[Private] Oh what an artist dies in me

War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

By this point, the war was won. Casualties on both sides were immeasurable, the stack of corpses, arrows, and Zanpakuto littering the field around Sano and the remaining combatants roaming around were innumerable and the scene was, frankly, vile to anyone with a conscious. Sano had one of those, at least he claimed to once upon a time but his current despondence had given way to a calloused and otherwise malicious streak of violence. Ung'Maal had died, his ally of 400+ years died and all these reapers could think about was getting out of this war. Sano wasn't like them, Sano had his eyes set on ensuring that a war such as this never happened again, and he was keen on doing whatever he could do to make that happen.

This was, at least, what Sano told himself. In truth he'd always been a bit more sadistic than his peers, reveling in the suffering and agony of his enemies to an extent that made even his most fervent supporters more than a little uncomfortable. He seemed to take an almost psychotic amount of pride in melting the faces of his victims, washing away the features that made them so clearly identifiable upon death. The bodies of Sano's victims were easy to tally, all you had to do was follow the trail of bodies with marred faces, contorted into a pained stupor and you could be almost certain it had been his work. And that was what had led him to his final victim of the evening, a young and quite powerful Quincy who was leading a retreat for a few fledgling Quincy.

In a normal war, facing a normal man, this would have signaled retreat and Sano would've been asked to honor it, hell he may have even done so, reluctantly. Unfortunately for the Quincy before him, this was not that kind of situation. Sano had entered Bankai ages ago, and he was itching with anticipation. "You know I'd like to say I won't take a lot of pleasure in removing your kind from existence. I'd like to tell you this was just business, and I don't feel a unique satisfaction when I watch your features melt away right in front of me. I'd like to tell you we're just going to talk, and that I'm not going to kill each and every man, woman, and child you hold dear."

Sano would examine his blade, which was by now a mix of blood, acid, cloth, and dirt mixed together in clumps. "I'm not here to tell you any of that sadly. I am going to kill each and every member of your race as painfully as possible, be they man, woman, or child. I'm going to watch the light leave their eyes, and I'm going to be the last thing each and every one of you ever see. I hope from hell you have a nice seat to watch helplessly, as your family is reduced to an unidentifiable wreck of once promising parts littered throughout the living room. I hope you can see the glint of your sons eyes reflected in mine, just until they're snuffed out forever. I hope he joins you, his face wrought with betrayal. I hope you spend this life and the next knowing you couldn't protect him, or anyone else."

Sano smiled from ear to ear, his blade was drawn and planted into the ground as he propped himself up on it. "To make my hopes a reality I'm gonna need a name, Quincy. Maybe follow it up with last words if you've got something clever planned."

War..War was hell. Corpses of Shinigami and Quincy alike mingled together, some areas so covered you couldn't even see the ground anymore. Most seeing such a scene would rethink their choice to rebel, curious to if it was worth the loss in life. Alexander however wasn't one of these people, this hell was something he had grown very accustomed too long ago. In truth, he couldn't even imagine a normal life raising his son anymore, the battlefield has become all he knew. Alexander accepted long ago that the battlefield is probably the place he'd die and so long as he created a world where his son never had to know these horrors, he was perfectly fine with that. Unfortunately, it seemed that world wasn't going to come into existence. The Quincy had overestimated their power and despite massive fatalities on both sides, ultimately they stood no chance in this fight any longer, the Shinigami were simply too strong and too numerous.

Alexander called for a full retreat of his regiment, using the cannons of his Vollstandig to cover the retreat, peppering the battlefield with a constant barrage of cero-level explosions. As he watched numbers of weaker Shinigami fall prey to the non-stop onslaught, Alexander knew this was probably going to be his final stand. If he retreated himself, the rest of his men would surely be overwhelmed and killed so staying and fighting to the bitter end was the only available option and honestly, that was just fine. The more of these sick bastards Alexander could wipe out of existence then frankly the better off the world will be. Three of the stronger Shinigami slipped past the barrage, moving to attack Alexander at once. They seemed to be higher seated, maybe even a Lieutenant among them. Perhaps they thought combined they were enough to take Alexander down or perhaps they were simply terrible at judging an enemies strength. Either way, it was a fatal mistake.

