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Ehshidu's attack connected, and the Hollow looked to be in pain, However, Ehshidu took notice that the Hollow was forming something in his hands. At the same time, he shouted something about it being better at point blank range to attack. So...he is going to attack me while I attacked him...a bold move....looks like...I can't dodge the move...damn....but...he is right, this will deicde the match....he looks to be quite injured, however, I might be injured greatly by this attack too.... Ehshidu knew he would not be able to attack, and he was barely blinded by the blood that hit his eyes, though not that much. The attack hit it's mark, which felt very painful to Ehshidu. He was sent flying back as the attack subsided. "Gahaugh!" Ehshidu was now quite injured. The spot where the Hollow had hit him was bleeding heavily. Though the wound was not fatal, it was very painful. "D...Damn...that...hurt.....I couldn't respond in time to use my....Strong Body Defense...and I got hit with the full amount of force..."

( Ehshidu: 114 + 7 + 10 = 131 )

(( Umm...Gonzui doesn't work on Hollows...says it right on the first page of Muhcos xD))

(( It sort of does, since it doesn't work on Hollows period, and that would be cheap if you could just restore yourself with NPC's xD))

((Well...sure...but this match was a draw, and don't forget, no NPC Hollow usage xD))

Vicious merely watched as his younger brother exploded with anger, having been taunted by the larger of the four finally causing him to snap. The older twin seemed unphase by Fury's outburst, the other ripping a hole through sheer air, disappearing within it in an instance. Vicious took the offer of following into consideration, turning to watch as Ehshidu began to walk away as well, leaving him to ignore the meaningless ramblings of the heavily armored one, whom spoke of his dreams of becoming far stronger than any Soul Reaper to exist. Before the other Hollow could bid his farewells, Vicious swiped his nails in the air before him, the use of Garganta forcing a rip along the line of which he swiped. Hearing the voice of his brother through the Spirit Caller he held in one hand, he remained silent, leaping through the portal which closed closely behind him, taking up the invitation Fury had offered him. 'A cemetery. . . I know where to find you, brother.' Fury spoke through the Spirit Caller, telling him of how he did not know of the exact location of where he had appeared in; however, Vicious could already feel the unique Spiritual Signature of his younger brother, letting that trace lead his way through the dimensions.

( Blade - 10 / Umikage - 20 / Shanzo - 17 / Zanui - 11 / Total = 58 )

Fury was, in fact, furious that he was never given the chance to fully express himself through the story which he wished to tell. "If it's not one thing it's another, I'm always being interrupted!" Fury began to calm down, awaiting the arrival of his brother, Vicious. Why the hell does Earth have to suck so much? Shaking it off, his brother slowly warping in through the dark void in which he opened on his own, Fury began to speak once more, this time not directed toward himself. "Ah, brother... are you ready to hear my story?" He asked, sitting back and beginning the tale.

