D'GERIK BLACKHEART; 3-2

Elizabeth screaming pain this time? It was as if Famine was actively searching for death itself! D'gerik's eye twitched. He knew Elizabeth could regenerate from a weak cero such as that of his opponent, but injuring those he cares for was crossing a line and everyone knew it. The ever increasing shroud of D'gerik's thick, purple reiatsu further enveloped D'gerik's person as anger rushed through him. Now he had decided nothing would be held back after this. He called out:

"Escasez!" his voice now not only masked by his helm, but warped by the intense energy escaping him. It almost sounded demonic at this point even.

Following the Horseman's movements a few years back would have been next to impossible. But now? Now Escasez was about to realize just how fast D'gerik had grown.

The first step was analyzing the correct being, a task that as obvious by now. Scanning through every single after image, they all had one thing in common; they moved at an identical rate, a rate that D'gerik KNEW was slower than what his ex-counterpart was capable of. And so he continued to search before quickly spotting a different one. He knew this to be true, it was moving faster than the afterimages and logically had to be the real one.

Leading his target, he fired a small volley of Bala before bursting forwards with speeds previously unheard of within the ranks of the horsemen. A quick slash, powered by an even faster spin, is added into the combo, hoping the volley was dodged or blocked to create an opening.

D'GERIK BLACKHEART; 3-2

Oddly enough, this was exactly what D'gerik needed!  Famine releasing his blade and monologuing was the distraction he had been looking for.  After all, he knew that famine was far too cowardly to fight D'gerik without using cheap tactics.  This meant that Famine was certain to continue attacking the girls and thereby trying to make D'gerik defend them.

This being the case, D'gerik took it as an opportunity.  He moved at top speeds towards the two women, only to find that the horseman had begun to fire upon them, as he had suspected.  By now, however, D'gerik was already with them.  Instead of defending, he had chosen a tactical retreat, bringing the girls to the previous exit and then pulling them out. Dashing out and into the desert, finding the closest place which they could use as cover possible. It wasn't until he placed them down safely that he realized he had been hit, multiple times. The pain wasn't too terrible, thanks to his armor, but taking so many bala directly was still going to hurt regardless. He began to stumble back now, towards the fortress. His battle was far from over and, even if he was followed, the girls were safer giving him reason to worry less.

It would surely not be long before he met with his old comrade once more.  He looked escasez dead in the eye as he removed his helmet for the first time since he was given it.  

"Dante was a fool, Escasez.... You've known this for even longer than I have, and now he's dead.  I will not remain in your precious army, especially not with his even more foolish children... I don't care if I never have to fight them.  I don't care if I never have to be a part of this war ever again.  What I do care about, however, is the fact that I came here to take back what did not belong to the scarlet king, and you came along, still committed to his old laws... I cannot allow you to continue this behavior, old fool."

D'gerik raised his Zanpakuto once more, ready to end this once and for all. He scanned Escasez for the wound he had caused earlier. He suspected the Resurrección was used to heal it, a smart move on his part. If this was the case D'gerik knew what had to be done now. And that was just to do it all over again!

D'GERIK BLACKHEART; 3-2

D'gerik was certain of what Elizabeth was feeling as he moved back into the battle, but even she knew it had to be done. As he met again with his rival he knew that this portion would not be easy, thinking back to the first time he ever fought Escasez back in the dunes nearing the castle. Escasez was faster now, and D'gerik had not forgotten about his ability when released. Regardless, he wasn't about to let everything he had done go to waste.

He watched as the horseman began to dance about, utilizing his afterimages to try and confuse D'gerik. But D'gerik was paying attention for the right moment, feeling he knew exactly what to do. Suddenly, D'gerik saw one flip over him, analyzing that even if it was an afterimage, he could not risk such a think as one stab meant it was game over from here. He dashed forwards with his sonido, dodging the stab and narrowly dodging the cero, thanks to the angle at which he moved. The beam slammed into the wall, creating a hole that gave D'gerik an idea.

As the horseman continued boasting to his opponent, D'gerik began to pretend he was fighting back, firing Bala after Bala as if trying to get Escasez, despite knowing that the horseman was fast enough to keep up and dodge efficiently enough to only be hit once or twice if he got too cocky. But no the true purpose of his bala was one of distraction. Every time a Bala hit the ground or the wall it would kick up dust and debris; debris that D'gerik would use soon enough as he suddenly changed direction when the cloud was thick enough to hide himself, doing everything in his power to hide his Reiatsu. After all, he only needed a few seconds now...