A shower of rain has begun to envelop the battleground.
In the middle of everything, an unknown man in a hooded leather jacket with claws for his hands, dukes it out with a bespectacled woman in white skirts, a white uniform, and a soldier cap, with an ornamental sword in her left
Two monsters of unparalleled strength closed in on one another, each one fully determined to finish off the other.
To think that I would be fighting like this for the second time
For Bambietta Basterbine, this felt nothing more but deja vu; the backdrop of the rain in the middle of a fight to the death reminded her of a battle she fought not long ago; one which could have been their victory...
Had Mercer not appeared long before Yhwach left the ruined Seireitei.
However this wasn't like the last time where she mowed down scores of soul reapers from the 7th Division, even managing to take away the bankai of Captain Sajin Komamaura. This time, she is clearly fighting on even ground against Alex Mercer, the man who managed to deal a humiliating blow to Yhwach and demoralized the Wandenreich by himself
"Annoying pest, why won't you be a good boy and just die already" she furiously rambled as she unsuccessfully tries to land a strike from above
Mercer merely scoffed at her rantings as he parries every attack Bambi can deal with him. He could already tell that she's frustrated by the situation at hand. Never before in her past battles she had came across an even tougher opponent like him
Taking advantage of her agitated state, he retracted his right claw and delivered a straight into Bambi's chest, adding a little power to push her backwards before leaping away from her by a little bit.
"Son of a-"
Bambi felt the force of Mercer's punch as she was sent kneeling backwards before coughing up blood.
"THAT'S IT, YOU'RE DEAD!"
In her frustration, she fails to notice Mercer sprinting towards her at full gear.
Damn it, this isn't getting anywhere. I need to switch gears
Bambi took a step back and used her epitaph "The Explode", launching a few reishi projectiles at him. With her ability, she is able to create bombs with a peculiar characteristic; anything her attacks come into contact with, turns into a bomb itself
Upon seeing those projectiles, Mercer slows down his pace and touches a few of them instead.
"Fool, you really think you could just swat away my attacks with your bare hands?"
Just as she expected, the projectiles that he made contact with dispersed, and a series of explosions soon followed. When the dust and smoke had finally cleared up, Bambi saw someone's figure still standing up.
"Ho... Usually fools who think they could block my attacks blow up the moment it touches their weapons. To think that you're able to withstand my explosions with that form" She commended at Mercer, now looking like the insides of his body has been exposed from the inside out
What's that form supposed to be? Blut vene? No, it's too damaged to look like blut vene.
Mercer had transformed himself into a more grotesque, but hardened form in order to mitigate the damage caused by Bambi's explosions. Thanks to his regenerative powers, he was able to patch himself up in no time
Just as he starts reverting to his human form, out of nowhere, he starts laughing maniacally, as if he was losing his mind.
"What are you laughing at?" Bambi confusingly asked
"To think I panicked and wore my armor... Just to withstand something so pathetically weak"
...
Huh?
Veins bulge on her forehead. She can't let what he said slide
My attacks?....Weak?
...She took pride in her own kind of attack
What is this bastard saying?
...How she gained her abilities the moment Yhwach bestowed her the epitaph "E"
What do you know about me?
...How she honed the power Yhwach gave her, the only way she knows
Do you know how many centuries I've been working hard for this?
...How she had defeated scores of her opponents with her ability
Do you know how much I've sacrificed?
...How Yhwach gave her a purpose
I'LL KILL YOU
"And I thought you're just as powerful as your master" Mercer pushed on, finally getting into her nerves
I'LL KILL YOU
"Turns out, you're nothing more than a sad, little girl throwing a temper tantrum"
I'LL
KILL
YOU
Her spiritual pressure gradually increased as huge amounts of reishi all over the ruined riverbed gathered towards her. In the midst of everything, Mercer simply stood all by himself as he prepared for what's about to come.
