crashed into the air behind her on the very outskirts of the glowing circle. Undoubtedly, she had protected herself somehow while he had been assaulted by the dragon, which had seemingly disappeared.

He recovered quickly, and abandoned the charge he had made for fear of being turned on. As he did, he glanced over his shoulder to watch his enemy, hoping to discover what technique she had used to protect herself.

A few paces away, Hauniro noticed a glowing below Aurora, different from that coming from the circle she was standing in. It was patterned in a strange, hexagonal manner. While he ran, turning to find a better position to charge her in, he saw the blond begin to shift one foot toward the southern quadrant while she kept the other on the northern one she had been standing on.

From below her, collected by white lines, a blurred bluish image arose from the ground. The demon Master hadn’t been able to attack her because of the creature hidden below her. Whatever power the tortoise had was used as a shield of her own to keep him from breaching her circle.

In that simple gesture, without a word, Aurora had projected a shield to keep him at bay. Irritating to no end, his frustrations were beginning to mount in spite of his fear, making him angry, and subject to impulsive judgment.

Now that her adversary had been thrown off, Aurora turned her gaze back to the demon lord, who was still moving. She brought her hands up slowly as she shifted her other foot, bringing to life the next ally in her company.

From the southern ends of the sky, another creature cried out. Because Hauniro had been distracted, reeling from the strike the dragon that landed, he hadn’t noticed the tortoise that had assembled in the stars from the north in his place, once her feet had changed position. Now that his attention was completely free, he was able to see the process of a different being arise at Aurora’s beckoning.

A giant Phoenix spread its wings in the sky before plunging downward as well, once the tortoise secreted beneath its conjurer faded away. Illuminated a fierce white, like the two manifestations before, it dove with all the control an prey bird might, and he was centered on the same thing his mistress was.

Hauniro countered the hail of reishi-amassed blades the creature beat down on him with every flap of his flight, using an ancient spell he knew. An elemental barrier, established by water, kept him from being skewered. Though he hated to admit it, even to himself, he knew any of his lower minions didn’t have the power to hold off such an assault. If not for his own strength, his spell would have buckled.

The fire bird disappeared a moment later, leaving him standing under his battered barrier. He opened his eyes and searched the perimeter of the sky, but wasn’t able to see the creature. The instant he was sure it wasn’t coming for a second attack, Hauniro spun on Aurora to try to guess what she would do next.

The look in her eyes spelled danger. Aurora was fixed on him with an intensity he didn’t know she was capable of. From where he had confronted the phoenix she had sent at him, he could easily see she was no longer standing in the southern quadrant, which was why the fire bird was now gone. As Hauniro looked at her, he noticed her stance was in a new sector. For that split second, she stood in the center of the circle, watching him. Because of his location, standing across from her, she stepped into the western quarter of the circle, her expression unchanging.

To his surprise, however, she didn’t stay in it. Instead, she simply passed over it. The notion of it made him curious, if not worried. So far, for her Bankai to work, he supposed Aurora had to stay within the confines of the circle at her feet.

He was dead wrong.

Outside of the boundary, stepping out of the West, her sword gradually began to recollect, glowing as it did. The aura of both weapon and handler became engulfed in the same bright white the summoned beasts had. Behind her, a figure followed after Aurora as she was walking toward Hauniro. Impressive to no fault, the grand white tiger behind its handler had the same predatory glint in its eyes as the girl in front of him did. The image only for that transitory glance, but the impression didn’t leave when the figure disappeared. Whatever intention such an imposing predator had reflected in the girl steadily coming at him.

There was no fear in her eyes. She had no doubt in her actions. All Hauniro could see was her purpose, and what it meant to her to protect her companion, and herself.

Aurora came at him with all the ferocity and power that tiger possessed, leaving the circle she had been standing in to trail behind her. She quickly sheathed her sword in route before she tackled him, choosing to fight him by hand. Keeping in mind all that Nephir had taught her, she used her spiritual pressure as a shield for any hit she physically instilled on the demon lord.

The mere notion that a Soul Reaper would do that confounded Hauniro, never having faced anyone other than Nephir without his Zanpakuto before. The surprise gave her the edge she needed, and kept the demon Master off guard long enough for her to gain the offensive.

Hit after hit, he slowly succumbed to her. Aurora was a fierce combatant with her sword in hand; without it, she was almost as forceful. Her strikes were imposing, even to one as strong as the demon Master. At first, he attempted to counter her, blocking punches that would prove fatal to any normal soul. But, as their scuffle proceeded, her determination only strengthened. She gradually overwhelmed him with it.

