Remnants of vengeance (Open)

A week had passed since the great massacre had occurred right at the city N.I.U.S was now inside, the city which the hollow machine had led a massive construct of war in a rampage against the humans that lived here, a slaughter that had allowed N.I.U.S to feast on the massive amount of souls that fell granted it the first step in its revenge against humanity. Not much had been done in the matter of reconstruction, they hadn't even managed to clean up all the blood, a process further delayed by people still going through the bodies, searching for relatives and friends in the carnage. A fitting reward for such pathetic animals, the weakness of their fleshy forms revealed for all to see in the haze of blood and gore that went through this entire section of the city, littered not only with human bodies but the wreckages of the vehicles that fell here and even remains of the machine N.I.U.S had used was still here, proving how difficult it was to properly clean this up for the humans even with the considerations of such a large secret being revealed in such a horrid fashion. This of course was good news for N.I.U.S as it was here for the sole purpose of recovering salvage of this glorious machine, with the plan in mind to reconstruct it and begin the creation of even more after that, this was after all only the first act of revenge it would claim against the pathetic sacks of flesh that would call themselves its master.

There were only certain specific pieces that it required of course, parts that it could not copy without proper samples for the original at hand and the site that it had originally recovered the machine from had cleared all blueprints regarding the machine before N.I.U.S had even been there. As it started its search it was fully aware however that it needed to remain cautious, despite the fact that the majority of the souls that had been released here had been rescued by the shinigami there still remained a significant lot of them and with this came also that this remained a hotbed for hollow activity as the rewards this place held were still more then enough to warrant the monsters attention. This in itself was no issue, as long as N.I.U.S did not interfere in their hunting it did not imagine it would receive much ire from them but the fact that they were here meant that shinigami would still be patrolling. Of course it was not afraid of shinigami interfering for any reason related to being beaten, it was simply not interested in receiving too much attention being drawn to what it was doing here. Unfortunately it was not able to come far in its search before already it could feel a presence nearby, and it was approaching.

"This place looks like a war-zone." It was a war-zone Arawn mentally corrected himself. The aftermath of the robotic rampage was far from a pretty site. The work the humans were doing was mirrored by the shinigami. The number of deaths increased the spirits in the area. That in turn caused more hollows to appear. Right now they were working to slay the hollows and ferry the wayward souls away. Before sending them all along to Soul Society they quested each soul carefully. They had responded too slow to the attack more information was needed. So far most had seen the same thing; a machine run amok mowing down the people and destroying the city. Still there was no mistaking the spiritual presence as the first shinigami arrived on the scene. There was the taint of hollow all over this incident. Unfortunately there was little work with. No one had seen the creature. Still from what information he could piece together Arawn had his suspicions. Truth be told he had already acted on such suspicions. The information was taking awhile to process. He groaned as he sifted through rubble. The humans were still toiling in another area, so part of the shinigami worked in another second in the meantime. They could go where the humans couldn't and seek out lost souls. As a member of the 12th squad Arawn's task was to study the machine that had caused the destruction. There were humans all around the massive walker tank. He and the rest of the squad worked invisible beside the human scientist as they tried to figure what went wrong. They already knew it had been hacked, but it wasn't a conventional hacking. It was almost like it had physically been rewired and altered. The more they dug the more questions that arose.

Scanning the area N.I.U.S was able to locate from where the source came and it would seem in its very rushed need to search through all the wreckage it had missed the fact that among the humans that were already investigating the broken machine there were others behind, shinigami. It was fortunate it had been careful enough to keep its presence hidden as it was so close to the group, the heap of metal having done a good job to visually hide its presence not that it seemed like the focused scientists would have looked up enough to see it in the first place. Now came those important decisions, N.I.U.S still needed to reclaim the technology locked within the machine but it could not safely work with the shinigami so close by, something needed to be done about it.

Formulating a way to deal with it was not too hard, it knew that it could not simply charge in with so many already here at the site and all the others that were scattered all over the place to free the souls all over. First of all N.I.U.S had to find a shinigami distant enough from the rest for it to safely be able to attack without the entire patrol being able to react to it. To this end it began to prowl away from the wreckage, trying its best to remain undetected while heading for the outskirts of the area.