"It was a time of darkness, the nature of which was impure, scarce of the light of morality. An age of knights, thieves, and the arcane wielders. Those were times of complication, and the beginning of this tale. Hundreds of years ago, a group of heroes fought valiantly to protect the world they loved so much; no god would help them in this task, or at least they chose only to assist them where need be. Before their adventure would begin, they lived in a simple manner. "One more drink, barkeep!" Called the young ranger, an Elf by birth and heritage, appeasing his wanderlust by having left his home village for this town, the town of Farlahn. "Comin' right up, lad." Music, as appreciated as it was, had cut through the ruckus of various voices exchanging tales of their own. Almost as though it were to be a standard, the tavern was a social center of any town in this day and age. Upon receiving his glass, the young Elf picked it up, attempting to look burly, though having actually been scrawny. "Just place it on my tab, good sir!" With a nod, the bartender sent him on his way, laughing back to the table where he had been for the past few hours. Just as he went to sip the ale, the tip of the mug touching gently on his lips, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. "Forde! Buddy!" The Elf shouted out, his friend of five years slipping into the tavern with a casual look. "Claude, it's nice to see you; I just finished my day of studying, though over several years, the routine feels surreal." Forde, a wizard by choice of life, stood an average height, far too thin due to the mass amount of studying required of him. Even at his age of twenty-two, he still had much to learn, more than the ten years of study he had undergone. "Heh heh... you never stop, do you?" Claude would question, smile on his face as he proceeded to sip at his mug. "Well, we as humans are nowhere near being as proficient in the arcane arts as an Elf. However, I think I'm doing quite well; I do have something I came here to inform you of though..." With a curious look, Claude could not help but question the matter. "Hm? What is it? You seem kinda serious, my friend." Forde would nod at the notion, a grim look about him, as though it were his duty to burden a person with the information of having lost a loved one. Claude, looking about, eyes scanning the bar, he fell to a dull whisper. "Hold that thought... I'll round up the crew." With that, the young Elf stood up, pushing out the wooden chair as he did so. With a look of being well-natured, as not to draw suspicions to himself, he made his way through the crowd of folks within the building. The dim lighting, being night time, aided him on his way through. Reaching one table, the female cleric sat by herself, enjoying her peace at mind. "Pst! Skuld!" As though to be mumbling the rest, close to her ear and facing away from her, looking about as though somebody might be watching, the cleric stood up, taking a seat at the table with the wizard. Looking around the tavern once more, he located Shadow, a rogue by trade. It appeared though, as usual, the rogue was making subtle work of thieving from a drunken fool. Just before she could reach into his pocket and take what he had, Shadow noticed her Elven friend waving to her. Shaking her head back and forth, slightly annoyed by the matter, she walked over. "Awright, what is it?" She asked, obviously distraught from the issue of having lost a chance to make money. "Forde has some urgent news..." Pointing to the table at which the wizard and cleric sat, she disdainfully made her way to it. He would look over the bar once more, trying to be sure that nobody was missed. Meeting up with the group once more, all sitting around a wooden table of round shape, Claude leaned forward. "So, Forde... what is it that you wish to tell us?" Pressing his lips together, try as he might, the words were far too difficult to let out. "It's... they found a dead body, right outside the tavern... in the back, behind all the buildings on this row." The group had a look of shock about them, save for Claude, who would rather question the matter at hand. "Was it anyone that we know?" Shaking his head, Forde responded on a calmer tone. "No, from what I can tell it's not... however, they were so brutally murdered, it's suspected that monsters committed the act." Leaning in closer, whispering further than before, Forde's voice was in a solemn tone. "The body was found near the sewer system... the steel grate leading down into it showed signs of opening, with bloodied claw marks all about. Having been deduced, it's easy to say that the poor man was minding his own business, when he had been painfully mauled; the size of the claw marks around his midsection appear to be that of a creature, standing at nearly our heights. Sadly, he was otherwise torn apart..." Forde himself, having seen the state of the body, nearly vomited at the thought of it once more. The group looked to be terrified, when Claude would speak up. "Then... it's our duty to investigate the sewers. It may be an infestation of Kobolds." The cleric, Skuld, would then voice her opinion. "Yes, it would be for the best; after all, Farlahn could be in danger as a whole." Shadow, the rogue, merely nodded as she placed her black face mask into position. "Yes; where Kobolds reside, as do items of value. However, at the sign of possible death, I'm leaving you all behind." With that, one by one, each of them made their way through the doors to the tavern.

