Raziel Ketz was a lot of different things. Of course he was one thing in particular. An admirer of true beauty. This room was an abomination, created to house in the disgusting sound of others. It was a manner of making the Espada feel what? Sheltered? Housed? Perhaps even watched? It was pathetic. Like that horribly bright sky outside the walls of the circular hall, this room stood as a reminder of how they no longer were purveyors of beauty and bliss... But the servants of a man who sought to remove such a thing.

He was just another power hungering monster that so called "God". He was jealous, envious of how his fellow Shinigami had worshiped another... And merely sought to place himself in that throne. That was his goal. To take the seat that all others would look too. And the sheer inaction by the two of the upper ranked Espada as they were attacked was testament to such. Hollow were instinctual creatures. They fed because they hungered, but this... The Segunda and the Tercera were nothing but lapdogs.

The crimson red of his cero was a vision that Raziel truly enjoyed. Sure the sound disrupted that beautiful silence, but it was a sight to behold the simple power of such a skill. How it thundered along destroying everything... Purifying it all until it met it's own righteous doom upon a stronger surface... How even then it was left in the wake of a beautiful euphoric scene of dismay. It was safe to assume, and even to admit... Raziel Ketz, The Reaper... Loved his cero.

When the woman who was labeled as the 'second' strongest of their kind refused to avoid such beauty... Raziel only credited such an action to her benefit. The quick thinking on her part bringing that bala of course scratched any respect that had dared attempt to work itself out for her. She'd overestimated herself. Using such an underpowered technique as if it could really derail something as pure and genuine as the cero. His gaze never trailed, those red orbs of malice refusing to leave his target. It was when the reiatsu of his opponent flared that the creatures pale shadowed tiers, illuminated by the shine of his cero, twitched into what some could pretend was a form of smile.

It was genius, she'd used her bala in the hopes it'd stop, only to find it had even fractionally slowed it down... Then to use her own energy as a conduit to pass it around her. That point that he'd scratched from her record was again given. As the beautiful blast of crimson hate spiraled out of control due to it's derailing those thrones met it. Though one lay in rubble the other soon followed along with the entire back wall that it had tried to shield. Raziel Ketz had accomplished his minor 'goal'. Both of thrones of Las Noches... Had been completely destroyed.

Raziel Ketz had a knack for removing the stain on existence that was his opponents. And while that small truth may have normally been so, the Segunda would not feel such a release today. At the very least she'd earned the right to a more structured end. Respect, however slight had granted her such a right.

"Perfect." That voice came across again in the same distorted fashion as his unyielding gaze traveled from the mess in the hall to the woman who'd found herself tossed aside.

His perfectly straight posture and stance marred by the false image his mask left. That hood creating an illusion he was slouching, as if he were even capable of slacking off... Perhaps now the Primera would grow angered, maybe she'd show her angst... Perhaps even give way to her instinct. Regardless Raziel wasn't going to make another first move, he'd already shown his strength. He wasn't so dumb as to take it a step further without proper reason. Still with another fight raging on so close by... At least there would be little in the way of analyzable this day...

"Do you see it yet?" He questioned in that still rather quieted tone of voice. The raspy vocal chords finally starting to correct as his words became more smoothly sounded out. Still holding that trademark edge that only aided the simple task his eyes had. To show what he was... To show who he was. And the question directed at just one of the others in the room. A question he hoped would either sway the decisions she'd settled on... Or provoke her to something more drastic.

The creature known as Raziel Ketz would come out on top. It only remained to be seen in what way.

The sounds of the other battles was exhilarating, but was even more so was the fact that everything seemed to be moving in such perfect harmony, even within the chaos of battle. So, what few had told him was true. There was perfection within chaos, and it was pure in its form, untainted by the hands of any, and untwisted. It kinda sounded like something the Raziel would say, but now it made sense to Mortifero.

Sluggish and slow, that's how he saw Alita's movement, but imagine his surprise when his arm hit only air. The attack would have ended the fight right there, knocking her to the ground, and keeping her that, but instead she had evaded it. Though, Mortifero blamed himself for that small miscalculation. He had forgotten who it was he was fighting against, so he had to change it up a bit.

Instinct. It was truly one of the only ways to combat this Arrancar, but to do so, Mortifero would risk losing himself in the insanity that his instincts brought, but, he would have to risk it. If things turned south, he knew he could count on Sara or Garnet to snap him out of his trance. Closing his eyes, Mortifero breathed in deeply, letting it out at a decent pace as it felt like time began to slow. Then he felt it, the switch flip and the spark of madness ignite. Eyes opening, with a new shine to them. A twisted grin spread onto his face as he began moving into action.

Bringing his knee up sharply, striking Alita's arm, rendering her jab completely useless. Taking no time to calculate his next move, Mortifero leaps up, tucking his legs. The swinging club just barely missing. Straightening his legs, the Arrancar stomps down on the Zanpakuto, forcing the base to crash into the ground, and yet not knock it out of Alita's hands, if that was possible to begin with. This put him on the higher ground, quite literally, but Mortifero couldn't pause for thought, he had to keep moving, he had to fight with instinct. Taking the foot, furthest back on the club, he swings it forward, aiming to smash in Alita's face.

