EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 253: Perseverance

"It seems I am not needed here..." hummed Kiba, appearing a short distance from where Yamato was standing over a downed Ikkaku, lying face down with his three-section staff splintered to pieces.

"Ah, Kiba-dono! You appear to have had some trouble with your foe...!" shouted Yamato, peering back at Kiba over her right shoulder, her eyes widening when she noticed he was missing an arm.

"Something like that," responded Kiba, choosing not to explain what had happened as a courtesy.

Shifting his gaze to the downed Ikkaku, Kiba remarked, "If you find the act distasteful, I can finish your opponent. Remember, even if we kill in this place, our foes will be transported outside unharmed. Trust in Vahn-sama's power."

"Oh, I have no—"

"Hmm...?"

Interrupting Yamato's response, a large iron ball covered in silvery-white spikes came flying at her with considerable momentum. She managed to bat it away with her kanabo, but the force behind the impact left her hand tingling.

At the same time Yamato was fending off the spiked ball, revealed to be a flail by the fact it was attached to a chain, Kiba leaped back with extreme speed, narrowly evading being stabbed in the chest by a wakizashi with a yellow hilt, wielded by a notably petite woman with short, flared black hair fixed into two long, cloth-bound braids tipped with gold rings.

"2nd Division Captain Sui-Feng, I presume...?" hummed Kiba, breaking away from Sui-Feng's attack by parrying her blade with the black-and-white longsword he had used to block it.

"You're well-informed..." remarked Sui-Feng, narrowing her dark brown, nearly black eyes into a scowl and lowering herself into a ready stance, her short-bladed Zanpakuto held in a reverse grip as she added, "But I don't need to know who you are to defeat you."

"Oh? Pardon me—" started Kiba, prepared to introduce himself, but Sui-Feng ostensibly didn't care or viewed the attempt as an opportune time to attack as she flickered forward, her blade leaving a shallow cut in his left lower abdomen as he narrowly evaded to the side.

'She's not just fast—she's perceptive...' noted Kiba, his smile replaced by a serious expression as he leaped backward and placed his back to a wall to ensure Sui-Feng wouldn't have easy access to his back.

"I will acknowledge it. Your reaction speed, footwork, and combat sense are impressive, but your fate was decided when you became my target..." stated Sui-Feng.

"No one truly knows the outcome of a battle until it has been decided..." countered Kiba, his words and smile punctuated by a shockwave and Sui-Feng being forced to evade as the figure of a large, more than two-meter-tall man with a flared and puffed purple collar cratered the ground where she had been standing.

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"Worry not, Kiba-dono! For I, Yamato, have come to your aid...!" exclaimed Yamato, leaping into the air with her kanabo raised over her head, causing red-tinted black lightning to trail behind her as she infused the metal club with Armament and Conqueror's Haki.

"Ah, Captain Sui-Feng! Save me—!" cried the man who had cratered the ground, the Lieutenant of the 2nd Division and Corps Commander of the Onmitsukido's Patrol Corps, Omaeda Marechiyo.

"Save yourself, you fool...!" shouted Sui-Feng, contradicting herself by shooting a compressed stream of crimson smoke that impacted Yamato mid-air, producing a large, obfuscating explosion similar to a smoke bomb on contact.

Taking advantage of the split second when Yamato lost sight of him, Omaeda, despite his large size, used a nearly flawless Shunpo to vanish from where he was seated, his towering frame reappearing next to Kiba with his right hand reared back.

'He's also quite fast...' noted Kiba, reacting quickly by dodging to the side before Omaeda's nearly head-sized fist could strike his face. Fortunately, unlike Sui-Feng, the burly and rotund Shinigami didn't seem to be able to keep up with his own speed, as there was a brief moment when he had to get his bearings after exiting his Shunpo.

BOOM

Though it felt longer, the time between Omaeda evading Yamato's attack and Kiba evading the Shinigami's ambush occurred within a fraction of a millisecond. As such, Yamato's meteoric overhead smash landed midway through the exchange, producing an intense flash of light and an icy shockwave that even Kiba had to evade by taking to the sky, aided by his bat-like wings.

'I'm glad she's an ally...' thought Kiba, his usual smile noticeably strained as he beat his wings and brushed off the ice that had accumulated across his body. His world wasn't without its physical powerhouses, but strength like Yamato's was rare, even among High-Class Devils...

As the sequelae from Yamato's attack faded, a large crater several tens of meters across was revealed, along with a jagged icy terrain that radiated outward, consuming nearly the entire district block due to her instinctively transforming into her hybrid Zoan mid-attack. Vahn had expressly told her to be wary of Sui-Feng, so when the petite Shinigami attacked her, it sent alarm bells sounding through her mind—spurring the change.

"Guardian Deity of Wano and Loyal Hound...it seems the Dragon's Pavilion doesn't assign names and titles arbitrarily..." remarked Sui-Feng, eyes narrowed behind the triangle-shaped barrier of pale yellow light she had erected to protect herself from Yamato's attack. She could have evaded it outright, but since powerful attacks typically left their users vulnerable in the aftermath, she had hoped to seize the opportunity to eliminate Yamato outright. Were it not for the latter's abrupt transformation giving her reason for pause, she would have. frёeωebɳovel.com

Shouldering her nearly two-ton kanabo, causing the ghostly, bluish-white flames coiling around her arms and framing her head like a heavenly cloth to distort, Yamato smiled and claimed, "The Dragon's Pavilion encourages people to be the best version of themselves. In the past two Tower cycles alone, my power has more than doubled from what it was prior to meeting my Lord. And I have never known greater fulfillment."

"Yeah? Well, good for you..." growled Sui-Feng, her angular brown eyes and tone sharpening as she couldn't help recalling her pre-match liaison with her Mistress. She hadn't wanted Vahn to show up and deprive her of her virginity, but the fact he dared to refuse Yoruichi's invitation to do so, prompting an abrupt end to their encounter, left her unfulfilled and pissed off...

"Oh? Did I say something to provoke Sui-Feng-taichou's ire...?" asked Yamato, tilting her head slightly, confused by Sui-Feng's sudden, albeit suppressed fury.

Instead of answering Yamato's question, Sui-Feng posed with the tips of her left index and middle fingers tracing the tip of her Zanpakuto, her tone icy as she muttered, "Sting all enemies to death...Suzumebachi..."

Seeing Sui-Feng's wakizashi, right hand, and forearm glow white, Yamato immediately went on the offensive, her initial kick-off producing a sizeable explosion of icy debris as she advanced with her kanabo across her body, preparing for a devastating sweep. Unfortunately, her wind-tearing attack swept through empty air as Sui-Feng's form flicked out of existence with a faint, high-pitched fwsh.

"In terms of physical might, I doubt anyone but the Captain of our 11th Division could compete with you..." stated Sui-Feng, reappearing several meters to the side of where the shockwave of Yamato's attack had left a deep trench in the ground, her right hand raised to reveal a matte black and yellow bracer with a sharp, multi-segmented golden stinger adorning her middle finger.

"However, in terms of speed, you're demonstrably outclassed..." stated Sui-Feng, her words punctuated by two black wing-like marks that many mistook for the wings of a butterfly appearing on Yamato's right shoulder and flank. In actuality, they represented the wings of a very lethal hornet.

"Hmmm? What's this? You have the power to make patterns on people's skin and clothes...?" asked Yamato, staring at her right arm, more curious than concerned.

"They're known as Homonka(Hornet's Crest)..." explained Sui-Feng, the cheeky smile that briefly flashed across her face replaced by a glower as she revealed, "And if you get struck in the same spot twice, it triggers the activation of my Zanpakuto's ability, Nigeki Kessatsu(Death in Two Steps). In other words, one more hit to your shoulder or side, and you better pray you're able to respawn from complete spiritual annihilation..."

"I see! Thank you for the explanation...!" exclaimed Yamato, taking Sui-Feng aback as she bowed nearly forty degrees as a sign of respect. The petite Captain had been attempting to intimidate her, but Yamato viewed her actions as a courtesy intended to prolong their battle and give her a fighting chance.

'I'm surrounded by fools...' thought Sui-Feng, briefly glancing at where Omaeda, having failed to evade Yamato's icy impact in time, was frozen solid with his hands raised protectively, his body slightly turned, and his expression set in an exaggerated flinch. He should have been able to flee in time, but Yamato's icy abilities had surprised them both.

Shifting her gaze in the opposite direction, skyward, Sui-Feng concluded that Kiba had no intention of interfering as he was currently observing her and Yamato with a smile while suspended in the air.

'I can't just defeat these fools quickly...the pride of the Gotei is at stake...' thought Sui-Feng, her expression firming as she lowered her weapon and regained her poise, doing her best to appear dignified as she stated, "This is where your participation comes to an end..."

Raising her head, Yamato was going to respond to Sui-Feng's remark but paused, her icy-blue eyes widening as she witnessed the petite Shinigami split into a dozen flickering clones, making it impossible to discern which was the original. It wasn't her first time witnessing an afterimage, but she had never seen so many at once.

"Prepare yourself..." said Sui-Feng, her voice emanating from each of the clones in concert, producing an eerie chorus that resounded after she had made her move, leaving Yamato gritting her teeth on the defensive as she left seventeen additional Homonka across her body without the oversized Oni Princess being able to react. Then, with one final thrust, she appeared alone, the stinger of her Suzemebachi piercing the center of the Homonka on Yamato's outer right thigh.

"Hmmm!?"

Feeling a fiery sensation spread from her leg, followed by a crimson aura enveloping her entire body, Yamato instinctively swung her kanabo at Sui-Feng. The attack struck empty air, but as she wasn't expecting Yamato to counter, Sui-Feng was briefly caught by its wind pressure, a layer of frost forming on the right side of her body and fully enveloping her right arm as she took evasive action.

Understanding that she couldn't catch Sui-Feng with her speed, Yamato eyed the petite Shinigami while attempting to make sense of her body's condition. A fiery pink mark had materialized where Sui-Feng pierced her a second time, but while it made her feel as though her blood was boiling, she didn't feel like she was on the verge of being annihilated.

"It seems our battle can continue, Sui-Feng-taichou..." remarked Yamato, adopting a broad, fang-filled smile that was considerably fiercer and more predatory-looking than she intended. Meanwhile, Sui-Feng's pale red lips were parted with a look of unfettered incredulity marring her face—having never encountered a scenario where her Zanpakuto's poison failed to take effect and erase all traces of her opponent.

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Taking advantage of Yamato's focus on his Captain, Omaeda abruptly broke free of his icy prison, surprising the former by shoulder-checking her in the back, sending her flying forward as he shouted, "Do it now, Taichou...!"

Regaining her senses, Sui-Feng's eyes sharpened as she moved like a blur, producing several afterimages that caused bright pink Homonka to appear across Yamato's body mid-flight. She had no idea how the latter was able to endure the soul-destroying effect of her Zanpakuto, but the red aura enveloping her body suggested it wasn't completely ineffective. Yamato's vitality, endurance, and spirit were simply far greater than she anticipated...

"Ow-wow-wow! That really hurts...!" cried Yamato, regaining her footing and swinging her kanabo wildly in a vain attempt to deter Sui-Feng's assault. Kiba reentered the fray to keep Omaeda from attacking her a second time, but as the red aura enveloping her grew in intensity, she could feel her movements slowing as her hybrid Zoan form faded of its own accord...

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