Huge antlers grew from the snow-white mask. Long black curls draped over its head and shoulders, and pallid skin outlined a powerful, muscular frame. Its forearms and lower body were covered in brown fur, while its long tail was actually a white snake, hissing and flicking its tongue. Its legs bent backward, ending in deer hooves.
With a single swing of its hand, the nearly eight-meter-tall monster sent Chōjirō Sasakibe flying.
Rangiku Matsumoto swept her hand, sending ash toward the monster, but it had already vanished from sight.
"Watch out!"
Rangiku Matsumoto heard Momo Hinamori's warning, but her vision only grew blurrier.
Then came a burst of agony through her waist and abdomen.
Unable to stay in the air, she plummeted downward.
"Bakudō #37," Momo Hinamori followed right after her, grabbing Rangiku Matsumoto's sleeve with one hand while aiming the other at the buildings below. "Tsuriboshi!"
Reiatsu surged out, forming a thin membrane that branched like a spiderweb and clung to the surrounding buildings, catching Rangiku Matsumoto's body.
"Hang in there!" Momo Hinamori looked at Rangiku Matsumoto's mangled waist and abdomen. "I'll heal you right now..."
"Hah... hah..." Rangiku Matsumoto trembled, cold sweat covering her face.
Too fast.
In that instant, before she could even see it clearly, the monster's attack had struck her.
Momo Hinamori had just begun channeling Kaidō when the light around her dimmed.
The monster had silently closed in and raised its fist.
Momo Hinamori had only just lifted her Zanpakutō when her vision blurred. Tetsuzaemon Iba flew sideways past her, stark white bone shards tearing through the flesh of his arm and jutting into the open air.
Only after Tetsuzaemon Iba smashed into a high-rise did Momo Hinamori realize what had happened.
Before she could raise her Zanpakutō, the monster had already attacked. Tetsuzaemon Iba had stepped in front of her and been sent flying with a single blow.
Too... too strong...
The Zanpakutō in Momo Hinamori's hand trembled, but she forced it steady with a tight grip. "Fly..."
Before the fireball could leave the blade, a massive fist filled Momo Hinamori's entire field of vision. Then it suddenly jerked backward.
Black chains tightened around the monster's neck and arms, forcibly stopping its attack.
Shūhei Hisagi pulled the chains taut. "Kira, I'm leaving them to you."
"Bakudō #73," Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori worked together to move the badly injured Tetsuzaemon Iba and Rangiku Matsumoto. "Tōzanshō."
A tetrahedral barrier enveloped the four of them. Momo Hinamori treated Rangiku Matsumoto, while Izuru Kira extended both hands and channeled Kaidō to treat Tetsuzaemon Iba.
A broken arm, a lung pierced by a rib... Izuru Kira examined Tetsuzaemon Iba's condition, his brow furrowing with worry. He only hoped his skills had not gotten rusty...
"Huh?" Emilou stared at the two newly appeared Shinigami. "Who are they?"
"They're probably allies," Mila guessed. "The two who were guarding the pillars earlier."
"Tch! They just keep popping up like roaches, one after another..." Emilou shouted at the monster. "Ayon, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and get rid of them! Ayon!"
Ayon gave no response.
Emilou ground her teeth in irritation. "It's ignoring me..."
"Calm down, idiot," Mila complained helplessly. "How could Ayon possibly hear what we're saying?"
"It should have eardrums, right...?" Emilou did not sound sure herself. "It should, right?"
"I don't know." Sung-Sun hid her face behind her sleeve. "I've never seen it react to anything we say."
Ayon, the Quimera Parca, was a monster created from the left arms of Emilou, Mila, and Sung-Sun. It obeyed no one's commands and attacked only on the instinct to kill.
"Tch, I shouldn't have let it out," Emilou said in disgust. "Just looking at it makes me sick."
"Better than looking at your corpse." The white snake in Sung-Sun's sleeve flicked its tongue, constantly watching their surroundings and staying alert for Chōjirō Sasakibe, who had injured her earlier.
The old man's presence had vanished, but Sung-Sun did not dare lower her guard.
"Hadō #11," Shūhei Hisagi tightened his grip on the chains. "Tsuzuri Raiden!"
Yellow lightning raced along the chains and into Ayon's body. The enormous monster trembled and pitched forward.
Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa seized the chance, launching an attack from behind.
Crack, crack!
With the sound of bones snapping, Ayon twisted its head a full 180 degrees and locked onto the two attackers.
Its arm bent against the natural structure of its joints, swinging a fist backward and sending Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa flying together.
Shūhei Hisagi pulled on the chains, trying to control Ayon's movements, only to find that it had no effect at all.
Ayon swung one massive arm, and Shūhei Hisagi, still gripping Kazeshini, was instantly yanked from where he stood.
As his body flew uncontrollably toward Ayon, Shūhei Hisagi finally realized that he had never restrained Ayon at all. Ayon had simply been standing there in a daze and had paid him no attention.
Ayon swung its fist to meet Shūhei Hisagi's body head-on.
Boom!
A massive fist struck Ayon squarely in the head, knocking it backward and making it lose its grip on the chains.
Still shaken, Shūhei Hisagi looked to his side. "Captain Komamura!"
Sajin Komamura stepped forward. "I will deal with it."
Shūhei Hisagi tightened his grip on Kazeshini. "I can still fight!"
"But this is not the only opponent you wish to fight, is it?" Sajin Komamura reminded him. He knew Shūhei Hisagi wanted to fight Kaname Tōsen, because he felt the same way.
That was why Sajin Komamura had been standing with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto beside the wall of flame, guarding against any movement from the three people within.
But the battle here had suddenly changed, and Sajin Komamura would naturally not stand by and watch.
"Is that... a dog?" Emilou stared at Sajin Komamura in astonishment. "They have pets that strong too?"
"Look at the Haori," Mila reminded her. "That's obviously a Captain."
"Don't blame her," Sung-Sun said, her gaze sweeping from side to side. "For Emilou, being able to tell that the opponent is a dog is already impressive."
"What do you take me for?" Emilou roared. "How could I miss a dog head that huge?"
Ayon slapped its own head. Beneath its mask, a huge mouth suddenly opened, releasing a terrifying roar. Then it swung its fist hard, smashing it toward Sajin Komamura in front of it.
"I..." Sajin Komamura raised both arms and took Ayon's fist head-on. Then he twisted his body and threw it straight to the ground. "Am a werewolf."
"Roar!!" Ayon roared in fury. Enormous eyes opened on both sides of its mask, and light gathered in front of it.
A blinding red beam shot toward Sajin Komamura, only to crash into a massive blade and scatter into nothing.
Sajin Komamura swung his Zanpakutō. "Roar, Tenken!"