In a spot not far from the wrecked battle tank sat several figures in white lab coats. The had set up tables and chairs in a horseshoe pattern as they lined the tables with computers. Eight men total sat at the devices. They had placed an "That's odd" One of the men watching the portable terminals said. Arawn was too busy with his own to look up, but someone asked the question floating in his mind
"What's odd?" asked another member of the Research department. He got up to peer over the other man's shoulder.
"It's very strange, but I'm getting a very low signal just now." he began tapping madly at the keyboard. "It's really faint, can't get a clear fix."
"Then it might be an error." the other man countered.
"It's not an error, I checked the machine myself." he replied in a huff.
"Then you did something wrong." the second man continued. "You should recalibrate it."
"I DID NOTHING WRONG! It's perfect!" The man stood up shouting. In the 12th division being told you're wrong was almost akin to a slap in the face. Such petty creatures those with large intelligence. Arawn had had enough and stood up now.

"Would you please get back to work!?" he said turning to the man that had questioned the first. The man nodded and quickly returned to his spot. Arawn wasn't the smartest member present nor was the the highest rank, but he was the only one with a sword. While the patrolling members of 13th squad were gone, he was the only thing that stood between the wandering hollows and their soft flesh. Not like he would neglect protecting them in this kind of situation, but it gave him quite a bit of authority. For most present this was one of the first time out of the labs. Arawn's minute experience garnered some form of respect from them. Something he really didn't want.
"So what did you find?" he asked of the man as he too returned to his seat.
"Ah, yes." the man said. "It's a very faint reading." The man pointed at the screen as the radars they had installed barely saw the motion of the faint signal. Arawn scratched his head. The man was angered when he was told that the system might be faulty, and he was inclined to agree. But it was moving, that was mighty suspicious. He rubbed his chin and reached for his phone. Gazing at the map he recognized the nearest group. With a button press, the walkie-talkie function was activated.
"Delta Group, be advised we are picking up a strange signal moving to your location." he spoke. The man at the terminal grinned and turned to the other scientist that had questioned him. The man had heard Arawn's comment and turned around. He rolled his eyes at the other man's beaming face.

Delta Group

"Delta Group, be advised we are picking up a strange signal moving to your location." came Arawn's voice over the phone of the young man. He looked at the other three people in his squad as they picked through the rubble searching for clues to what had happened. He pressed the button on his phone and quickly replied. "Understood." Two of the members of the group stopped nodded their acknowledgment. The announcement had been loud enough for them to hear from where they stood only a few feet away. The third member kept digging his bald head glistening in the sun.
"I almost wish something would happen, this is boring as hell." he muttered.

From what it could tell its passage had remained unnoticed by the shinigami and this was good considering it had finally found a proper target, a group of four shinigami busy digging their way through the surrounding rubble. At first it thought it could sneak up on them while they were busy but something made one of them rise, seems he was talking to someone followed by two of the others rising and nodding to him, as if acknowledging something. While it was possible it was just orders being sent and received from whatever command structure they had in this disaster area it seemed more likely that it had in fact been detected, not a very satisfying discovery on N.I.U.S' part but fortunate that it learnt it before attacking too hastily.

Stalking as stealthily as it could, N.I.U.S approached the group aiming for a weakness in their defences in order to properly attack and possibly pick them off individually. Now the apparent leader of the group was a nuisance in the way of this plan considering if he caught on to it it would appear that he could call for reinforcements which could severely complicate things but if it was able to rid of them quickly enough that could be dealt with easily enough. Skulking through the rubble N.I.U.S eventually came to the realization that it could not go any closer without attracting attention, to solve this it decided that perhaps it would be better to lure them in. To do this, N.I.U.S swoop its tail along a pile of rubble, causing it to fall and causing a loud banging noise.

Slowly the group of four got back to work at moving the rubble. There had to be some clues to what happened. It was convenient that shinigami were strong enough to move such large rocks with ease. Even at their weakest such things were a simple matter. But even that strength had it's limits. They were about to work together to the twisted metal of a tanker truck out of the way when the loud noise sounded. All four heads shot up and looked around. The debris was almost settled around them, but it was possible it was just something falling after all this time. Still the warning rung loudly in their minds. Each reached out with their senses trying to detect if anything spiritual in nature was indeed the reason for the sound. They then turned to the leader. The man that had spoken on the radio looked at each person in turn then nodded. He raised his hand and pointed to the man on the left, and then pointed right of the direction the noise had come from. A silent command for You go right He pointed to man in the middle and then tapped his shoulder Stay with me. To the last member he pointed left. Each of them nodded in turn and moved as they were instructed. They weren't about to ignore the warning given. While the area had be cleared of most hollows more might come while they searched. Such a strange signal might be just a small hollow. But shinigami had come not underestimate a hollow's size. Even the tiniest of hollow could be quite dangerous. The four abandoned their dig site and moved stealthily towards the source of the sound. One came from the left, the second from the right. From the center came the leader and the fourth member behind. They were all spaced a good 15ft apart. Within sight and within earshot. The left and right flank had drawn their weapons the leader had his hand resting on the blade's handle. The at the rear had half drawn his zanpukto.