Grasping his bayonets he'd step towards the trio and before they could react he sliced through the throats of two them. The third tried to take advantage of his fallen allies by using Shunpo to move behind Alexander. However all four of his muskets turned around and aimed directly at the Shinigami's head, with Alexander's eyes cut back ever so slightly to look at him. "Pointless." The last words he'd have heard before taking all 4 musket shots to the face. Although the bala level bullets didn't outright kill him, it was enough to disable him long enough for Alexander to walk up and finish him off. It was around this time the appearance of a powerful presence appeared and started speaking to Alexander - it seemed a worthy enemy finally took notice of him or got tired of the slaughter of his weaker brothers. It was clear just by looking at this man that he would not be so easy to dispose of, though Alexander wasn't surprised. It was an inevitability someone like this would show up eventually.

The Shinigami went on and on about the slaughter of his friends, family and those like him. Sadistic bastard it seemed, although he was honestly preaching to the wrong person. Alexander had already lost everyone he cared about and if soldiers died, they knew what they signed up for. Furthermore he had taken steps to protect his son from all this mess, so he was confident he'd be alright. Still, Alexander would be lying if he said this man didn't piss him off. He was verbally representative of everything Alexander had grown to hate about the Shinigami. Worse than hollows, tyrannical monsters who controlled through slaughter and fear. At least hollows had an excuse for their behavior, like animals. But people like this? They were true evil.

Removing his bayonet from the neck of the Shinigami he had just finished off, Alexander would fling the blood onto the floor before glaring at the man who finally asked his name. "Alexander Hedy. But I promise you'll gain no pleasure from this encounter monster. Only death, same as all those before you. Your kind has already taken everything from me so your threats are meaningless." Alexander raised his sword and muskets pointing directly at the arrogant Shinigami as he spoke, his voice calm as the sea despite being covered in crimson.

"Now..if you're finished blathering on like a child.." Alexander shifted to a loose grip on his weapons, forming his bow and firing of a shot in the air. Almost instantly hundreds of arrows would burst from the sky traveling at bala speed, covering a wide 30 meter radius with the Shinigami at the dead center of it.

"..lets see if your power is worthy of such arrogance."

Ability Used:

The man had a certain air to him, that much was obvious.

Sano barely had time to take inventory of the fallen bodies at his feet, the desperate gurgling of a Lieutenant's last breath was little more than a pity as far as Sano could be concerned presently. "Oh what.. you think because you can take down the weaklings there you stand to put up a fight against me Quincy?.." Sano continued to lean on his sword, casting a lazy glance in the Quincy's direction as he fired an arrow into the air. Seemingly on que, Sano would zip away and watch as the arrows relentlessly pelted the corpses of the Shinigami and Quincy who previously occupied the landing zone. "Alexander was it? I have to ask after a pathetic attempt such as that.. What gives you such fervor, such unshakable belief in your abilities when confronted with a foe you cannot beat?"

Sano lifted his sword into the air, analyzing it for a moment seemingly unimpressed by his newfound opponent. "Are you supposed to be different than the rest of your kind?.. The savior they've been waiting for? Am I supposed to quiver in my boots as you spew on, profane and vaunt in both nature and intent?" Sano stepped forward, his feet slowly touching the ground in front of him as he walked towards the Quincy, eyes lazily tasked towards his peripheral in order to see and potentially intercept any oncoming fire or attacks. "Am I supposed to hear this and believe for a second, a millisecond, a microsecond, a nanosecond, that you have what it takes to put me down?.."

Sano's voice was gripped with both callous indifference, and a uniquely jovial tone. "I don't think you have what it takes Quincy, I think you'd be better off rolling over and dying like the rest of your pathetic lineage. Would certainly save me the trouble so.. what do you say? Would you do me the honor and favor of falling on your own blade? Or am I going to have to help you towards that myself.." As Sano finished, he tossed a ball of Reiatsu into the air. "Because if I have to do it, this is going to be a very unpleasant experience for you.."

Alexander simply followed the talkative Shinigami as he dodged the blast of arrows with ease. Not exactly surprising, although Alexander was hoping it would shut him up and move him to action.

"If you'd appreciate a more serious attempt then you'll need to earn it little pup." Alexander cooed softly as the aptly dubbed puppy continued to bark nonsense. The man before him definitely radiated impressive power but between the attitude and how he carried himself, it was hard to believe he was actually any kind of serious or seasoned warrior. If Alexander had to guess, he was basically a child gifted with tremendous power and never grew up because of it - it would explain the arrogance at the very least, but for now only a running theory.

