Cry, 'havoc', and let slip the dogs of war

[neverquitedies]

Characters: The Angels (angelicmutation) and anyone who cares to join.
When: Starts July 8th, but will go on for awhile.
Where: Everywhere
Rating: R for gore
Summary: Yuca has unleashed Angels on Adstringendum. Defend yourself, hide, or die.

Comments

[iceandivory]

Hitsugaya knew there would be no difficulty in finding the creatures. They weren't exactly hard to spot, and when one was actually looking for them, they were even less so.

He was surprised at how calm he was, really. He was used these sorts of situations. Hollows were essentially mutated souls, when one got right down to it, so mutated animals weren't that far from the mark. He wasn't worried about himself, not when this was what he was trained for. He was worried about what the things could do before people got to them. Move as fast as he could; take out as many as he could. That was all he needed to do, and he could do it. No one could tell him otherwise. He was completely focused for the first time since Hinamori's death, and he wasn't going to waste it.

From roof top to roof top he went, scanning the northwestern quadrant simply because that was where his own house was.

[angelicmutation]

Lo and behold, there it is. A cat, by the looks of it, though not the one that Yuca had transformed earlier. It was bigger, it had grown in size, added on the bulk of muscle and bone that made it truly formidable. Spikes and bare streaks of muscle underneath ripped skin stretched along it's body, fangs dipping down beneath its lower jaw. Most notably, however, were the two extra legs made of purely bone and muscle, between the two on either side. The extras looked far more dangerous than they should have any right to, bone shards branching off of them like a tree of sorts, before the limbs spiked down and ended in jagged claws.

The cat didn't notice him up on the rooftop, not at first, not with how fast he was going, but it was only a matter of time before it caught his scent.

[iceandivory]

They really were hideous. He'd feel sorry for the animal if he thought he had the time, but as far as he was concerned, it was already dead. His job was to make sure the dead were sent where they were meant to be - whether that be Soul Society, Hell, or anywhere in between. Even in this place, he wasn't about to slack on his duties.

There was no point in holding back. He rarely did in a real fight. He tore his zanpakutou from its sheath, releasing the spiritual pressure he'd been holding back to hide his presence. Might as well prepare before it noticed him. As soon as it did, he'd be ready.

"Souten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!"

[angelicmutation]

At the words and pressure, if not the scent, the cat's head jerked upwards and it snarled, muscles coiling together to prepare to leap. Obviously, it wouldn't be able to hit the rooftop in one jump, but it came fairly close- and when it hit the wall, the cat simply dug in it's claws, shoving the points of its extra legs into the building and kept going, snarling as it ascended the wall with a frightening speed.

It seemed almost spiderlike, and when the first two paws cleared the wall, the beast seemed more than pleased enough to drag the rest of its body upward onto the rooftop and start running to get its new target within pouncing range.

[iceandivory]

The first resistance the creature would meet was a sudden upward burst of ice, the (usually) deadly crystalline stalagmites rising diagonally to rip and tear at flesh as the former animal tried to rush him. The clouds above were amassing, and Hitsugaya was of the mind to make this as quick as he possibly could. Thus, immediately following the icy spires was Hitsugaya himself, his long zanpakutou held before him with the intent of piercing right through the brain.

[angelicmutation]

Trickles of ice began to form at the tips of the bone, as the angel entered the field Hitsugaya's spiritual energy, but it paid it no mind. The impact of the stalagmite sent two or the bone spikes flying from the middle part of its body, and the cat itself staggered out of the way, precariously teetering with uncertain balance.

Quickly though (almost too quickly) it recovered, darting to the side as the zanpakutou struck out at it. The blade severed through the bone near the cat's temple, piercing into the skull and cutting the eye in half, but not quite centered enough to sever the spinal cord or cut off the movement centers for the few moments it would take for the beast to recover.

Jaws unhinged, kept charging even as the blade impaled it's head, opening its mouth wide and aiming to rip and tear at the hand that was currently holding the blade.

[iceandivory]

Eyes widened impossibly as the creature just kept pressing forward against the cold iron blade, that mouth probably big enough to fit his whole head between its gnashing teeth. With a click of his tongue, he tightened his grip on Hyourinmaru's hilt and flung the blade over his head, intending to take the former animal right along with it, sending it backward off the blade and crashing upside down against the roof. In the process, ice would cascade down the blade itself, helping to push the creature off if not freeze a portion of its body in the process.