OOC: Sorry for this lengthy yet crappy post. You wont believe the kind of computer I'm working on. (The fact that it doesn't support cookies and thus I cant log in should be a testament to this.) Also I had ro tyoe fast as this kiosk charges an insane amount of money. I just couldn't bear to have this thread stuck because of me.

As Taro lay beneath the rubble, contemplating what had occurred; she could here and feel the battle that was raging above her. However, she was least concerned about the fact that she could now feel two foreign signatures of reiatsu – little did she know these were the spiritual energies of the Quatro and the Sexta respectively. And of this, she had little concern. The most alarming agenda was that of the Octava Espada. From the very force of the cero, Taro knew that he held power that far outclassed an espada of his own rank – or perhaps a good number of ranks preceding it. Taro thoughts too echoed the same concerns as Sara – how could Aizen have made such a mistake when assigning the position of espada to Raziel?

No. What was happening here bordered on the impossible. By all means, a fight between the Segunda and the Octava couldn’t even be called a fight – it was more of a slaughter on the Segunda’s part. However, the cero fired by Raziel had had enough power to both decimate her bala and violently push her with enough force to have disintegrated the otherwise sturdy walls behind her. As things stood, the ranks of the espada threatened to collapse, falling into chaos, destroying the chain of command in the stronghold of Las Noches. This would all but annihilate Aizen’s blade against the forces of Jinchuu, leaving the arrancar a crippled fighting force.

More importantly, it meant that her world was being threatened. Threatened by a force of malice within her own ranks – Raziel Ketz. The mere thought of it set Taro’s heart racing with excitement and anger. Octava or not, Raziel was as an insect before the power of the Segunda – and Taro would see to it that this threat to what she held precious was wiped off the face of existence.

Under the rubble of the gigantic wall segment two eyes fluttered open. The Segunda had begun to stir. Unfocused in the darkness, one azure and one ghostly white eye stared off into infinity. Breathing. It became more focused – more intense. A warrior steeled herself for battle. Though her opponent should not last long against her prowess, he had already defied the boundaries of possibility: nothing could be taken for granted. At that point, Taro finally released the barriers she had constructed around her own reiatsu. Being the Segunda, her reiatsu was naturally expected to be far beyond the rest – but the truth was that Taro’s reiatsu was, as of yet, the largest in existence. Curtailing her reiatsu to about a third of its real strength was the only real way of ensuring arrancar as well as humans around her did not die of suffocation or the like.

The sudden release of reiatsu was in fact, so violent that it could be perceived by beings around her with both the sixth sense – and hearing. A shrill sound, as if that of a muffled whistle was clearly audible around the Central chamber. If there happened to be any lesser arrancar unlucky enough to have stumbled anywhere close to the chambers, by now, they would have found themselves thrashing on the cold marble floor of Las Noches – gasping for breath as life slowly left them. Naturally, even the espada themselves were not completely immune to its symptoms. Taro herself felt a tightening of her chest before the mild pain subsided. As spiritual energy practically oozed out of he Segunda’s body, Taro lifted a single arm against the crushing weight of the stone fragments that pinned her to the ground.

*Rumble* A deep thunderous rumbling sound announced the return of the Segunda into the ensuing battle. A large segment of concrete of gargantuan proportions was lifted cleanly of the ground, as if it were a mere plaything. Sand and dust that had originally composed the wall and what matter of things that held it together now cascaded onto the floor creating a misty curtain of brown and grey. Sounds of settling dust and gravel soon faded and all that remained out of its place was the enormous boulder. Beneath it, the Segunda stared at her opponent, her face now clearly contorted with anger, holding up the giant weight with a single hand.

And suddenly, Taro released her hand that held the rock above her ridding herself of the burden of carrying it so. However, the stone now threatened to crush her once again. Flash. A flash of cold steel and the distinct sound of a blade at work was followed by the roar of the huge stone as it crashed down to earth – split cleanly in half. The two fragments of the boulder now rested on either side of the Segunda. To an untrained eye what had transpired was akin to magic – the boulder had appeared it simply have split into two of its own accord. However, to those strong enough, the glint of metal in that instant when the rock was divided would be enough to hint at what had occurred.

Many of the espada here seemed to have one drawback or the other that hindered them from ascending to the throne of those above them. Some lacked a tactical mind, yet others lacked speed or power. Taro however lacked none. She was the fastest, she was the greatest in terms of reiatsu – and yet she had had no cravings for power as it were. The position of the Primera was too aloft and burdened with responsibility, that of the Segunda however, had much the same influence, without a fraction of the tasks borne by the Primera, which was why Taro was quite content with where she was. Not that Sara wasn’t a powerful being in her own right - it was just that she had chosen responsibility while Taro shunned it.