Alexander just stood there listening to the man's diatribe, his energy sensing keeping note of the ball: He considered putting an arrow through it, but then considered it could also be a trap with that reaction in mind. For now, too many unknowns, better to leave it alone. Once he was finally done speaking, Alexander waited for a few long seconds to confirm he was actually done before speaking up in response.

"If you think you've the ability, simply prove it, pup." Alexander was in the end paying very little mind to anything the Shinigami said. Rather it was a tactic to mentally unbalance him or just the sincere opinion of a man who loved his own voice, it was all rather pointless to the matter at hand. For now, he had already made a small opening gesture with his earlier volley: For the moment he wasn't comfortable throwing himself blindly against the enemy.

Shifting his feet into a more battle ready stance with his hands at the ready to fire arrows or slice at a target he would await the Shinigami to eventually make a move. With the attitude he had, Alexander figured it wouldn't take long with having asked him to prove it.

Ah yes, an old fashioned dick measuring contest.

It was almost unfortunate with the girthy aura this man was emitting that he'd attempted to pit himself against Sano, had he chosen anyone else he would've had far greater odds but this wasn't that chance. Sano stood pat, cock strong as ever as the man readied himself for battle and tried to call Sano forwards, referring to him as a pup as though he were some prepubescent boy who was going to retaliate out of spite. This wasn't that type of day, and he wasn't that kind of man. The best the names could do was elicit a bit of an eye roll, as Sano slowly but surely moved his left hand in an upward direction. "If you'd just.. cast a glance behind you there."

In an instant it became clear as to what exactly Sano had done. He had laid a trap, a hole had been dug and filled with acid and as the troops had marched close Sano splattered it up from the hole and tuned in eagerly to hear their screams of agony and fear. The acid itself was unyielding in it's ferocity and ability to cause pain. The men screamed helplessly, faces contorted and twisted as they turned back to face their leader a final time before death. Sano rolled his eyes, slightly adjusting himself against his blade as he cast a lazy and untrained eye towards the sky above. "Hey while we're on the topic of pups, when're you gonna show me that pretty little tramp stamp you guys all run around with. What'd that dead boy call it.. a Scrift? Schrift? Who fucking cares what it's called, I'd like to see it."

Sano paused the ball in the sky, waiting to bring it down until he had been reciprocated in some way shape or form. "I'd at least like to see it before it burns away, if it's all the same to you."

Alexander wasn't into the idea of looking away from the Shinigami in front of him, less that he requested it but more it felt like a cheap trick. That was until he heard the screaming of the soldiers he had covered the retreat for, causing Alexander to look and witness the horrible fate they had stepped into. His first instinct was to fire arrows and put them out of their misery and spare the pain but with such a powerful enemy so close to him that wasn't an option. Even though he always held the belief that a soldier dying is part of their duty, that it is regrettable but expected...This was a step too damn far. They deserved a better death.

Being the battle hardened combat veteran he was, Alexander was doing a good job at not showing his emotions on his face, although the increasingly strong grip on his bow was perhaps a giveaway of the anger he was feeling. Returning his gaze back to the Shinigami he decided finally to humor the man's questions, trying to use the short time of talking to calm himself. Emotions in the battle would only speed his demise after all.

"Sorry, don't have one. Sternritter were full, though I'm a match for some of them even without that thing. They might have recruited me if they found me sooner. Up until about a month ago, I was by myself, hunting Shinigami for revenge and to a point, sport." He let out a small sigh as the screaming had finally stopped, shifting his eyes over the battlefield to see if he could see anyone alive. At this point all he could see were corpses and some Shinigami who didn't seem stupid enough to get close to him and this man.

"Fitting I suppose, it should end the way it began then." As he spoke red glowing veins spread across Alexander's neck, arms and wrist as he activated his Blut Arteria. Within a blink of the eye Alexander would loose two arrows towards Sano's chest, although both of these arrows were primed to explode as was Alexander's signature trick, as well as something he hadn't seen just yet.

