"This girl just didn't know when to quit..." grumbled Matsumoto, her wavy hair unkempt and uniform disheveled, forcing Hitsugaya to avoid looking directly at her and instead focus on Lalatina, frozen solid within a block of ice.
"And she's somehow still alive..." remarked Hitsugaya, his expression and tone serious.
"What—!? If nothing else, shouldn't she have suffocated by now?" asked Matsumoto, sizing Lalatina and her icy prison with equal parts incredulity and fascination.
"There's a non-negligible chance she's immortal..." contended Hitsugaya, adding, "It would explain her confidence in coming here despite her lack of offensive capabilities."
"Immortal?" repeated Matsumoto, frowning as she asked, "If they have people on their side who can't be eliminated, then how are we supposed to win?"
"You saw the power on display during the earlier procession..." remarked Hitsugaya, shaking his head before asking, "Do you believe the Dragon's Pavilion would arrange something like this if there were a possibility they could lose? It would completely shatter their image as a transdimensional powerhouse and intermediary..."
"Well, phooey..." huffed Matsumoto, puffing her cheeks in the pretense of a pout.
crack
Demonstrating that she wasn't out of the fight, a crack formed in the ice encasing Lalatina. In response, Hitsugaya tapped the tip of his Zanpakuto against it, causing the crack to mend and the ice to thicken considerably before he rested his blade on his shoulder, closed his eyes, and exhaled a weary sigh that didn't suit his apparent age.
"I was wondering what the commotion over here was about. To think that Lalatina managed to press this far on her own. Our Lord will surely reward her plentily..." remarked a deep and feminine voice, causing Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to alert to Xenovia, standing atop a nearby wall in a white and gold bodysuit that left little to the imagination beneath a black, grey, and gold-adorned hooded cloak with a distinctive wing motif on the shoulders and the symbol of the Dragon's Pavilion on the back.
"Xenovia Quarta, Herald of the Dragon's Pavilion..." recalled Hitsugaya, his brows furrowing. Xenovia occupied the same position as him for her team, so while he could only guess her capabilities, she had to be stronger than a Pawn like Lalatina.
"That's right," affirmed Xenovia, nodding. "And the two of you are Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro and Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku of the 10th Division. I am honored."
Punctuating her statement, Xenovia grabbed the handle of the very large broadsword sheathed on her back in an elaborate black and silver sheath with gold embellishments. The sword itself was longer than she was tall at 180cm, with a wide gold-and-silver crossguard, a roughly palm-width silver blade with a snaking gold pattern against a black background that tapered to a curved point, and nine distinct eye-shaped gems resembling cut onyx.
"That weapon..." muttered Hitsugaya, tension feeling his body as the voice of his usually taciturn Zanpakuto cut through his thoughts, warning him to be cautious.
"Hitsugaya-taichou has good instincts..." remarked Xenovia, holding her sword in a Knight's prayer stance, the blade parallel with her body as she revealed, "This sword was entrusted to me by more Lord, the Dragon God. Its name is Balmung Adjudica, and when certain conditions are met, it has the power to obliterate the foes of the Dragon's Pavilion..."
"Conditions?" repeated Matsumoto, forcing a smile as she joked, "I don't suppose you'll share them with us?"
"Fittingly enough, explaining Adjudica's power is the most basic condition that must be fulfilled to weaken its seals..." revealed Xenovia, causing the first of the nine eye-shaped gems to illuminate with a crimson glow. With this change, her well-developed muscles swelled slightly, becoming more defined as a crimson-hued Touki enveloped her body.
Witnessing the change and feeling Xenovia's power surge, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto simultaneously concluded it wasn't a good idea to allow her to awaken more of Adjudica's power. With nearly the exact same timing, the Captain and Lieutenant utilized Shunpo to appear at Xenovia's flanks, the former taking the initiative to charge forward and swing his sword down at the blue-and-green-haired Knight's head.
"The second condition for unsealing Adjudica is that my opponent must express the intent to do harm or oppose the Dragon's Pavilion," revealed Xenovia, surprising Hitsugaya and Matsumoto by executing a technique remarkably similar to Shunpo, vanishing with an air-tearing flicker before reappearing several tens of meters away with the second black gemstone of Adjudica's blade emitting an orange glow. As it did, her Touki naturally became crimson and orange, more than doubling in density.
"That technique you just used...it was unmistakably Shunpo..." remarked Hitsugaya, motioning for Matsumoto to stand down after their previous attempt to attack only made Xenovia stronger.
"It was," confirmed Xenovia, nodding affirmatively before revealing, "One of my regular sparring partners happens to be a specialist at Shunpo and a handful of derivative techniques. They were kind enough to teach me in exchange for information and as a general courtesy."
Instilling in Hitsugaya and Matsumoto a sense of urgency, Xenovia smiled and added, "More importantly, the third condition for awakening Adjudica is that my opponent must be anomalous of power, nature, or intent. It has no effect against those who simply wish to be without intentional harm to others..."
Seeing Adjudica's third eye open, revealing a luminous yellow light that intermingled with the red and orange of Xenovia's Touki, Hitsugaya had little choice but to press the attack—swinging his Zanpakuto to produce a luminous crescent of ice that surprisingly impacted against the blue-and-green-haired woman's guard.
'Don't tell me...' groaned Hitsugaya, his expression darkening.
Implicitly proving Hitsugaya's suspicions, Adjudica's fourth eye hummed to life, producing a bright green glow as Xenovia smilingly revealed, "No need to make that face, Hitsugaya-taichou. The fourth seal is one of the simpler ones to undo, as its sole condition is that a witness be present to observe the judgment. Unfortunately for me, many of those observing us desire your victory..."
Though he was initially confused by Xenovia's words, Hitsugaya quickly realized why she was unfortunate as the Reiatsu-like pressure emanating from her plummeted, nearly returning to its starting value.
"But don't celebrate too quickly," hummed Xenovia, using Shunpo to close the distance and slam her sword against Hitsugaya's hastily raised guard, forcing him to grimace and skid backward through the air as she revealed, "Because the condition for unleashing the fifth seal is that I am against an overwhelming force or opponent..."
In response to Xenovia's explanation, the fifth gem lining Adjudica's blade whirred to life, producing brilliant blue light that replaced all but the green in her Touki. The same blue light spread through Adjudica's edge, causing Hitsugaya to strain and clench his teeth as he failed to break free from her compounding momentum.
"Hey! No one's allowed to bully Hitsugaya-taichou but me...!" exclaimed Matsumoto, materializing next to the accelerating Hitsugaya and Xenovia and swinging her bladeless Zanpakuto, causing a sweeping cloud of ash to trail in its wake. Unfortunately for Hitsugaya, though it dealt no visible damage, the attack only struck him as Xenovia, well aware of the effects of Matsumoto's Zanpakuto, took evasive action using Shunpo.
"And when was it decided that you were allowed to bully me...?" asked Hitsugaya, his expression deadpan as Matsumoto fell into position at his side.
"Hmm? When you became my Captain, obviously," responded Matsumoto, gazing at Hitsugaya with a look that made it appear as though he was the one speaking absurdities.
"...I'm going to have you participate in special training when this is over..." muttered Hitsugaya, causing Matsumoto to react with an open-mouthed, overplayed look of offense. At the same time, Xenovia patiently observed them from a few meters away, poised in the air with her left leg bent like a Superhero and Adjudica poised on her right shoulder.
"Are you ready to continue...?" asked Xenovia, unshouldering her weapon, the act of doing so producing a luminous blue crescent that traveled with near-untraceable speed, leaving a thin but extremely deep trench where it sliced into the ground.
"Oh, wow..." remarked Xenovia, her brows rising as she admired the sight while casually revealing, "This is my first time wielding Adjudica with five of its seals released. It's a shame that the condition for removing the sixth is that I be aware of an unforgivable crime you've perpetrated and feel no guilt over. Though, I suppose it's objectively for the best that you haven't committed any great sins deserving of my Lord's judgment."
"Are you suggesting this is the extent of your power, or should we expect additional surprises...?" asked Hitsugaya, gripping his Zanpakuto tightly in a ready stance.
"Mmn...for the sake of keeping things interesting, I suppose I could reveal that my bodysuit is self-repairing and nearly indestructible while my cloak grants a 70% Resistance to most Elemental Attacks..." revealed Xenovia, cupping her chin with her left index finger and thumb and raising her gaze thoughtfully as she appended, "I'm also resistant to most Negative Status Effects, including Instant Death and abilities that affect the mind."
"What are you, a character from a video game...?" questioned Matsumoto, scoffing as she contended, "If it's like this, it would be more helpful if you told us what you were vulnerable to instead of bragging."
"Fair enough," conceded Xenovia, making a chopping gesture against the right side of her neck as she smiled and revealed, "Unlike Lalatina, I don't possess B-Rank Regenerative Healing. If you slice off my head, pierce my heart, or disembowel me, I will surely perish. I also haven't fully mastered the use of Shunpo, so there is a brief period where you could catch me off guard when I complete a step."
"Those aren't exactly unique weaknesses..." grumbled Matsumoto, her expression a half-lidded deadpan as she got the impression Xenovia was deliberately messing with her. She didn't mind a bit of reciprocal teasing, but she wasn't fond of the feeling of being looked down on.
"I'm also weak to my Lord's praise and peerlessness in the bedroom, but that's not something you can readily take advantage of..." joked Xenovia, punctuating her words by twisting her body and performing a downward slash, discharging a crescent of radiant blue energy that forced Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to separate. With that, their bout was officially underway, her resistance to Hitsugaya's ice and overwhelming power allowing her to maintain the advantage and put on a show, knowing full well that her Lord was observing her every movement and action...
...
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"Xenovia-chan has gotten strong..." remarked Serafall, genuinely awed by Xenovia's prowess and ability to manipulate the flow of her match against Hitsugaya and Matsumoto.
"It's because she, Erza, and some of the combat-oriented Maids have been spending their evenings in the Corridor, granting them an extra fifty-six hours to train and refine their skills," revealed Vahn, unable to conceal the appreciation in his gaze as he alternated between observing Xenovia's and Erza's performative matches. The bout between Kenpachi, Issei, and Sairaorg was still ongoing, with Kuisha and Regulus having succumbed to the cackling Shinigami's blade, but with the Devilish duo's Touki piercing his defenses as if they didn't exist, it was only a matter of time before the severely-injured Captain fell to their coordinated assault.
'At this rate, I won't have the chance to act...' noted Vahn, his gaze briefly lingering on the display depicting Yamato, Robin, and Frieren, the former minutes away from being completely healed by Asia. Robin had managed to steal her away while Sui-Feng was distracted by Kiba. With Ikkaku also managing to slink away in the chaos, that brought both the losses of both sides to four. However, with Sui-Feng injured and three of their Captains on the cusp of defeat, it wouldn't be long before the Gotei found itself in a speculative four-against-ten scenario. And while Unohana was a wild card with her recently acquired Ope Ope no Mi powers, she wouldn't be able to take on the powerhouses that were Xenovia, Erza, Issei, and Sairaorg with Asia, Ravel, Robin, and Lalatina providing support...
"Oh, the really pretty man is finally moving," remarked Serafall, drawing Vahn's attention to the display tracking Byakuya, who, even after gaining the right to move freely, had been sitting in a tea room, calmly preparing and serving himself tea. This version of Byakuya hadn't been humbled by Ichigo, so while his Reiatsu wasn't that much higher than other Captains, his stoicism and confidence in his abilities were unshakeable. Would that remain the case until the Rating Game's end? They would find out soon as the first place he Shunpo'd to was the fiery hellscape that was Erza's and Komamura's battlefield...
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