The night's sky was beautiful, stars scattered over such a vast canvas known as the cosmos. However, the group hadn't the time to admire such a scenery, for one task remained at hand: to find out what hideous creature or creatures had made a home out of the sewer. The moon's light was not all too bright, but enough to show them the way. The rogue carried with her a bag full of items, hopefully for any situation they may come across. The company of four strange adventurers had with them a varied amount of gear, armed with whichever weapons or armor they might need. Reaching the grate, a trace of blood still evident on its frame, Claude slowly approached it. Though he hadn't looked the part, Claude was quite powerful for his puny disposition. Lifting it up, keeping a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary, the young elf met no problems in doing so. "Okay, the coast is clear... hand me a torch, Shadow." With that, the masked rogue pulled a torch out from her bag, taking some flint and steel to spark a flame, lighting it before handing it over to Claude. "Thank you very much. Now, let's head in; I'll go first. Being an Elf, I can see far better in dim lighting." The group nodded in agreement as he took the first few steps down the ladder, looking downward to assure that nothing would attack while he did so. Waving to the group, he signaled for them to follow. With one hand, Claude climbed down, the group above him a mere few steps as he tried to make his way with a torch in one hand. Reaching the bottom, only ten feet down from the surface, the young Elf slowly waved the flame over the area, looking several feet ahead to find tattered clothing. Once the rest of the group was on the ground, Claude pointed out his findings. "Looks like they've been this way... could be from one of their victims." It was then that Skuld began to speak. "Yes, and from the way things look... they've gone deeper into the sewers." Stepping forward, Forde examined the path ahead. "Also, we can only march one by one... it appears the path is far too narrow to fight efficiently... about three feet wide. If we happen to get into a fight, this should be a difficult one. If you would not mind, I have a strategy of sorts..." the wizard started to speak, trailing off, "Claude, being the strongest physically should stand up front. Skuld should be directly behind you, on the right side, and Shadow can stay right next to her on the left. I, myself, will stay in the back. My reasons are this: Claude, you have mastery over the use of two blades-- this is perfect when combined with your strong defenses. Skuld can hold the torch, and if need be heal any of us, since she's in the middle of the group. Shadow can throw daggers from her spot, and I can cast my spells from the back." Claude would agree with this, starting down the path after handing off the torch to Skuld. As he made his way through, he drew both of his blades. The one located in his right hand was a rapier, whereas the one in his offhand had been a shortsword. Walking down the passageway, Claude's ears perked up, being sensitive to sound as an Elf. With one hand out, indicating that the group should stop, he leaned back toward the right, speaking softly to the cleric. "Skuld... I hear something up ahead... inform Forde and Shadow." Nodding, she turned to Forde, whispering gently. "Claude can hear something up ahead, so we should be cautious." She then told the same thing to Shadow, who could only be cocky toward such a statement. "I'm a rogue, so of course being quiet is pretty simple." Waving forward with his left hand, still holding onto his sword, Claude began walking slowly. Eventually, the entire group could hear the bickering of what clearly had been Kobolds, as first assumed. Slipping both blades into the belt he wore around his waist, Claude peaked around the corner, watching as the enemies ate around a fire. Luckily, the light from their own torch went unnoticed. Looking back to his group, he nodded, giving them an idea as to what he would next do. Taking his shortbow off his back, placing one notched arrow's base on the string, he pulled back. Hopping out from the corner area, he fired a shot at the closest of the Kobolds, its back turned to their location. Straight through its skull, the arrow did the job intended. The rest of the Kobolds, however, were furious by this time. Grabbing their weapons, five of them rushed the halls with spears and sword. Waving his hand in a quick motion, his gesture was an obvious one. "Hurry up, run back!" The adventurers found themselves running back a few feet, the corner still an advantage to them as they stopped a few feet from it. As the five approached, turning around the corner, the wizard stated something as though to shout. "Magic Missile!" Pointing one finger toward the quick group of Kobolds, Forde fired off a ball of magical energy toward the leading one, striking it with enough force to make it faint, collapsing on the ground as it ran. This, however, did not hinder the path of the other four as they simply stepped over the body of their fallen comrade. To this, the other four had met with the adventuring group, attacking the best they could. Amidst the chaos of it all, one of the creatures jabbed with a spear at Shadow. Luckily, she dodged it, throwing a dagger as a counter reaction. The dagger only scraped the foe, jetting past it, though still damaging it. Claude was preoccupied with one of the foes, vertically slashing at him with a blade as he guarded against the strike with the two of his own. The opposing blade was clamped between his rapier and shortsword, but with his physical strength, he pressed forward, knocking the enemy off balance. With such a moment, he took advantage of this opportunity, lunging with both blades as they thrust straight through the creature's chest. Pulling them out, Claude, let the creature drop into a pool of its own blood. "Three more to go!" Standing to the right, in front of it all was Claude; in the center of the hall, and center of the group was the cleric, in plain sight. One of the Kobolds darted toward her, his intent being clear with one blade found in its grasp. Reacting quickly, Claude stuck his shortsword out, slicing across its chest as it ran. However, as it fell, the hand which held the blade swung out and sliced Claude's side. In pain, his back hit the wall, sliding down to sit out the rest of this skirmish. The cleric rushed over to aid him, mending his wounds immediately. The wizard held back, knowing that there was a limit to his spells for that period of time, and feeling that Shadow could handle the last two. Shadow, pulling out her shortsword, stabbed it straight through the neck of one of the Kobolds from the side. With that, she grabbed its shoulder, propelling herself toward the last one as it rushed in, smashing into its face with her feet. After stomping once on its face, Shadow pulled her sword from the other Kobold's throat, concealing it once more beneath her cloak, the aforementioned one dropping to the floor as blood gushed from its throat. As the cleric finished up on healing the wounds of her fallen ally, she gave him a hand to stand up from the wall. "Thank you, Skuld; now everyone, shall we press on?" With a few nods, it seemed the whole group was ready.