[angelicmutation]

At the sudden motion and strength put into the blow, the cat went flying, akimbo, ice encasing one of it's front legs. It landed halfway across the rooftop, rolling to a stop and laying there for but a moment.

It blinked it's good eye, the eyelid fluttering over the eye that was currently severed into two. As if by magic, the gigantic slice into its head was healing over. Another few blinks and the eye was whole again, the bone spiking out of skin and blood into a ring of interlocking horns around where the cut had been.

Snarling, the cat was back on its feet without any further ado, already circling around for another attack, dragging the iced leg in time with each step.

[iceandivory]

Once it was off his blade, Hitsugaya didn't stop to watch it heal. If that was what it could be called. He shook the zanpakutou once, scattering droplets of blood away from himself, watching them hit the ground in icy chunks that shattered upon impact.

He wouldn't wait for the thing to charge him first this time. While it was still circling, he followed its movements to that he was always facing it. The crescent blade attached to the chain at the hilt of his zanpakutou was sent flying in an arc aiming to wrap around the creature's neck. If it caught, he'd only have to tug hard enough and the job would be done. If he could do this the easy way, that would be ideal.

[angelicmutation]

The cat snarled at the sight of something arcing toward it, back arching up and darting off to catch the chain in it's maw. Four or five of its teeth chipped off at the impact, but it didn't seem to notice as the jaw started to slowly freeze solid from the sheer energy radiating from the weapon. The animal gave a fierce yank on the chain to try and pull Hitsugaya off his balance- the strength this creature had was equivalent to almost fifty men, though it didn't seem like it at first, just by looking at it.

[iceandivory]

The young shinigami muttered an inaudible curse as the blade was caught. That really would figure. When it didn't let go of the weapon, however, he realized this probably wouldn't end as quickly as he'd hoped. He wasn't going to let go of Hyourinmaru and he couldn't afford to lose his balance, so he hastily shifted his weight to the heels of his feet. He didn't lose balance, but he was pulled forward none-the-less, heels scraping against the roof as he held tight to both the hilt and the chain itself.

Gritting his teeth, he let the creature pull. If it didn't stop before reaching his strike zone, he would use the momentum to his own advantage and let the zanpakutou's blade swing straight for the neck.

[angelicmutation]

Unfortunately, the beast didn't stop, moving quickly as Toshirou aimed to hit its neck. The blade bit into skin and bone as the monster lunged forward, absolutely intent on taking some piece of the captain with it. The two extra legs rose up from the ground and moved forward as well in a last-ditch effort to run Hitsugaya through, even as it was in the process of being decapitated.

[iceandivory]

One arm was occupied with swinging the zanpakutou, the other with holding the chain so that the creature couldn't move its neck away from the blade that was already digging into it. Any icy barrier he erected would have made it impossible for him to complete the swing. This effectively left the captain with nothing to fend off the monster's raging limbs. He ground his teeth tight to make sure he didn't bite his tongue and steeled himself for the inevitable. The mutilated, bony limbs thrashed his left ribcage, but he didn't back away.

Within the course of a second, his blade would have severed the head completely and the creature would have gotten its last wish.

[angelicmutation]

Head completely gone now, the creature flailed for all but a moment before falling limp, it's legs in Hitsugaya's torso going slack and falling to the ground with the rest of the body.

The head hissed, spat, and snapped its jaw, taking in a deep breath of air that was exhaled with a sickening sound through the open windpipe. Another moment or so and that too stopped moving, the eyes finally glazing over in death.

[iceandivory]

He didn't breathe again until it stopped moving completely, then he let it all out at once. His side stung, and he didn't bother unclenching his teeth as he stretched it to pull Hyourmaru's chain loose, taking a few more teeth with it. Expression determined, he sunk the blade into the body, muttering a cold "Ryuusenka" before watching it, head and all, be enveloped in ice inside and out. When he forced the blade out of the monster, it shattered, thousands of miniscule shards hitting the roof.

That was one. Now for the rest.