It was unable to detect if its attempt to draw the attention of the shinigami had succeeded but it knew that it either had to take a proper location for an ambush against them if they were to walk there or it had to skulk around and go for a flanking maneuver. The latter was more risky in the actual relocation but more secure when it came to the execution of the attack as it hardly was the most obscure thing and its body far too large to effectively ambush someone with the current circumstances. Deciding that the latter alternative held the most promise, given that any attempt at nestling in for a more hidden location among the rubble would cause far too much commotion for it to actually remain effectively sneaky and so it began its flanking move around the group.

Skulking through the shattered and spread out pieces of concrete and steal and remaining quiet was rather difficult, the metallic form having to remain incredibly close to the ground to ensure that the metal only rubbed against the surrounding materials rather then bumping into them. Even worse, N.I.U.S was forced to fill its maw with pieces of the concrete too large for it to simply move over. Even with these precautions it was still unable to get rid of all sound, and it was up to the shinigami's ability to perceive their surroundings as to whether it would be detected or not.

The man in the middle held up his hand and everyone stopped moving. The shinigami drew his weapon free of the sheath and then pointed forward. With a nod two men moved forward at the same time. The arrived at either sides of the rock that Nius had just dropped. There was nothing else for the men to see so they retreated and looked at their leader
"Got nothing, Chief." The man on the right said sheathing his weapon."Probably just the rubble settling."
"But then what's with that weird signal those 12th guys detected?" the man on the left replied. "Something is out here."
"I don't know, maybe the machine is on the blink." he said scratching his head.
"Would both of you shut up?" The leader spoke up. The two men quieted as he heard a faint sound under the two mens' silly argument. "Toni, give us an aerial view. " He spoke to the man at his rear. With a nod the fourth man squatted. There was a small explosion as he kicked off from the ground and launched himself skyward. He hadn't gone far when he stopped himself. He stood on the air several feet up. From above he looked down upon the landscape. At first he saw nothing, but then the sunlight caught the shell of the metallic hollow. He looked harder, there was definitely some motion.
"9 o clock!!!" he shouted downward to he waiting troop. The two men spun around, the creature had somehow gotten behind him. The leader rushed forward as Toni dropped from the sky.

It would seem its maneuver had not gone unnoticed, even though it had managed to make its way around the group it had been caught right then where it would have received the fruit of its efforts. But of course one can't expect complete success all the time even if it is preferable. Believing that one could achieve this would be a grave mistake and a gross miscalculation of ones abilities and those of ones enemies and such a fallacy was not something N.I.U.S could ever accept from itself. There was of course no time for it to consider the implications of making mistakes for the rest of the day as there were two shinigami heading towards it and despite its incredible ability to process thoughts there had to be a focus on dealing with that situation.

One from above and the other from the front, an interesting choice of strategy as the one above made himself a perfect target for a ranged attack while the one charging was easily counterable given that there is little room for variances in approach from such an attack. Quickly springing into action N.I.U.S snapped its tail, first releasing a bolt of electricity towards the airborne shinigami while continuing the tails movements to slam the leader with the heavy metal barrel that was its tail.

As Toni dove in the air, a sudden burst of electricity rose to meet him. The rapid speed of his descent made dodging almost impossible. He gave a yell as the lightning his body. Everything seemed to go numb when the energy hit him. The shock caused him to spasm and twitch in the air, then his still smoking body dropped like a stone the remainder of his trip back to the ground. While the leader did want to rush to check on him, he was otherwise occupied. He had watched the bolt fly up and strike the shinigami under his care, but things weren't going to end there. The metal snake saw fit to strike out at him next. He didn't have time to complete pull his blade up as the metal tail whipped at him. His zanpukto managed to cushion the hit, but did nothing to block the power behind it. The man was knocked off his feet by the strike and as it sent him tumbling backwards. After a short flight he smashed into the remains of a wall not far from where they were fighting. A cloud of smoke showed the path he had traveled before the jarring impact. He coughed and stood up quickly. He wasn't about to let himself be taking out that easily. Pain was he reward for the sudden movement. Still he managed to regain his footing and rushed back into the fray.