Taking it bit by bit, Claude's ears once more perked up, the sound of metal clashing was apparently ahead. This time, however, Shadow pointed out the matter. "So it seems that a battle has already begun without us... we shouldn't be too hasty." Claude, slightly surprised, began to speak, but without turning in fear of being attacked. "Wait-- you, too, can hear all of this?" Shadow, with a calm tone of voice, no hint of any real emotion, spoke yet again. "Well, yeah-- I figure that even a human could hear something like that." With a slightly nervous laugh, though still quiet, Claude was unsure of how to respond. "Oh, but of course; I didn't mean to imply anything of ill motive as to be racist toward humans, hah hah." Forde then interjected. "Yes, we understand, though we may wish to move on... after all, I'm curious as to what that clashing may be. Is there perhaps somebody else down here? If so, is he, or she, friend or foe?" With a nod, the young Elven ranger would walk for the destination, the echoing sounds of battle ringing throughout the sewer. Reaching a small room, a somewhat tall figure clad in light armor, such as what Claude wore, had been fighting a group of the foul creatures which inhabited the sewers all by himself. At this moment in time, the warrior swung his longsword to the right, hacking into one of the creatures' necks. To Claude's surprise, as everyone else's, after making such short work of the one, he then cleaved to the next, killing it as well. Now, there were about six left. How long have they been at this, I wonder? Was the only thing Claude could think of, not having noticed anyone go in ahead of them, and also taking into account the ones they ended up fighting with should have slowed down a fighter such as this. Without a moment to spare, Claude drew both blades once more, dashing in as he hacked his rapier into the side of one Kobold's neck, simultaneously stabbing his shortsword through the same one's stomach. The warrior looked over, somewhat surprised to see others down in the sewers with him. Without a word, he continued fighting, knowing that his focus was important at this time. Five of the reptile-esque fiends were left in this room, but a spot such as this left enough space for everyone to fight. Forde, the wizard, stood back, readying himself to fire at any of the creatures which would attack his allies, pointing with one finger toward the general battlefield in preparation. Shadow had, of course, disappeared; amidst the commotion, she found her way behind the enemies. Tossing two shuriken from behind the enemies at two of the foes, they both appeared to fly true as they jetted into the back of their skulls. The rogue, having taken advantage of the situation, picked off two of her own, leaving three more. Two of the three rushed toward Forde and Skuld, figuring that they were weak, staying back from the combat. The one which quickly approached Skuld soon met its demise as she dodged to one side and swung the flaming end of the torch she held toward its face, a crunching sound made as it fell to the floor. In response, the one which hoped to attack Forde was now after Skuld, making a sharp turn to attack. This, however, failed, for the wizard fired off the Magic Missile he had prepared for. "Magic Missile!" A magical sphere of energy shot from his finger's tip, straight into the chest of his target, dropping a few inches from Skuld as it ran. "Thank you, Forde; I let my guard down for one second." The cleric was grateful, and now only one Kobold was left. Outnumbered, it looked about in a fast motion, and tried to escape by fleeing deeper into the sewer system. Pulling out his shortbow, Claude took aim at the beast. "No you don't!" Firing his arrow, catching up to it quickly, the creature turned around the corner, the arrow itself smashing into a wall and breaking. "Dammit! Now he'll alert even more that they have company!" Grinding his teeth, Claude found himself frustrated by the matter. The warrior they encountered there had his back to a wall, carefully watching over the group. "You guys are a strange bunch... what's your business down here?" He asked, suspicious to such an odd division of adventurers. Claude, with both of his swords still drawn but at his sides, responded. "We came to investigate the recent killing of one of the town's inhabitants." The warrior, semi-softly pushing from the wall, stood up straight. "Well, I was hired to do this job, but I guess I wouldn't mind having a few runts tag along." Claude, slightly angered by this, tried to hold back from shouting, keeping quiet as he yelled on a smaller scale. "I'm not a runt! I'm a poweful ranger!" With a laugh, the warrior dismissed it. "Hah hah hah... phew, I was only joking with you. Anyhow, we should keep moving forward. By the way, the name's Jack, warrior for hire." Putting one hand through his short hair, the opposing adventurer definitely had charisma. Placing his longsword into the belt loop around his waist, he would begin to walk toward the path once more. Skuld, Forde, Shadow, and even Claude felt the need to introduce themselves as well, though Claude did so himself. "Allow me to introduce us: I am Claude, an Elven ranger; this here is Forde, my friend of quite a few years, a human and wizard by training; over here, we have the human cleric, Skuld, whom of which I had more recently met; last but not least, we have Shadow, a human rogue who I also had met during more current times." With that out of the way, they each waved to Jack accordingly, greeting him as Claude went down the line. "So, shall we go then?" The Elf asked, walking up ahead, stopped by the new ally. "Hold up, I'm taking the lead; I can take the most hits, after all." Claude, upset by the matter, decided to let him take the front. "Fine, I'm injured anyway, and not even at full capacity to prove how much stronger I am anyhow."

