As the Sins fought the captains, Gabriel was now facing the Captain-Commander himself, Yamamoto.
The old man was swinging his flaming sword around like crazy, while Gabriel dodged and weaved between the attacks.
Gabriel jumped over an incoming slash before pulling out a transfigured Hollow soul, shaping it into a shield just as Yamamoto's blade came down on him.
The transfigured Gillian barely lasted a second—but that was all the time Gabriel needed to BZZZT—BOOM! Sonido away.
The old man's fire was hot—hotter than Ifrit's, that was for sure.
Still in his base form, Gabriel analyzed him.
He could see the old man's soul, his very essence laid bare. Yamamoto had limits, shackles restricting his growth. He had reached his peak, his absolute limit.
Gabriel, of course, did not possess such limits. His ability allowed him to remove any restrictions he might have had.
Yamamoto's gaze was fixed on Gabriel's Hollow hole—hanging outside of his body like there was no tomorrow.
A Hell Hollow.
He gripped his blade tightly. Such a flaw to the world must be purged.
"Look around you, old man."
Yamamoto's brow furrowed. What was this Hollow trying to achieve?
And then he saw it.
Soul Society was in ruins. The place was about 60% destroyed, corpses littering the streets. For every ten dead Shinigami, there was maybe one dead Hollow—sometimes not even that.
Some brave students who had tried to fight now lay slaughtered.
A certain red-haired student and a small black-haired girl could be seen bleeding out somewhere on the battlefield. Above them, an Arrancar stood, charging a Cero.
Welp, guess that's the end of them.(Renji and Momo for those who didn't get it)
The whole of Soul Society was a mess.
{Captain Retsu Unohana and Zaraki Kenpachi are unable to fight.}
{Captain Sajin Komamura and Kaname Tōsen have fallen in battle}
{Captain Aizen Sosuke and Gin Ichimru have fallen in battle} [remember this}
{Captain Sui Feng of the Second Division is critically injured.}
{Captain Jūshirō Ukitake has fallen in battle.}
...
As the announcements came pouring in, Gabriel smiled.
This was music to his ears.
Hahahahahah.
Hahahahah—oh, how fun. How marvelous.
Meanwhile...
A sword hovered at the back of Isane Kotetsu's head as she was forced to read and witness the downfall of her comrades, announcing their deaths one by one.
This was fun.
For the hollows, not her.
POV change back.
Gabriel rushed at the old man, who met his charge with another flaming slash.
Gabriel dodged, retaliating with his own fire.
Yamamoto smacked the flames away like they were nothing.
He glared at Gabriel, raising his sword for another strike.
But as he did so...
His hand fell off.
Without hesitation—without a single second of doubt—he severed his own limb.
He watched as his hand withered and crumbled into dust.
'His fire rapidly ages anything it touches,' Yamamoto realized. With this knowledge, he understood—getting hit meant death.
He would force this Hollow into close combat, make him fight with his hands rather than his flames.
But first, he would ensure that the fire wouldn't touch him.
"Bankai: Zanka no Tachi."
"Zanka no Tachi, Nishi: Zanjitsu Gokui."
As those words left his mouth, his entire body was engulfed in flames. The temperature in Soul Society skyrocketed.
Tōshirō's ice Bankai melted instantly.
Yamamoto's eyes locked onto Gabriel.
This Hollow had to be slain.
Gabriel, upon witnessing the old man's might, grinned.
"Good."
"Segunda Etapa: Jigoku no Sōzōsha."
The air howled.
His body shifted.
His fur and wings returned, black as the void. His armor reformed, now even tougher than before. His once-human silhouette twisted, gaining two additional arms, and his stomach split open into a grinning, chanted mouth.
From his back, two serpentine appendages emerged, translucent yet writhing, like something born from pure malice.
His Hollow hole drifted behind him, floating like a dark omen.
The gates of Hell opened even wider, more Hollows—beings that weren't of this world—pouring out like a flood.
Yamamoto rushed at him. Gabriel rushed back, letting the old man's fire coat his body, while his Hierro worked at maximum efficiency to endure it.
Gabriel appeared in the air and slammed the old man into the ground.
"Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin."
Gabriel barely had time to react as death itself came for him, giving him no chance to fight back.
'Fuck.'
BZZZT—BOOM!
Sonido came in clutch.
BAM.
BOOM.
Gabriel barely had time to breathe before the old man's dusty-ass toes were in his face, sending him crashing toward the center of Soul Society.
"Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūman'okushi Daisōjin."
As those words left his mouth, Yamamoto drove his sword tip-first into the ground.
"Come forth."
And the dead obeyed.
Charred skeletons erupted from the earth, an army of the fallen, their sheer force enough to decimate everything in their path.
"Hahahaha, bring it, old man!" Gabriel shouted, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
One of the watching Shinigami trembled in fear, unsure of what to do.
Gabriel's palm landed on his body.
Yamamoto watched as the Shinigami's body was reduced to nothing but ash.
"Bring me it all," Gabriel grinned, his Reiatsu flaring once more.
Up at the Royal Palace, the Royal Guards could be seen.
They... were jumping down.
The attack had only been happening for the past hour or so, yet Soul Society was already on the verge of becoming a distant memory.
"You asked for this. You had a choice, old man. And you chose to listen to those nobles," Gabriel sneered, that same grin still on his face.
Yamamoto, unwavering, responded.
"What is important now is slaying you, monster. Thinking of the past will not change the present. Justice is not found in regret—it is forged in action."
Gabriel and Yamamoto clashed again and again.
Barragan could never—yeah, yeah, Barragan slander. Deal with it.
As Yamamoto rushed forward once more—
A Kido spell was launched at him.
"Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra."
A binding Kido shot forth. Yamamoto barely dodged.
"Hadō #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō."
A massive blast of lightning exploded against his flames.
"Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku."
Golden chains lunged for his limbs.
For a brief moment, Yamamoto was unable to do anything.
Gabriel cocked his fist back.
His fist sparked black.
He Sonido at full speed toward Yamamoto.
And—
"Abyssal Fracture: Soulbind Severance."
A/N