The other two men weren't ones to need orders when there was a target right before them. The first man held forth his hand and chanted while the second with blade drawn rushed forward.
"Hado #3: Crimson Strike!" A burst of red energy fired past the rushing shinigami to hit Nius in the neck right below his head. The second shinigami used that as a marker and leaped to strike in the very same spot. Swiftly he ran up and with a short leap brought his weapon down. The first shinigami was already chanting his second spell as he too rushed forth with his sword in hand.

While it managed to deal with the first assault from the two shinigami in a relatively easy manner, one left still on the ground and the other sent hurling into a wall, this was still only half the enemy force and the other two quickly made their presence felt. As it was already occupied with the first two N.I.U.S was left unable to dodge the spell that had been flung towards it and the blast of energy smashed into a piece of the joint that made up its neck. While this attack on its own wasn't something that would ever be able to end its life it still served a role as it had melted part of the metalwork, causing it to be harder for it to directly twist its head. Fortunately for N.I.U.S and unfortunately for the shinigami it could still twist its head using its "spine" even if the neck was incapacitated and using this it was able to respond in time to the other reapers attack.

The man had made a similar mistake to the one now lying charring on the floor but to a less severe extent as this one only made a very short leap, not enough for the serpent to take advantage. But despite this lack of a direct avoidance of having to deal with the shinigami altogether there was still ample opportunity left for it to at the very least make him stop dead in his tracks. As the sword came down straight towards the hollow, now having turned its head to face him directly, the jaws of N.I.U.S opened and let the sword pass between them right before they clamped down shut once more and trapping the blade between them. Knowing that it could only hold him there for so long N.I.U.S quickly acted, twisting its tail again and on the way towards the direction it wanted it to be, it released electricity towards the spellcasting shinigami in the back right before it had fully been turned, the spear-like tip of its mighty tail directed at the held reaper's side and then lunging it towards him and intending to impale him straight through.

As the first shinigami was captured the second wondered how to help his comrade from his current plight. He had just finished weaving his spell when the creature's tail came swinging about. The shinigami had seen the electric energy it had used to down Toni and was wary of it's movement. Sure enough lightning danced from it straight at him. It was a good thing he had kept an eye on it. He jumped sideways to avoid the burst of energy and tucked his body into a small roll. Unfortunately, his concentration broken his spell was lost. He didn't have time to think up another complex as the monster now turned it's sights on the closer pray. Bouncing to his feet ge launched the first spell that came to mind
"Hado #5: Kakyuu!" a ball of fire shot from his out stretched hand and slammed into the creature's underbelly. "Let go of him you bastard!"

At the same time the man held onto his sword for dear life. He didn't get a chance to see the monster use it's tail to fire upon his partner, nor the impending stab with it's tail. Thankfully the leader of the small group did. The distance between him and monster shrank as the man shunpo'd right as the spike came close to gutting him like a fish. His weapon fully drawn he strained to keep the tail at bay with both hands on the weapon's hilt.
"Get back quickly he shouted at the other shinigami. With a sharp jerk he twisted back and freed his hand from the trapped weapon. He ran quickly to join the other man. The leader flash stepped again appearing right next to them. He quickly took stock of the situation; three versus one. Even unarmed the other shinigami had skill to contribute to the fight. "We have to hurry, after this we need to check on Toni." he said between clenched teeth. The unarmed man nodded and reached for the ground. Grabbing his hands around a broken refrigerator he grunted and hefted it over his head. He flashed a grin.
"Ready to when you are Chief!" he said. That was the signal and they moved. The third shinigami went right and the leader went left. From the middle the man threw the refrigerator at the hollow head.
"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo #10: Hōrin" shouted the man on the left as the golden tendril shot out and tried to grab Nius' body above the tail. The leader rushed the head on, his blade flashing in the light as he moved to attack. The creature would have to dodge or parry the long range attacks while he moved closer. The first two would be easy, his attack would depend on how it reacted. He charged forward ready for anything.

Things were certainly not going as it had hoped, as the attack to its belly quickly came to serve as a means to hamper the strength and speed of its attempt to spear the shinigami at its front but it was still looking to come to fruition up until the third one stepped in the way, very unfortunate. It seemed perhaps that the initial success had been more due to the element of surprise then any other factor as now when they were aware of its abilities they certainly could better react to its attacks. Certainly a troubling situation as it definitely served to make matters more difficult then they needed to be, but still very much salvageable. It knew however that for the moment they held the upper hand as they had managed to back away and prepare for their next assault and so there was little it could do but prepare itself as well.