As Jack took the front, and from that point the team got into the same set-up as before, they started down yet another narrow hall. This time, however, two paths split from where they were headed. Before even reaching them, the group assumed that both paths led deep into the sewers. From the left, however, the silhouettes of various humanoid figures were seen approaching. By the rate they were travelling, it was apparent they were out for blood. Drawing their weapons, the group was fully prepared to face any such threats the sewers would have to offer. Tension built up in the air, the settings of this subterranean dungeon making itself even more evident by the second as the shadows slinked across the walls, soon revealing the foes they had to face. Sadly, by what Claude could tell, it was even more of the creatures they faced just moments ago. "Not again!" For a self-respecting ranger, the tone of voice he took with the matter was that of a whiney child. "Don't we face off against enough of these?" He questioned, the expression on his face displaying frustration and slight exhaustion. "Now now, my friend, the more of these you face, the greater your style of fighting will become, no?" Forde's words were true, having to fight for the rights to call oneself an experienced adventurer. Claude shrugged off the comment, not in any mood to argue, especially being face-to-face with the hideous beings which lived down here, just as prior encounters would lead them to believe. This particular fight was different in a not-so-subtle way, however, for the Kobold which led its own group appeared far more bold in some form. To raise their suspicions, it pulled out and revealed what seemed to be a shortsword. Normally, this would not be of care to the group, but the sword let off a consistent blue glow. Forde, squinting his eyes, tried to examine this blade at a distance. "Everyone, it appears the blade is magical; I would suggest proceeding with caution, since I cannot exactly identify the properties it contains." The cleric was, without a doubt, cautious, heeding the young wizard's words. Claude, however, felt the need to display his superiority over the newest addition of their crew. The leading creature of the opposing side swiftly slashed forward with his blade, sending his five troops into battle ahead of him. The moment it slashed, the group flinched, not knowing if some magical effect would manifest itself from the sword. Peaking out from behind their arms, slowly coming to grips with the reality that the magical sword did nothing, the group was at the ready for combat. Each of the five fiends flooded the hall, scrambling over each other to feast upon the heroes' flesh and blood. Jack, already with a death glare about his face, thrust forward with his longsword, stabbing into the Kobold nearest him as its own velocity made the puncture all too easy. Placing one foot on the enemy's chest, Jack pressed forward, stomping its chest onto the ground, sliding his blade out from it. Claude darted straight past Jack, both his rapier and shortsword at hand. With a flick of his wrist, the rapier hacked into the throat of one opponent, whereas he simultaneously stabbed his shortsword through the skull of another. "Hah! That's two for me!" He shouted out, becoming quite cocky over the matter. As he turned his head to speak to the group, another Kobold was taking advantage of the moment, attempting to attack the young Elf. Forde, already knowing the outcome, was running as quickly as he could, launching himself off the ground as soon as he reached Claude. His hand now on the throat of the target which would threaten the Elf's life, Forde went through with the force of his speed and body's weight to topple over the enemy. Midway into their fall, the wizard made use of his Shocking Grasp, slamming it hard into the stone surface beneath them whilst sending a large burst of lightning through its body. Standing up, releasing his hold, the creature's body was burnt significantly, made far more clear by the smoke rising from its corpse. Claude, as the rest of the group, was surprised. "Holy-- since when could you do that!? Now I see why you spend so much time studying!" The Elf was frightened by the power of this attack, gulping with the hopes of never having to face the wizard. The last of the rushing few was targetting the cleric, who standing calmly would pull out a mace. "Come get it, ill creature." Nearing her fast, Skuld swung her mace horizontally, smashing the face of the last Kobold into a wall of the sewer. With that, all of the advancing foes were dead, save for their leader whose magical weapon still had unknown properties. Claude, wishing only to show Jack who the group's leader was, took it upon himself to finish off the last standing. "Claude, that's not a wise idea!" The wizard shouted, stressing the fact that the powers of the creature's sword were still a mystery. Still advancing, Claude exchanged blows with the creature: he slit its throat, while at that precise moment its blade stabbed through the side of the Elven Ranger. Clenching his teeth in pain, the Elf stood strong, another macho act in place--"