"Good, very good. NOW COME AT ME, FULLY PREPARED TO DIE" Mercer loudly challenges her, spreading his arms wide as if to dare her to attack
In a blink of an eye, Bambi suddenly appeared before her, in her spirit weapon's range. She used hirenkyaku to close the distance between them.
Mercer simply stepped backwards as she delivered a horizontal slash, a few inches away from her saber's reach. Behind him, a few buildings were cut into two, courtesy of her attack.
Missed
Bambi simply smirks at him as she twists her body clockwise. Mercer immediately takes advantage of the slight opening and transforms his left arm into a blade.
He dashes forward, intending to slash down Bambi, who had just turned her back towards him.
Swoosh!!!
Just as Mercer's blade is about to reach Bambi, she suddenly disappears from his sight.
Only then he realized his blunder.
She had used hirenkyaku once more to evade his attempt. In a split second, she suddenly appeared behind him, her sword penetrating deep through Mercer's back, all without wasting her energy.
Mercer winced at the feeling of the sword running deep through his back, letting out a pained grunt.
However, Bambi was not done with him yet. She pulls her sword back and lunges at him with the intent to kill. Mercer tried to shift into his armor, but soon realized it was already too late.
Perhaps he needs to take the brunt of her attack. After all, a single stab in the back stings a little for him
Bambi pierces through Mercer's right chest with her sword, pushing it deeper and deeper until the tip of the blade emerges to the other side
"Payback... For Candi"
She then twists the sword to make the wound she inflicted more painful for him to feel...
...
Is he dead already?
There was no sound of pain coming out from Mercer. Not even cries of agony or even begging for mercy.
Something else was bugging her
What a waste of time. I'll just have to cut off his head and rub it in front of their face
Bambi tries to yank out the sword from Mercer's body
It was stuck
Just then, small, tendril-like organisms begin latching on her sword. Sensing grave danger, Bambi immediately backs away from him
To her surprise, Mercer begins to stand up as he laughed maniacally at her. He was still alive and kicking, and is obviously out of his mind
How? Impossible! I stabbed him in the chest, there's no way for him to survive all of that. Bambi was astounded at how Mercer was still alive
"Seems like you came close to making me feel real pain, because that felt like a bee sting"
Bee sting? All of my efforts and it merely felt like a sting?
At that moment, she had a terrifying sensation running on her spine.
"Who? What are you?" Bambietta asked with terror in her voice
Perhaps she has realized why Yhwach lost to him in the first place
Lil, Gigi, where are you?
In an abandoned building
Sternritters Liltotto Lamperd, Giselle Gewelle, and Buzzard "Bazz-B" Black were hunkered down in a nearby rundown apartment. The female pair had already slaughtered anyone still present at the building, giving Giselle a supply of corpses for her to use her schrift with
Bazz-B was left in a blank state. Seeing Mercer transform into his late friend and supposed-to-be heir of the Wandenreich, Jugram Haschwalth, nearly left him to the point of having a breakdown.
"Oi, cockscomb, snap out of it, this isn't you" Liltotto repeatedly slapped Bazz-B in the face
"Jugram... He turned into Jugo... There's no point..." This was all he could mutter from his mouth
"Damn it, it's no use. Gigi, what's the situation up ahead?" Liltotto then turned to Giselle
"Ah... I can sense Bambi-chan fighting that weirdo by herself, I doubt she could even win against him" Giselle conveyed what she can sense from afar, albeit in a playful tone which unsettled the yellow-haired petite
"Can't be helped then, Candice was out of commission and Meni was taking her away from him-"
She was then cut off by the familiar spiritual pressure coming towards them.
"Speak of the devil"
Meninas McAllon arrived at the rendezvous point, carrying a gravely-wounded Candice Catnipp. The former was covered in blood and dust, and is suffering considerable injuries to her head.
"I don't feel so good Gigi, but Candi was feeling way worse" Meninas complained in a deadpan tone as she points at Candice
Perhaps way worse was an understatement compared to what Candice is going through right now.