There was little time between their short retreat and them pressing the assault once more however as the refrigerator came flying towards it, an easy thing to deal with however as it simply opened its jaws wide and crushed the paltry device between the metal vice grip, the shredder like teeth grinding it to pieces, letting the parts sticking out fall to the ground to relieve some of the weight. This proved quite necessary as the next attack came, the golden tendril of the reaper magic slithering out towards it, another unknown to the increasingly growing arsenal of abilities at the disposal of the death gods. While N.I.U.S attempted to avoid the incoming spell it seemed that it was able to be directed by the caster as it moved in reaction to the serpent's movements and grabbing onto its body, but N.I.U.S was not about to let this stand in its way, its entire body twisting and smashing around itself erratically, both to try and tear itself away from the spell and to keep any incoming attacker at bay.

Although his kido had been successful once the hollow began to thrash about he realized the flaw in his plan. There was the obvious difference in size, but also the difference in strength. The monster was too strong for him to hold alone. As it began to jerk it's body the shining rope became a liability. In an instant he was yanked from the ground and tossed into the air. When the monster spun it sent him flying towards the ground. He impact stunned him silly and the monster continued it's wild motions. Again he was pulled into the air, and once again he was sent hurtling towards the ground. Still reeling from the initial hit he barely had the state of mind to release the spell, but it didn't stop him from crashing into the ground once more. He tried his best to shield his face as he skid across the ruined earth, rolled, and then tumbled for several feet until he slid to a stop. His uniform was in shreds and his skin was no better. Blood ran freely from the various cuts he'd suffered. It was painful to breath for the man, the first slam into the ground had cracked some ribs. The best he could do was sit up and wave to show his companions he was alright. His head began to spin from the effort it took to for the simple motion. After he gave the small wave he knocked out.
The leader of the group jumped away as the monster started to wiggle about. He could only stand helpless as he squadmate was tossed to and fro. As the man crashed into the ground the first time, he cringed. The third man stood stunned to see his friend taken out so quickly.
The leader gave a primal yell and his reiatsu skyrocketed. "Hado #20: Arashi-Tomoshibi!" From his hand 10 orbs of shining light rose and began to encircle him. In his other hand he clutched his zanpukto so tightly his knuckles were white. He rushed at the metal snake once again as three of the orbs flew directly at the monster's head.


Back at the terminals

By now they were aware that the small group was under attack as two signals had vanished. The strange signal they had picked up earlier was now more easily detected. The strangeness aside there was no doubt it was a hollow. The problem was there wasn't a group close enough to render aid. After the more recent signal vanishing Arawn stood up in frustration. Everyone had their hands full, he couldn't sit down and do nothing.
"Send a unit to their location as soon as possible." he muttered as he took off his lab coat and secured his zanpukto at his hip."I'll going on ahead." he said the white coat fell to the ground.
"What about us!?" one of the lab techs asked in a quivering voice. "What will we do if a hollow come here?"
Arawn didn't respond as he'd already shunpo'd in the direction of the fighting shinigami and the metallic hollow. Even though he had abandoned the others they were relatively safe. The other groups were keeping perimeter of sorts. Grouped as they were it was doubtful a hollow would think to attack them all at once.

It seemed its approach worked perfectly as there was little time between the beginning of its violent thrashing and the sound of the shinigami hitting the dirt, N.I.U.S managing to damage the reaper enough to take him out of the fight before he was able to remove the bond connecting them. There was little time to plan out the next phase of combat however as it's actions had obviously drawn out the anger of the leader of the group, his power reaching its assumed peak as he cast another spell, one that N.I.U.S had encountered in the past and thus knew the danger of. Three of them released, followed by the reaper's charge, not an ideal situation, that was for certain.

From its earlier experience it knew it had to deal with the reaper quickly, it could not afford taking any chances with the full brunt of that spell at risk and so planned out its counter accordingly. First it released another shock, the ball of electricity going for one of the released orbs to take it out and then following this it rose its head high, to make the remaining ones hit its less damaged "chest", as well as to lead the shinigami's attack, assuming he went for the head, to a more favorable position as it prepared for the incoming blade. Lastly, it moved its tail to intercept the reaper's attack: hoping to catch him unaware by striking from the side as he came in.

The rushing shinigami watched as the 3 orbs missed the creature's head. The metallic hollow released a burst of energy to intercept the kido before it had a chance reach him. Electricity arched forward and struck down one of the trio of shining shots. The remainder of the triple bolts detonated into the area blow the neck. It was true he was quite angry, but even then he wasn't completely devoid of thought. He knew from the start his attack on the head would fail instead it was his own method of making a diversion of his real attack. He vanished in an instant as his shunpo closed the distance between him and the metal beast. While he had vanished the orbiting kido had remained as hollow's tail took it's swing at him. The shinigami reappeared at the base of the hollow's body. Being so much like a snake it had part of it's body on the ground while it reared it's head or attacked with it's tail. The man attacked this portion of the body, while it was the most stable part of the monster by far. It also would be the most difficult to defend. Positioned directly below the hollow's head he lifted his blade and slashed at the exposed body.

Far away

Arawn was already breathing heavily from repeated shunpo. He wished the group hadn't been so far away, but it was probably the reason they had been targeted. He had kept his phone open, but there was no chatter. It would seem no one had come to their aid yet. The silence was deafening. Not hearing anything only made him think the worst possible situations; they were all dead.

While it at first had seemed like everything was going according to plan, things as they usually do, spiraled into a far less favorable situation for the metal serpent. Once more the unnatural speed of the shinigami made itself apparent as he closed the distance far quicker then N.I.U.S could have anticipated and ended up with his blade sinking into it's most open region, slamming the sword into the plates and bending them into it's more fragile interior, tearing apart pieces of the circuitry inside. While its attack had failed, a new plan formed to take advantage of the new position of its very annoying attacker.

Acting quickly on its new plan, knowing that it had a very limited window to pull its move through, the snake quickly bent its tail and neck inwards, hoping to trap the reaper in what would be quite the metal coffin located between its plates. To try and up its chances of success the robotic reptile also utilized another weapon from its arsenal, unleashing a current of electricity from its middle section, going by the assumption that the blade would lead the charge into its wielder.

As carefully plotted as his course of action was, there were bound to be unseen variables. He had seen the creature use the electricity and figured it was it's main means of attack. What he hadn't counted on was it being able to focus said energy through it's whole body. It was a machine in appearance, so he had guessed such an attack might not be capable of such a technique. It was a bad time to be proven wrong, especially when he was using a sword on it's metallic hide. His weapon was a perfect conductor of the burst of electricity the hollow creature now released. As the current raced through the blade into his body his hands locked onto the weapon preventing him from releasing it. The rest of his muscles similarly locked due to the energy scrambling the natural electric signals of his body. He screamed as the power burned his flesh and nerves were fried. In desperation he raised his spiritual power to combat the opponent's onslaught. This managed to ease the pain somewhat, but the damage to his body already done. Being so focused in the struggle he didn't notice the hollow was shifting it's body to grab at him. The creature's body moved it's long scaly form to entrap him, too late he noticed the movement. With a final shout of desperation he released all the reiryoku possible and released his hand from his zanpukto and shunpo'd backwards. The shinigami barely managed to escape the coiling serpent as he stood looking at the metal tangle where he had left his weapon he grunted. His uniform was in shambles, there were holes where the electricity had burned through while the rest of the black garb was still smoking. Through each of those holes one could see the many burns he had suffered for underestimating the hollow. He raised his hands and looked at his burned palms. All of the skin that had held the sword directly was damaged, there was no way he could handle his sword even if he could retrieve it. Even encased in his reiatsu he felt the pain from the hollow's attack, at this rate he wouldn't last much longer.

Not far from the battle

Arawn had gotten a second wind of sorts and pushed himself to shunpo faster. He was nearly holding his breath from the forced effort. Seconds later he came into view behind the metal snake hollow he had met long ago. A few hundred feet and he would be within striking distance. Not far from the hollow he could see a figure of what could only be one of the shinigami he had contacted earlier. Although weakened from the rapid flash steps he thought it best to try a strike from afar hopefully before it had a chance to react. Letting his reiatsu flare, he quickly recited his spell.
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado #33: Sōkatsui!" Arawn's open hand pointed at the monster before him as the blue blaze errupted forth and closed the distance between him and the target. The shinigami standing in front of the hollow threw himself sideways out of the way as the energy came rushing up behind the monster snake.