The first arrow would actually explode 3/4ths of the way there with the aim to provide not only momentary visual obfuscation but act as a shock and awe surprise. The second arrow was primed to explode once it entered a few centimeters into the Shinigami's chest or at least reached that location. Owing to Alexander's blut the explosive power and radius of these arrows were massive compared to his normal shots, each one covering a twenty meter radius as well as packing more punch than your normal Quincy arrow.

Should the Shinigami Shunpo away, the moment his feet landed he'd find Alexander aiming and firing one of his muskets towards him, shattering the musket as a blast equivalent in size and power to a Gran Rey Cero would race towards the Shinigami's freshly landed position. Alexander himself wasn't particularly proficient at movement techniques but he excelled at tracking and reacting to them, it's a talent that made him so well suited to long range bombardments. He didn't need to physically see a target to nail them.

Alexander was done messing around with idle chatter, after what this bastard did to his men, it was time to kill him or die trying. Still, Alexander hadn't forgotten about the odd ball of Reaitsu, he was keeping note of it. But for the moment he was unsure of what to do with it.

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Ability Used:

3/4 muskets left
musket 1 CD: 3 post

The man did his best to appear unaffected, turning his gaze away from his comrades seemingly at will as they began to gurgle and plead, their lives coming to a rather spontaneous and unnecessary end as Sano's smile grew with each second of agony that graced his ears. Sano analyzed the man, curious to see if it had impacted him and yet his visage was remarkably unchanged. His eyes stared forth with a similar vacant fury, his feet held their posture and form but his hands.. Those were a different story. "White knuckles betray blacker thoughts Quincy, any man worth his salt should know that by now.."

Sano's eyes lingered on the now silent pile of bodies as he continued. "So the Sternritter were too full for an amateur hunter to join them eh? How tough you must've felt, picking off a bunch of nobodies like I just did.. Watching them cry out for help, noticing that they didn't even want to be there in the first place, how does it feel to know that fate you inflicted on my kind is what awaits each and every last one of yours? How does it feel to know the fate you have so callously inflicted onto others, will be dealt to your family in your name? Would sure be a shame if the last thing they heard was-"

In an instant, Sano's eyes took inventory of the Quincy's now red veins and found the series of arrows launched in his direction alarming enough to warrant evasion. He lazily Shunpo'd back and to the left to avoid it, allowing his gaze to be cast forward yet again as the musket ball flew by him, narrowly missing what would've been a kill shot if it had landed. The sheer force of the blast dancing past Sano's head was enough to split the skin on his cheek, and a trickle of blood announced the now open wound. "Well.. that could've been rather ugly for me.."

Sano placed a finger to his cheek, dabbing the blood for a moment before leering at it, his demeanor appeared almost angry. "How insufferable.. a being like you doing this to me.. it's unbecoming of what you are, and what I will be."

Sano continued leering forward at the man, smiling as acid began to pour forth from the sky towards the Quincy. "Your kind will learn wrath, you will come to understand vengeance, but it will be on MY terms!"

As the liquid pain began to rain from the sky, Sano blitzed forwards leveraging a horizontal slice at the mans abdomen, hoping to push the man further into the rain by approaching him with a Shunpo from behind. He was going to make this mans life hell if possible, and it appeared that it would be.

Seems his last attack went just about as planned, although he was slightly off the mark. Shame, he doubted the Shinigami would be so careless a second time considering his head almost got turned into a crater, though if nothing else it did seem to irritate the man, which was a plus in Alexander's book. Wearing a small smile as he looked at the slight gash in the Shinigami's cheek, even more so at his verbal reaction, even Alexander couldn't help but comment on it.

"While this mere Quincy might have only scratched your cheek, it seems that fragile ego of yours got a gaping hole through it. God of death, indeed." Alexander jested, mocking the general audacity of these creatures taking the position of god's. Last he checked, god's didn't bleed. It was then Alexander noticed the drizzle and then full on rain of acid coming from the sky, with a few drops landing on his shoulders before he started having one of his muskets spin above his head. The individual droplets certainly caused some pain and burned through his clothes without issue, but if he could avoid being drowned in it, it wasn't anything to be worried about.

