Inside the Menos Forest, two figures clashed, their reiatsu colliding like titanic waves, each refusing to be swallowed by the other. The very air trembled beneath their presence, as if the world itself knew only one of them could leave this place alive.
Behind Barragan Louisenbairn, an ominous skull of death loomed, waiting to claim its next prey.
As for Gabriel, something far more sinister was manifesting.
Behind him, what could only be described as an eldritch horror took shape.
It was ancient. Primordial.
The outline of a colossal Hollow, a Gillian in form, yet its power was far beyond even the Adjucha class, seeming to rival—if not surpass—the King of Hueco Mundo himself.
The beast opened its massive maw, as if preparing to claim Barragan's soul for its next meal.
A chill ran through Barragan's followers. Even the most loyal of his subjects hesitated.
For in that moment, the boy did not appear as an opponent—he appeared as an inevitability.
It was as if their glorious king was about to be devoured.
Barragan watched the creature, sensing a piece of Gabriel's ambition, or perhaps something even deeper. A powerful wave of unease crept over him.
For the briefest of moments, he saw it—his own body, broken and beaten, while the demon from hell itself claimed his soul.
His fists clenched.
He was the God-King of Hueco Mundo. His will was absolute.
He would not falter before such poultry tricks.
With a deep, scornful breath, he exhaled.
"Hmph. You think theatrics will frighten me, boy?" His voice dripped with contempt. "I have ruled for centuries. I have seen the rise and fall of countless creatures. Their ambitions crumbled beneath my power, just as yours will."
His skeletal fingers lifted.
"Die."
A wave of black miasma erupted from his body—Respira, the very manifestation of entropy, surging forward like a creeping plague.
Gabriel didn't flinch. He was ready for this.
BZZZT—BOOM!
He Sonído'd away in an instant, and where he once stood, the very air itself rotted into nothingness. The sand disintegrated, leaving only a dark, lifeless void.
Barragan's power was formidable, yet Gabriel was only getting excited by this.
Gabriel conjured a wall of fire, using it as a buffer to block any stray tendrils of Respira that might reach him.
Not even two seconds later, another tendril of Respira surged forth. Gabriel moved again, his body coated in swirling blue flames that devoured everything around him. The flames absorbed the death mist before it could reach him, dissipating with a faint hiss.
This was the property of the flames that Ifrit used... They devoured spiritual energy, meaning they could not be plundered. Those flames of his, consumed all Reiatsu or spiritual energy that wasn't his.
So even if Barragan's Respira reached them—what of it?
They would simply cancel each other out. His flames would burn away, and Respira would be consumed.
Barragan exhaled slowly.
"So that's your game," he mused, watching the flames dance along the boy's body. "You allow your fire to take the brunt of my power, letting it rot away instead of yourself."
Gabriel grinned. "Not bad, old man. You're quick on the uptake."
At least this time, his opponent wasn't slow.
Barragan chuckled darkly. "Boy, it makes no difference. You are simply delaying the inevitable."
Lifting his hand, he unleashed a massive wave of Respira, a torrent of blackened death that surged forward, consuming everything in its path.
WHOOSH!
Gabriel met it head-on.
He released a violent surge of fire, clashing against Barragan's attack.
His fire and Barragan's Respira devoured each other like there was no tomorrow.
Respira killed his flames, and his flames ate Respira.
It looked as if death itself was being consumed by hellfire.
For a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.
And then—
FWOOSH!
Gabriel's flames ate through the Respira before dissipating into embers. The two attacks had completely negated each other.
Barragan's expression darkened.
His ultimate power, the ability that made him the King of Hueco Mundo, was being negated.
By fire.
If his power was so absolute, how could mere flames match it?
His pride refused to accept such an insult.
Barragan exhaled through his decayed nose. "Amusing. So your flames devour spiritual energy. A clever trick, but no trick will save you."
With a single, lazy flick of his hand, another wave of Respira surged toward Gabriel.
BZZZT—BOOM!
Gabriel Sonído'd away just in time. The ground where he stood disintegrated instantly, vanishing into nothingness.
Barragan's Respira was proving to be annoying.
But even as Gabriel reappeared, he frowned.
His left hand felt... off.
Slowly, he lifted it, watching as his fingers aged and withered, the flesh shriveling into a brittle husk.
"Ah, fuck," he muttered.
With zero hesitation, he sliced off his own hand.
SHNK!
The severed limb dropped onto the decayed earth below, and within seconds, it crumbled into dust.
Barragan laughed.
A deep, resounding laugh that shook the Menos Forest itself.
"See now, boy? Even you are not immune to time." He spread his arms wide, his presence suffocating in its sheer arrogance. "No matter your power, all things succumb to age! Your fire is nothing more than a child's trick—you are nothing before me!"
Gabriel looked at where his hand used to be.
'So this is how unrestrained Respira feels,' Gabriel thought to himself.
Well... Using his Idle Transfiguration, his hand grew back, as if it had never been cut off in the first place.
Barragan's laughter stopped.
Gabriel clenched his newly formed fist, inspecting it casually. "Man, that stung a little," he muttered. "Gotta say, that was some nasty shit, old man."
Then Gabriel looked up.
And he smiled.
A smile that sent a deep, primal chill through those who saw it.
As if the Grim Reaper had arrived to collect their souls.
Barragan's instincts—not his arrogance, but his instincts—screamed at him that something was wrong.
It felt like hell's maw was opening to swallow him whole.
Gabriel rolled his shoulders. "Now, that just ain't fair," he said, tilting his head playfully. "You've shown me what your ability feels like... Guess it's only fair I return the favor."
Barragan was about to sneer when—
He saw it.
The Primordial Gillian behind Gabriel shifted.
It was no mere illusion.
No mere manifestation of spiritual energy.
No.
It was real.
It was waiting.
And it was hungry.
For the first time in centuries, Barragan felt it.
A long-forgotten sensation buried beneath centuries of arrogance.
Dread.
Gabriel's fire roared out from his body, what seemed to be hell fire could be seen, even burning the air itself.
It was as if hell itself was being spilled into the world of Hueco Mundo as if Gabriel was reshaping the landscape into hell itself.
His flame roared out even more, as a demonic-looking smile could be seen on his face.
This was the guy that threatened to hurt his wife, his woman...for that simple reason he must die, he will die, Gabriel swore it on his name.
This king will die, and Gabriel will claim his soul.
{YES}
A/N....Gabriel stronk.