So close, but at the very last moment the slippery little reaper was able to avoid the literal tomb of metal that was trying to close upon him, but the effects of his failed offensive was still clear and it would not be long before N.I.U.S would be able to grind his flesh and crush his bones between its mechanical jaws. Or so it thought before yet another interruption made itself apparent, this time however being one that N.I.U.S wasn't entirely unfamiliar with. It could instantly detect the familiar flaring reiatsu coming up from behind it but with its body coiled as it was, it would be very difficult for it to avoid the incoming attack but it certainly would not keep it from trying.

Quickly moving to try and uncoil itself once more it became clear to it almost immediately that it would not be able to avoid the shinigami spell on its rapid approach and so started to simply brace itself for the impact, focusing its energy as the blue fireball smashed into its shell, hurling it crashing past the shinigami that it such a short while ago had at the throat. Rising from the small crater that had formed on its impact, N.I.U.S turned to face its attacker besides the large gash in its chassi smoldering from the red hot metal around the damaged area. "I believe this is not the first time we encounter each other, shinigami." For the moment it did nothing, with its current condition in mind it had to act with caution and so it stood ready for anything the shinigami might unleash its way.

The azure energy struck the hollow and swept the creature forward like a twig in a rapid river stream. The wounded shinimgami rose coughing on the dust and dirt that littered the area. As he got up he looked at the deep gouge in the land the other shinigami's kido had caused.
"I'm glad he held nothing back on that bastard, but I almost got caught in it." he grunted as he stared at the smoking crater the hollow now rested. "No way it survived that blast." As he watched and waited for the smoke dissipate, the pain of his previous failed attack reminded him that this was no time for him to be standing around. Focusing completely he managed to take one step and then another. Being close so close to it disgusted him. He needed to put as much distance between himself and the monster. Little by little he moved further away from the wrecked land. As he was looking for a safe place to hide he noticed his fallen squadmate laying on the ground. Ever so slowly he moved to his comrade's side. His trip was cut short as he heard the monster's inhuman voice call out to his recent attacker.

Arawn stood as still as a statue after the cobalt surge had died down. With such a wide angle spell it had unlikely that he would miss such a big target. At least that's what he hopped. With the light gone he could see that the hollow was not where it was a moment ago. That was a good sign. Before he could give a sigh of relief the creature spoke. It would seem that he was successful and yet failed at the same time. A full incantation spell had hit the beast, why wasn't it dead!? Arawn was already breathing hard from the excessive use shunpo and then then the sudden kido. It was the worst case scenario; he was low on energy and the surprise attack hadn't finished the hollow. There was time to plan before coming, but Arawn hadn't been wise enough to think that far ahead. Now he had only so many cards left to play. Slowly Arawn lowered his out stretched hand to the hilt of his zanpukto.
"Yes, we have met before. This time I think you won't get away so easily." He snorted as he pulled the weapon free from it's sheath. "I don't know how, but I figured you had a hand in this." Arawn gestured at the ruined landscape; the aftermath of the robot's rampage. "How did you do it? Why did you do it?"

It stretched itself out further as it allowed the man to finish speaking, making a single swing of its head to tear off one of its four jaws that had come loose from its head by the impact into the ground, showing clearly that although it was alive it certainly was not unscathed from the magical ambush. N.I.U.S could clearly tell that the shinigami too was tired however, but the actual damage done to the serpent already made it unlikely that it would be able to survive an extended battle with him, if something were to be done it would have to be done fast and this temporary distraction that was their conversation would have to be done while fighting, an advantage that it imagined it perhaps could create over its opponent, distract him with information to keep his mind only partially on the fight.

Quickly beginning to move once again, the machine slithered towards the tired reaper with its ever present unrelenting lack of emotion, a quiet charge interrupted only the sound of gravel and sand entering its body through the tears in its armour as it bounces around against the metal and the monotonous sound of its synthetic voice as it once again spoke. "How and why? Both excellent questions, although the latter is simpler to explain. I did it because I wanted to test my limits, I've found its the best way to advance with calculated risks. How is a different matter entirely however but perhaps I will explain it to you."

"Keep talking you arrogant bastard" Arawn said to himself. "My reinforcements should be on the way here. If I can hold him long enough we can finish him off." Holding him here would indeed the crux of plan. Another big spell was impossible, he rather devote the remainder of his energy reserves to defense. Rapid shunpo wouldn't be advisable, he'd have to make every bit of power count. His eyes glanced to his weapon; Huang Long! If he could borrow his weapon's power he might actually have some advantage.
"Drift, Huang Long." he spoke aloud as the monster started to advance. With a flick of his wrist the zanpukto flipped over in his hand and changed shape. In less than a second the silver blade was replaced by a golden kurkri. "Huang Long, can you hear me?" Arawn tried to speak to his weapon. He didn't have time to enter the inner world and confront the spirit beast. The had talked before without such a condition before, he hoped to do the same thing now. "Huang Long! Wake up!" The mental shout was filled with desperation, but it was indeed a desperate situation. There was no response. It would seem the fight would come down to physical strength and prowess. While confident in his skills Arawn doubted he could over the power the beast. He quickly racked his brain to remember what he could of their first battle. Only thing he could remember was the creature used electricity. He held the weapon in front of himself and waited. He couldn't afford to make the first move. His best chance was to counter the creature if not evade him completely. Arawn tucked his sheath against his left arm ready to defend.

Once again seeing that blade made it tempting for N.I.U.S to simply stop its charge and back away, the memory still in its latest archives of what its last encounter with it had done but there was no time to display weakness now, it had to act. Recounting the events of their first encounter it remembered that its effects were applied on contact and so it was paramount that it avoided that blade, even more so then when it only risked having its shell pierced. Coming up with a tactic while in the middle of a charge would have been an easy task, had its original programming actually been designed with combat in mind but sadly it was never estimated that a massive and very immobile computer would ever end up in a situation where it would require high end combat simulations and so it would have to make do with what it had learned so far.

Quickly acting on the move N.I.U.S made a swift turn on its approach towards the shinigami, hoping to keep his attention centered on its head as it used its tail to sweep up gravel and rocks and lunge it towards the reaper, hoping that the barrage would be enough to distract him as it came in from the side, not head on as that would leave it open for attacks against its most vital point but rather using its entire "torso" as a swung mace as it came in for the strike.

Fast. It was hard to believe something so big could move so quickly. And yet the large metal beast was more than capable. Arawn barely noticed the flick of the tail and raised his weapon up to guard the possible attack. He didn't know it was only a feint, but hew braced himself for an impact that never came. Instead of being a large strike with it's tail it was shower of rocks and debris that hit him and the gold weapon. Raising his left arm slighting he tried cover himself. He turned his head as the spray of earth came at him. Even with his glasses on he still flinched from something getting in his eyes. This proved to be a mistake as the real attack came at him with full force. His only saving grace was that he had been ready for an attack already. Still it didn't do much than reduce the shock of the massive metal body hitting him dead on. The strike sent him end over end through the air like a rag doll. In his weakened state it took some focus to end the tumble. Arawn's feet skidded on the empty air and he came to a complete stop. His left are hung limp at his side, he had reduced the damage at a price. Painfully he clenched his left fist. The sheath probably on the ground somewhere, but he didn't have any time to look. If he was in better condition such an attack might have been better avoided. If I can't defend, I have no choice but attack. He kicked off the ground and moved forward. Suddenly he shunpo he stood on the ground before the beast. There was no point trying to draw out the fight, he had to go all out if possible. Arawn aimed his blade horizontal and focused.
Sa Shin Mu: Chung-Ryong his reiryoku flared as his body spun like a top and rose into the air. He became like a hurricane dirt and rocks were swept up by the sudden burst of wind and spiritual pressure. But such a technique wouldn't be enough to harm the hollow that's where his blade came in. Utilizing the fast spin he hoped to cut the machine's hide to shreds.

Such a flawless execution had brought with it the perfect results, or so it had first anticipated but the shinigami once again proved his resilience and the strength of his kind, making it clear to N.I.U.S once and for all how much of an issue they would likely prove to be in its future as well. Seeing the shinigami able to stand on thin air was a surprise even to a machine, because although it had learned to realize that many of the limitations of the physical world was gone, its basic foundation of logic was still constantly being challenged by new realities. That last attempt had already been final plan for quickly ending this fight, there was a certain level of worry over whether or not it truly had enough power left to finish this fight in its own favour and that a retreat was a very desirable outcome at this point.

Before it could take action to begin its escape however the shinigami sprung forward, flashing into nothing and then reappearing again and at that moment becoming a blur of movement, hard for even the robots high speed optical receptors to catch and then the blade sunk in, tearing through its shell again and again, leaving N.I.U.S almost bifurcated as most of the metal around the area that had been cut had been absolutely destroyed. There was no other option now, quickly trying to slam the shinigami off of its body, the metal serpent rushed away in the hope that its opponent was too drained to pursue as there was no energy left for it to continue fighting, especially not in the state it was currently in.