She was covered in burns throughout her whole body, something commonly found from victims of a lightning strike. Her breathing was shorter than normal as well.
"Is there anything we can do to save her?" Liltotto asked Giselle with a serious look, something that terrified the latter
"I can just patch her up with The Zombie, but with her internal injuries it might take us time"
"Then get to it right away. We can't leave Bambi all alone with that man"
Liltotto immediately stood up and approached a shell-shocked Bazz-B
Anger was screaming all over her face
She immediately grabbed him by the collar of his Sternritter uniform and delivered a strong jab right into his face. This sent him dragging across the floor. Only Meninas looked on at the two; Giselle dared not to look and focused on what she had to do
"You fucking idiot"
Before Bazz-B could even react, Liltotto grabbed him again by the collar and brought his face closer to her
"You brought us into your vendetta. I thought you had it panned out. I expected you to man up against that son of a bitch but what did you do? Why did you lose all your marbles? Is that what Jugram wanted to see from you? Look at us now! WE'RE ALL HIDING HERE FOR FUCK KNOWS HOW, CANDI IS HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE, AND BAMBI IS ALL ALONE FIGHTING FOR OUR SAKE!!! WORSE CASE WE MAY HAVE A SQUAD OF SOUL REAPERS COMING FOR OUR HEADS..."
Bazz-B wanted to retort when he saw something from Liltotto for the very first time.
Tears we're dropping from the corners of her eyes
She was very desperate
"Jugram is dead... please... do something... I don't want to lose anyone close around here" Liltotto sobbed as she pleads for Bazz-B to come back to his senses.
He looked at everything around him. Liltotto was crying for help, Meninas was badly injured, and Candice was fighting for her life while Giselle was desperately trying to resuscitate her.
What had I done?
At that point, a familiar voice was heard from within.
Buzzard Black
It was Jugram's voice. He was trying to convey something to him
Help them, the way you see fit. I'll always look on to your side, even when you're down
Bazz-B can't help but let out a chuckle as he patted Liltotto's hair to calm her down
"Can't believe I'll get a heads up from the man who left me behind" he muttered by himself, then turned towards the girl who punched him hard
"Lil...Thank you. You brought me back to reality"
"I mean, there's no other way to bring some sense down to you other than what I did..." Liltotto embarrassingly pouted as she wiped her tears
Bazz-B then turned to everyone in this room
"Everyone, I apologize for not being able to assist you immediately, and for bringing you into this mess. To be honest, I don't know if we'll be able to win this, let alone survive. That's why I'm asking you once more: will you risk your lives with me, fighting against the man who killed Jugo"
...
"I mean, that's why we're here in the first place, right?" Meninas was first to agree
"That guy has a bone to pick with us" Giselle soon followed
"There's no harm trying to kill that cocksucker" Liltotto answered
"We'll make sure to pummel that guy... I had to pay him back for what he did to me" Candice was the last to agree to Bazz-B, still in a weakly state but is slowly recuperating
"Now that we're all in agreement, I have a plan. We only have one shot to pull this off"
Bambi was barely keeping her distance away from Mercer, driving him off with her projectiles.
She was as weary as ever, considering the fact that she's been soaked fighting against him.
I need to figure out where he's coming from. I'm all but exhausted here fighting something I couldn't win against.
In that mental state, she's at a loss on what to do. Then something popped up in her head.
There's that medallion she was wearing. It was no ordinary medallion.
It contained something she stole from
Something powerful
Something gigantic
Perhaps I can use this
Mercer suddenly appeared behind her, claws ready to attack like a predator.
"I got you where I wanted"
She grabbed the medallion and flashed it at him
"That's my line"
Sensing immense power from the medallion, Mercer took a step back from her.
Reiastu slowly emerged from the medallion in huge amounts, scattered all over the place before gathering together in a clustered form
Then it began to materialize into something else; a gigantic humanoid figure wearing an armor and wielding a katana
"Now that's something else!" Mercer can't help but smile at what he just witnessed
It was 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura's Bankai: Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō