Chapter 257: Intervention
"Impressive, Komamura-taichou! But it will take more than this to defeat me...!" bellowed Erza, sporting a broad smile as she endured the surprise attack of Komamura's released Zanpakuto, Tenken. When used, it created a giant, disembodied, armor-covered arm wielding a massive blade nearly twenty meters in length, but Erza was able to block its overhead strike by raising and crossing her swords. The ground cratered and melted beneath her, but it didn't change that she had withstood the blow.
'Such power...is this the influence of the Dragon's Pavilion...?' Komamura asked himself, gnashing his back teeth as he put all his strength into the blow. Unfortunately, after the momentum from his strike flowed through her and into the ground, Erza had little difficulty uncrossing her swords, forcefully deflecting his phantom blade into the air and knocking him off balance as the disembodied appendage echoed his movements and vice-versa.
Seeing Komamura lose his footing, Erza's eyes, which had turned purple after her reincarnation, flashed opportunistically as she revered her grip on the feather-like sword in her left hand. Then, producing several sonic cones that broke against her momentum, she moved like a vermillion flash of light, fully prepared to slice Komamura down before a sweeping curtain of pink sakura petals intercepted her.
"Hmmm...?"
Aided by her fiery Devil wings and Phoenix-feather mantle, Erza changed directions nigh-instantaneously, the heat and wind pressure of her initial charge and abrupt change in direction slamming into the curtain of petals with a loud metallic crash. Ordinary petals would have burnt, but the wall that had formed to block Erza's passage turned white hot, several melting into a molten liquid that was dispersed by the wind pressure.
"I understand the desire to protect your comrade, but Komamura-taichou and I were having a proper duel," remarked Erza, maintaining her smile as she reappeared on the opposite side of the crater Komamura's attack had formed to gaze up at her presumed next opponent, Byakuya, staring down at her impassively from atop the gate denoting the entrance to his team's fortress's inner courtyard.
"Flames that can burn the soul... you're dangerous..." remarked Byakuya, his eyes narrowing as the glowing pink petals he had scattered gathered at the emptied hilt of his Zanpakuto, reforming into a blade with notable wear.
"I have my Mistress to thank for that," stated Erza, her smile growing as she revealed, "Thanks to her, I gained the ability to emulate the flames of a Phoenix. And with this armor, my firepower and defenses are more than doubled so long as my flames continue to burn."
Waiting for Erza to finish speaking, Komamura, gritting his teeth, called out, "Kuchiki-taichou, I beseech you to stay out of this battle! As the one who issued the challenge, I cannot allow you to intercede!"
"Komamura-taichou challenged this woman to a duel...?" asked Byakuya, his narrowed gaze shifting to Komamura, accompanied by a slight furrow of his brows. Had Erza issued the challenge, he could have annulled it on the grounds she was invading their side's territory, but Komamura issuing it made the match a matter of the Gotei's reputation and his integrity as a Captain.
"Erza-dono is a proud and noble warrior who holds the distinguishment of being the Dragon's Pavilion's Knight," reminded Komamura, his expression and tone firm as he asserted, "It is my privilege to stand across her as her opponent..."