That Make or Break Moment (Hephaestus)

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The transition had been so slick, so seamless that for a moment it almost dumbfounded the arrancar to watch his prey disappear from the edge of his fingers, only when he noticed the white garments amidst the black robes did it register, his Vision confirming the presence of a much stronger shinigami, his eyes instantly locked onto the newcomer as he set the weaker female down, there was a cold steel about his gaze to which the vizored arrancar could only smirk bemusedly. Looks like the big boys had certainly come to play this time, from a simple glance the arrancar could tell this shinigami was a cut above what he'd been fighting so far, it wasn't something he hadn't faced in his time alive, but he knew he would have to be a lot more serious with the captain than he was with the lackey. The speed at which the man moved, from initial observation anyway, would prove to be significant hurdle, he might even say the newcomer held the upper hand in that regard.

I suppose it would be a little too much to ask to leave peacefully at this point.

This was more so a last gasp attempt at reason than a plea for one's life, whilst he had approached Meilin, he had not attacked her, rather it was the other way around and what followed was her immaturity on the battlefield being exposed, hell he'd even given her a chance to run away, if that little act of diplomacy would get him killed, then the shinigami deserved all the loathing and hatred afforded them. But even more than that, the captain's response, he'd seen enough of their white robes in his time to distinguish them apart from the usual shinigami that came here, would tell him what kind of a fighter this man was; a cold, calculating machine? or a two dimensional brute with only one thing on his mind?

He'd not drawn his blade yet, he'd not needed too despite Meilin going bankai, but faced with this new foe there was an instinctive inkling to reach for it now, ignoring the impulse only seemed to add to the silence looming over the two. The area around them was slowly beginning to grow softer and softer, as though melting. His heat was beginning to take effect on the surroundings, yet still the move to be made now was the captain's.

Without even speaking the captain had given him his answer, his stare was too cold, his gaze too calculating, this would either be one hell of a response or an all out attack. Seconds slipping by in dead silence as the pair exchanged glares, no doubt the captain was sizing him up, the man had a respectable reiatsu level and a speed to match, this would be a match of cold cut precision and every move he made would have to be thought out and meditated but quick, instinctive, almost reflex. In a way he didn't have the luxury to think on the go but the outcome of this fight nay his survival lay on doing so.

You think yourself deserving of mercy. . .

A brief glimmer of a grin pulled at the arrancar's lips, to another those words might not have meant much, but to him it was the verdict of judge, jury and possibly even executioner. In that moment the arrancar made his move and yet stood still, as unsuspecting as Meilin had been when she first attacked him, if this shinigami was as fast as he'd assumed then hearing his words by now would probably be too late, had the captain decided on this tactic from the get go it might have succeeded as well, but his cold, calculating stare had given him away well before his words could and so they would seal his fate before he even moved.

His reaction speed was one of a kind, but even so Meilin had still been yanked from his grip, which would mean the shinigami would no doubt out speed him again and again and he would have little going for him if he spent his time reacting, as strong as his hierro was it was a luxury he couldn't afford to waste, especially if he spent his time reacting to the shinigami's speed, so rather than reacting he would proact.

If the captain was as fast as he'd assumed he'd no doubt go for the back, it was the weak spot in any being and wasn't guarded as well, even at this level if it were protected he wouldn't have have the reaction speed to act instinctively without taking damage or leaving himself open to a feint, knowing this had made his next move easy and hard, easy in that the response required would be simple, hard in that its timing would have to be pin point.

He wouldn't be able to respond in time that was certain. . . .so he would simply have to attack first. 

Incapacitating Attack.

As the captain disappeared his technique would activate almost simultaneously, superheating the surrounding area nigh instantly. Buildings nearby would melt like candles in the summer as the road beneath them would begin to glisten darkly with melting tar. The nearby trees and vegetation would be the first to feel the impact, drying up and combusting almost instantly upon exposure almost nanoseconds after which the very buildings around them began to melt, liquid metal and glass cascading down before catching flame, forming mixture of melted stone, glass and tar, the very road now a river of tar.

The moment, no, the instant the captain exited shunpo he would be instantly blinded, what would blind the captain so quickly if not so instantly, if his skin hadn't already melted off his bones in this kind of heat, would be his entire body, clothes and all instantly catching alight in flame, unlike with Meilin however this flame would be much stronger and the flames would consume him quickly, he would be ashes within seconds; reflex shunpo would not save him here either as the arrancar allowed the full power of his heat to expand to its maximum range, what with his techniques speed it would take seconds for the entire area,50m in every direction, to come under the influence of his heatwave.

Let's not get too hot headed then shall we.

Had his reiatsu not been active it would have taken a lot more time to super heat his surroundings to this level, but since his fight with Meilin his reiatsu had remained active, continuously heating the area around him, allowing him to raise it to such high levels almost instantly. The very nature of the attack as well as its potency was such that it would end the fight there and then, exposure alone to heat this high would've caused the captain to dehydrate almost completely within seconds, the added dryness of his skin, along with his robes would turn him into a moving if not living bonfire.

It was only then that the arrancar would move, loud crack of sonido muffled in the hot air, appearing behind if not slightly above the captain as though he were the man's spectre, a sharp left kick aimed viciously at the man's neck. This kick aimed to dislodge the spinal column and had enough oomph to do so should it land all things accounted, as long as the captain remained standing there were no guarantees in this battle, nor would he fight as though there were.

The burning haori he held in his hand only confirmed his previous assumption; the captain was fast. Using his vision to keep up with his movements Heph pivoted in position to face the robeless man, obviously he wasn't fast enough as evidenced by the burn marks on his face and the fact that he was a considerable distance away meant he was a little more wary of him. Naturally it would only follow that his next move would be more calculated and even though the arrancar had started and even persevered through the fight bladeless it would be folly to continue without his weapon.

Holding out his hand, fingers extended as the surrounding heat seemed to pulse around it, taking shape with each growing pulse as a jet black katana with a crimson edge slid comfortably into his grip, a skull forming around its sheath as its crimson edge continued to pulse as if superheated. The surrounding heat in the area seemed to cool slightly, at least in comparison to its previous levels but moments ago, even still it remained uncomfortable hot around the arrancar and this would serve as his defense as the strange form of the captains blade or rather enclosed around him.

Indeed it would seem as though there were no escape for him, flanked on all sides as the blades closed in, they would engulf him, swallowing him in their sheer numbers as if trying to blend him. A deadly quiet ensued, the tension rising slightly in the passing seconds as the quiet seemed to grow even stronger.

Is that all?

The whirling mass of blades would burst around him, revealing the arrancar unscathed if not seemingly unharmed. Whilst his initial attack was powerful and would take a little while before he could use it again he was still more than capable of handling this attack which was weaker than he anticipated, his heat weakening the blades overall impact such that it would bounce harmlessly on his hierro once it made contact. Once he'd ascertained that the blades would do nothing in their current state he simply dispersed them with a second flare of heat.

His gaze still locked onto the captain through his crimson vizor the arrancar gave a mock pout of disappointment. The captain had kept his distance, no doubt wary of his heat attack and with due reason of course.

My power, if you haven't already guessed is heat. I can heat up my surroundings to deadly levels almost instantly, anything under my heat's influence instantly combusts.

The blade remained by his side, whilst his gaze remained focused on the captain he was wary of the surrounding blades of his shikai, they had been dispelled but not destroyed and could easily catch him unawares if he got too comfortable. Still as long as this was a battle fought over distance he could play to his strengths, that being the easily readable trajectory of the captain's blades and his own hierro, if the captain chose to make it a close quarters fight he now knew he would instantly catch flame and judging from the degree of burns on his face, he would no doubt be more wary of using his shunpo to close the gap.

It's not too late to retreat captain, you've already released shikai whilst I am yet to use resureccion. I think it's clear where the odds lie in this fight.

Whilst seemingly stupid to reveal that he indeed had a resurreccion this was more mind games now, getting into his opponents head, revealing his power to control heat in his surroundings meant he would be able to dictate the captain's movements, his speed would mean nothing if he charged in recklessly or even mistimed his moves by even a second. By speaking of his resurreccion as though it were a shikai in comparison, which in truth it was considering he had segunda but he would not reveal that, he would allow the captain , who seemed intelligent enough to figure it out on his own, to realize that he had yet to even use his trump card and that this fight would be far from a simple one.

His move had already been made, downplaying his opponents skill and power would no doubt provoke a second attack and he'd clearly shown himself a match for the captain's speed and shikai so far to boot, the next move would be his foes. He remained wary of the surrounding blades, no doubt they moved on the captain's mental command and were still considered a threat but in the grand scale of things, the tide was already beginning to shift.