"What would one such as yourself know of vengeance? Did I or one of my compatriots run through someone you cared about? Laughable. You have no right. Your kind started this. If you ended up losing someone, you've only yourself to blame." Alexander finished his sentence by turning on the heel and shifting his grip once again to primarily grip his bayonets' as he intercepted the incoming strike with his left blade before doing as he wanted ultimately and hopping back further into the rain while the two non-spinning muskets fired bala towards the Shinigami's face and chest. Eventually his spinning musket would be destroyed though and he'd replace it with another one of the muskets.

Alexander was going to have to escape the rain eventually otherwise he was on a timer here, but since movement wasn't something he exactly excelled at, this was going to potentially be a problem. Honestly, he was kinda regretting that aimed shot from earlier now. Once he landed, his two Cannons would fire their cero-strength shots at the Shinigami's current position, to top the offense off.

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Abilities used:

2/4 Muskets left
musket 1: 3-->2 post left
Musket 2: 2 post left

The sarcastic remark went largely unmentioned. Sano didn't really view it as something warranting a response, the last fleeting attempts of a dead man to feign confidence weren't really something Sano was interested in entertaining, but he did find himself fascinated with the way the man was currently dealing with the rain.

Normally, Sano would make some sly remark and warn the man of his impending doom, give him a minute to collect himself and pray to a god of his choosing, maybe make amends with a lost lover or friend. He might even allow them a hint, a way out of their now fatal predicament but this was not one of those times. The man asked why Sano was how he was, why he felt rage in the pit of his stomach every time he saw a Quincy draw breath. It was a fair question in truth, it was an odd quirk that many had failed to work out. "Your kind pelted my best friend in this world with arrows as he killed one of your leaders, you all sat from afar and tagged him from a distance because none of you had the guts to fight him head up. Cowards the lot of you, and as for your little musket tricks.."

Sano used Shunpo to avoid the oncoming blasts before reappearing at the mans back. He launched a horizontal slash at the mans torso before following it up with a diagonal slash meant to slide him apart at the shoulder. Once the man found a direction to dodge in or clashed swords, he would notice puddles of acid from the ground beneath him rushing towards his face, hoping to splatter in his eyes in order to mar his vision. One of the two musket shots landed all the same, a bullet ripped through Sano's hip in an instant, a hole left behind to mark it's entry. Blood began to stain Sano's waist, blood dripped down all the way to his calf in an instant. "Like a creature like you has any right to hurt me.. Well, perhaps it's time I took you more seriously eh?"

Alexander couldn't help but allow a sigh of annoyance escape his lips at the Shinigami's explanation of his rage. Honestly, that was it? While the loss of a friend in war is pitiable, it was hardly unique and in the end it was because he was felled from range rather than cut down in melee. Alexander wondered if he knew exactly how childish he was being but before he could bother to ask the chance was robbed from him by his blitz attack. Following the man with his senses, Alexander pivoted around and raised his bayonets as a loud metallic sheering rang out as their blades met each other. His first instinct was to dodge, but if this man wanted a melee so damn bad, then so be it: Alexander was more than happy to oblige.

Unfortunately for Alexander however this might have been a fatal mistake for as soon as their blades met, acid which had been accumulating from that damndable rain rushed up from the ground and rammed it's way into his own eyes. He instantly jumped backwards to create distance between themselves, keeping his blade's guard up as he fought every urge in his body to grasp at his face but the fact was it would do nothing, the damage was done. The world had gone completely black, replaced by a constant burning agony which caused even Alexander to grit his teeth and pushed his will to the limits. It was taking a lot not to scream out in pain, but he desired not to give the Shinigami the extra satisfaction.

Even in the new darkness that had become his world, Alexander could still sense the Shinigami's location, so the situation wasn't completely hopeless but the lack of being able to see the finer details of his movements was definitely going to prove a problem. Not to mention the acid rain which now ate away yet another of his muskets, with another taking it's place to protect himself.

Finally adjusting to the pain he was able to speak through heavy breaths. "Neat trick..I'm all for leveling the playing field." Alexander let out a small pained chuckle as the Cannons fired more shots down towards the Shinigami's position, to keep him distracted and hopefully allowing Alexander a few more precious seconds to recover and adjust to his new state of being. Of course, his bolster was bullshit. He was painfully aware that given the current situation and with this injury, his death was more than likely assured. Still...there was one good option set before him. He'd just have to set it up right.

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1/4 Muskets left
musket 1: 2-->1 post left
Musket 2: 2--->1 post left
Musket 3: 2 post left

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