Fury's story came to an abrupt end, looking around slowly, watching to see if his brother had been paying attention. "You know what brother? Let's not even begin to end this story... quite some time has passed by... hasn't it?" He questioned, not knowing for sure due to the conditions of Hueco Mundo. "Ah, either way... I'm just glad to be here, and to be alive, or whatever we are." Laying back, Fury looked up to the sky above, or what he could call a sky within this desolate waste. "You know, I'm seriously considering powering up, and killin' whoever I can... yeah, that's a wonderful plan." Chuckling to himself, Fury was displaying a combination of childish behavior and maturity, all at once. His ambitions proved to be foolish, but his tone of voice was far different than what most were used to. Call it a tender moment though, and Fury would fly off the handle as the expression goes. Grinding his teeth, he was obviously angered by one factor. "This mask... I must get RID of it!" He shouted out, trying to keep his cool. "I'm so sick of this thing..." he trailed off, coming to a quiet before picking up once more. "So SICK of it!" His voice did not display sorrow, but an amusing temper only held by such an insane man. Maybe I should go back to Earth and train... yeah, I could kill off some humans and such; set them ablaze or something. Pouting, his sudden mood swings becoming obvious, Fury sighed. Then there's the Shinigami thing, whatever the hell that is. You know, I wonder... Hollows, such as myself... are we what priests claim to rid the world of? If that's the case, maybe I shouldn't worry; no priest will take me down. Maybe that's what this Shinigami thing is. Death God my a**! Smirking, he looked around, lifting himself off the ground as he did so. "What to do... what to do..." He pondered on the thought, speaking in part to his brother as well. "Do you have any ideas brother? Please guide me, I'm rather bored; how about you though?" Thinking longer on the subject, he came to one conclusion. "You know, I could always learn more techniques; something badass. I heard of something called a Cero, and that TOTALLY sounds like me." With a grin, he began to look toward the deeper ends of Hueco Mundo, wishing only to travel there and learn the Cero blast. "Yes, that's where I must travel... the DISTANCE!" It appeared as though that had become his catch phrase; not a very bright one, but something most would begin to recognize him by, if given that long to live, of course. He began to walk aimlessly toward that distance, in hopes to learn the maneuver he originally intended to learn.

Fury: ( Umi - 461 + 254 = 715 )
( Cashing All )

It was apparent that Vicious had zoned out, though to Fury nothing was different in the slightest. "So... I guess I'll run ahead then!" Of course, Fury was far slower than the older of the two, only knowing that his full force of strength would be enough to set him on his due course. Still, darting as quickly as he might, his path to a slightly deeper end of Hueco Mundo was a clear one. Heh heh, to learn this technique is to learn how to fight even better! The excitement alone made Fury giddy, though only to a small degree; it just wasn't manly to express such a thing.

Fury: ( Zanui - 76 / Umi - 5 / Total = 81 )
( Cashing 65 )
( Leftover: 16 )