Hauniro was incensed by the notion. He had never been overpowered in a fight he was in personally, especially with a Soul Reaper. It had been decades since he had come against a determined opponent face to face. Now that he had, it wasn’t going in his favor. Reverting to a reckless desire to secure his position, the demon lord cast off the fervent girl still assailing him before he lost his chance all together.

He wanted Jushiro’s soul; he needed it. There wasn’t another one like it in existence that he’d seen. No matter what it took, he was going to have it.

All demons were born with a given power. Nephir had explained that to Aurora months ago. Each had their own specific faculty, and that’s all they were granted. The demon Master was no exception; the instant he was freed from his opponent’s offensive, he unleashed it on her.

His wrath held the key to his strength. It had been many years since anyone had seen Hauniro’s claws come out, and they were intended for Aurora. He no longer cared about how compatible she was with Jushiro; he’d destroy her for standing against him.

Aurora didn’t so much as wince when the demon lord before her altered to a more primal state of being. Even with clawed hands and barred teeth, she wasn’t about to relent. Instead, she drew her sword again.

It was going to hurt them both to cut him, but that didn’t matter when weighted against their purpose. No matter what the cost, Aurora wasn’t going to let him have her, or her friend. When she was through, she wanted to make sure he’d never be able to take another soul again.

The two of them rushed the other, clashing in a brutal scuffle. Hauniro was moving as quickly as he was before, tearing at his opponent with every intent to kill her. But, with the force of Kousei Bengonin, coupled with the spiritual pressure that Aurora had released, he didn’t have the chance.

She was moving as fast as he was, dodging clearly, as if she could see his moves before he made them. That gave her the edge she needed to land the first hit.

Up into his right side, Aurora meant to run him through completely in order to put an end to him, and their fight. He dodged the mortality of it, but not without consequences. It wasn’t fatal, but the gash was a severe one.

It made him falter in his footsteps, attributing to the seriousness of the strike. Hauniro staggered momentarily, the air around him swelled and rippled as he attempted to regain his balance. Once he had, the demon lord lashed out at Aurora again.

The gesture was sloppy, because of his wound. She lucidly avoided him, spinning on her heel to gain the second hit. From behind, she had hoped to pierce his left side, destroying his core, but her blade didn’t sink in deep enough. The corrosive, damaging, effects from demon blood seared into her blade, therein, her soul, but it wasn’t as bad as the agony the demon Master was in.

He shrieked, presumably in pain. Like before, he waned in his footsteps. Unable to regain his hasty pace, Hauniro slowly turned against her as the area around him began to bend and twist.

Aurora struck at his knees, causing him to fall. Immobilized on the ground, the demon lord began to wail. In his misery, whatever composure he had was now gone. While he writhed on the ground, attempting to trounce the pain he was in so he could defend against the next strike, his essence began to break down.

The control he had over his own strength also started to slip. As Aurora started over to finish their battle, a forceful pluse went through the air. The feeling of complete isolation that she and Jushiro had felt after first arriving in the living world disappeared thereafter. But, because of the state she was in, she didn’t notice.

All she was focused on was her enemy.

As she strode over to where Hauniro had fallen, the vicinity of their skirmish continued to undulate. Aurora had her sword readied with every intention of cutting off the demon Master’s head, and putting a final end to him, no matter what the consequence to she and Kousei Bengonin.

Then, at least he’d be gone for good.

In her approach, her attention abruptly shifted, however. Her concentration had been solely placed on her adversary, and not to her surroundings. When a large crack rumbled around them, Aurora glanced away from Hauniro to search out the cause of the calamity.

Still screaming, the demon lord was on the ground, dying little by little. As he was, the atmosphere surrounding him had started to alter. The instant she took notice of that, a rip appeared above him. Without a sound, an eerily familiar entity dropped through it.

Fakudo’s listless eyes were set on Aurora the instant he entered the World of the Living. Instead of coming at her, which she immediately prepared herself for, he turned his back to her and looked down upon his Master. If she could have seen his expression, she would have been taken aback by his apprehension.

Not wasting any time, or allowing their challenger to breach the distance between them, Fakudo set to work. Whispering demonic words that Nephir had taught Aurora as well, the Inquisitor began lacing his fingers through the air above his Master. At his command, the area stabilized, and Hauniro stopped screaming.

Within a blink of an eye, they were gone. No counter attack was launched, nor vengeful words uttered. Fakudo simply collected his Master, and disappeared through another fissure he created.

Aurora stood shaken, unsure if they were truly gone. It had happened so suddenly, it was hard to believe she’d actually seen the ghostly demon come and go. Shaking her stupor, she spun several times, attempting to figure out what had happened.


…con’t….