Taro wasn’t chagrined in the least by the fact that Raziel Ketz had attacked her – everyone had a right to dreams. She wasn’t angered that Raziel had the power to challenge hers either – for a being more powerful than her to exist was only natural. Taro was angry because of the way in which Raziel chose to use his abilities. That he cherished destruction and mayhem was no secret – for him, the ecstasy of demolition and ruin was blinding, Taro knew of this. And yet, until a few moments prior, all of this had been inconsequential. A weakling with a tendency for destruction was no real threat, for he could be leashed and brought to submission. However, a few moments prior, Raziel Ketz had proved to the world that he was beyond the reigns of his direct superiors - and that the Segunda had allowed for such a being to exist in her own ranks, oblivious to the threat he posed to the order of the world – was what irked Taro.

Small particles of dust and gravel slowly twirled around the feet of the Segunda. Clearly visible against the white backdrop of her exquisite laced boots, the particles looked akin to a slowly revolving tornado on the floor. The unnatural movement on part of the dust was due to the thick current of reiatsu about her. Though an ethereal substance, reiatsu did in fact attract matter towards itself – if it was concentrated enough.

Taro put a purposeful grip on the katana secured to her waist. Raziel had left her with little other choice than to fight. And if such was the case, then Taro wished to do so outside the Central chambers. But if fate demanded that the Central chamber be a sacrifice for ensuring the integrity of her world, then she had no qualms about fighting where they stood. A single eye looking at the Octava narrowed in contempt at what it saw.

“Insolence is intolerable Octava espada. That you endanger my world and what I hold dear means that your life is now forfeit. Expect no mercy, for you shall have none.”

(OOC: Your neighborhood Roleplay mod here,

The current posting order is (And should remain!)

Saito --- It is currently this members post please wait on him.
Sara
Taro
Dragon
Alita
Mortifero

If you have any concerns bring it up with me in PM, if you don't like where I put you... Well too bad )

There was force behind Kukusho's challenge, which vibrated throughout the connected blades, travelling up Sara's left arm, though she formed no expression or made any movements that hinted towards dislike or discomfort.
Her pale blue hues remained locked with the Cuatro Espada's only visible golden iris, as cold as chips of ice, staring him down. Though, she knew without any words being said, that her opponent would ignore her silent demand, her brief warning.
His nature, his gnawing blood-thirsty aura, was very similar to Raziel Ketz and Alita Vinci's.
He would not back down from a fight, not even with Los Noches' Primera.

The pressure that the Primera felt pushing against her blade increased for a brief moment as Kukusho used their connected swords to push himself backwards, effectively placing distance between them.
This short moment was ideal for Sara to glance around her, to make note at just how badly the violence had gotten and whether or not Los Noches would still be standing within a minute or two from then. However, she did not risk her attention wandering in that moment, aware that though Kukusho was of a rank lower than hers, he was brash and ambitious.
A troublesome combination.
As such, Sara continued to stare her opponent down, her shoulders tense and her sword never wavering in the slightest. Dimly, though she was determined not to allow her mind or senses to become distracted, she could sense Raziel taking his leave.

One less problem that she needed to deal with.
At least for now.

As Kukusho's words vibrated within her ears, pale eyebrows narrowed behind heavy bangs and plump pale lips pursed tightly, an angry sound vibrating within Sara's throat.

"Don't speak of Aizen-sama so disrespectfully,"

she glared.

"I won't tolerate it."

With that said, the Primera lowered her jian, allowing it to rest at her side, its sharp green-tinged blade directed down at the pale floor at her feet, which was greatly damaged from the past few minutes' conflicts.
A heavy sigh was issued from her tightly drawn lips as a tired expression formed itself on her facial features, wordlessly she drew her right arm around her chest, resting just under her curvaceous chest.

"I really couldn't care less as to why you've chosen to raise your sword against me, Cuatro. Let me guess - you desire my position?"

The tiredness faded quite suddenly and the frosted quality that radiated from Sara's pale hues intensified. The way that she glanced down at her fellow Espada was one of boredom, of disdain.

"If you wish to be the Primera so badly then take it up with Aizen-sama, for, like you said, it is he who gave us our numbers."

This Arrancar was so stubborn and stupid. Mortifero had hoped that using just a little more power then Alita had would have been enough to discourage her from this fight, but he was wrong after all. She was to fixed on the idea of violence that she could not see that this battle would end with her losing, and perhaps more then just her pride. This was all so unnecessary, but now Mortifero decided to be serious about the whole thing. Alita needed to be taught her place in this world, and who was more fit for that then himself.

Mortifero slowly drifted down towards the floor, hands at his sides and his face expressionless. His coat gently waved as the air slowly moved by it until he landed. "You're much weaker then I thought," Mortifero said coldly as he reached up and grabbed the brim of his hat, pulling it down slightly, "And I've grown tired with you. Come at me with all you've got." This would end quickly. Alita had no strategy, no plan. All she knew how to do was strike without thought, this was her biggest weakness. She could not plan ahead and so, her attacks were useless against the Tercera, as long as she did not have a changeable plan in mind.

Reiatsu began to flare off of the Arrancar's body as he released some of his restrained power. The light of dark blue seemed to cast over everything as it shine from Mortifero's body. Garnet and Sarah both would understand what he was doing. Now that he was taking the battle seriously, he would simply bring his opponent down quickly and calmly with a series of quick and calculated counter-attacks. This was his way after all, analyze until there was nothing left to see.