Bleach Fantasy Round 15: Aizen Sousuke vs. Caius Ballad (The Ultimate Evil Pt. 2)

VS.

This is it ladies and gentlemen. We're nearing the end of Bleach Fantasy Month with our final 2 posts both personally handpicked and judged by MechG. The penultimate battle of the Ultimate Evils (Pt. 2) - Bleach's Aizen Sousuke & FF XIII-2's Caius Ballad. These two immortals defy death - continuously seeking power and posing a true threat to Ichigo & Lightning. With these two standing in the way of our heroes, it's no wonder that they're true antagonists in both Bleach & FF XIII-2. Without further ado, let us end Bleach Fantasy month on a good note - who'll win this fight? Who truly is the better and more antagonizing villain? And more importantly ~ Whose power truly shines? The following will be the deciding factors - Backstory/Role in Story, Powers/Abilities, & Verdict. As said previously before, my portion will be noted in Blue and MechG's in Purple ~ the titles in Yellow. Currently, FF & Bleach are tied 7-7. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Aizen Sousuke)

Aizen, before being the antagonist of Bleach and before even reaching the level of Captain, was Shinji Hirako's lieutenant in the 5th division. However, even at the time of him being a lieutenant Shinji - he was plotting to taker control of the Hogyoku & learn the secrets of transcending the powers of Shinigami & Hollow. He, alongside Gin & Kaname, defected from the Soul Society - striking down Lisa, Love, Rose, Hachigen, Kensei, Mashiro, Hiyori, & his own captain, Shinji. However, Kisuke Urahara & Tessai showed up only to allow Aizen to escape and continue on plotting his ambition for power. Aizen soon became 5th division Captain and eventual Leader of the Espada. His goal was Kisuke's Hogyoku, which was implanted inside Rukia's Gigai body. From the get-go, Aizen was up to no good as he wanted to transcend the boundaries of God itself. His involvement with this led to the creation of the Visored, his allying with Hueco Mundo, & Isshin's fated meeting with Masaki (noted for having known about Ichigo's life since his conception). And to top it off, no one knew of Aizen's deception. 

Aizen has played a pivotal role throughout Bleach, serving as the main antagonist (excluding fillers) in every arc. From the get-go, he was up to no good -  betraying his captain, the Soul society, and overall pretty much wanting to transcend into a higher being. Aizen was the former 5th Division Captain and, alongside Gin & Kaname of the 3rd and 9th division, betrayed the Gotei 13 after retrieving the Hogyoku from within Rukia. However, in order to cover up his defection beforehand, he instigated his own death as well as Central 46's murdeers (eventually found out by Captain Hitsugaya & Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto) so as to put the blame on the Ryoka (Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Chad, & Ganju)~ which then caused an outbreak between the Gotei 13, Team Ichigo, & various Shinigami who were siding against the Soul Society. Later, they made a pact with the Arrancar and Aizen's army amassed in numbers - ready to challenge the Gotei 13 w/ his 10 Espada. Aizen and his Espada enter a war against the Gotei 13 & the Visored and one by one, they fell. Aizen, however, used them simply as pawns (cutting down Tier Harribel without a moment's hesitation) as the Hogyoku was implanted within him and his transition into higher power began. He easily defeats various Captains & Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, but his loss against Ichigo AND the Hogyoku's will refusing Aizen's ambitions eventually landed him in prison for a long long time. Despite his imprisonment, Aizen is a special war potential by Yhwach, the current antagonist of Bleach & the Father of the Quincy. 

Backstory/Role in Story (Caius Ballad)

Caius was born in the time before the War of Transgression (massive war between Pulse and Cocoon) into the oldest Gran Pulse tribe called the Farseers. The Farseers were led by the young seeress Yeul who was able to see throughout the timeline and prophesize the future after being bestowed upon with the Eyes of Etro. Not a lot is emphasized on Caius’ early life other that the fact he became Yeul’s next Guardian after defeating the previous one, became a l’Cie and battled a fellow Farseer warrior that had better strength and skill than him. When Caius was about to be defeated by the powerful Farseer warrior, an army invaded in an attempt to find Yeul and Caius was ordered to pull back while his opponent sacrificed his life to save the young seeress. Caius shouldered the blame, thinking it should’ve been him to take one for Yeul; so in honor of the warrior that saved Yeul, Caius took on the last name “Ballad” to pay tribute to what could’ve been his greatest adversary. To protect Yeul, he became one with his Eidolon at the cost of his own life. The goddess Etro saw through Caius’ dedicated deeds and freed him from his l’Cie state and gave him the gift of immortality by infusing her heart, the Heart of Chaos, into his body. However, it gave him some bad luck too because the city of Paddra fell into peril and he had to witness Yeul die and be reborn countless times as he continues to fulfill her prophecies. This drove Caius mad and sent him on a relentless quest across the timeline to free Yeul and himself from a loop of pain, suffering, and death.

So Caius’ role in XIII-2 is on two fronts: in the timeless world of Valhalla and across the timeline. In Valhalla, Caius and Lightning become fated rivals considering both were bestowed upon the blessings of the goddess Etro. However, Caius sought to kill the goddess, doing anything he can to free Yeul’s suffering while Lightning was chosen to protect Etro, thus commencing an all-out war between the two in almost an infinite loop (that loop would be broken later after Lightning sees the vision of Serah’s death). In the timeline, he’s basically spying on Serah and Noel’s adventure across time in hopes to find Lightning (*cue “Every Breath You Take” by The Police*). They would come face to face in Oerba 200 AF and Caius accuses them of disrupting the timeline as he was told by Yeul because with Serah and Noel changing the timeline in order to resolve paradoxes, it causes Yeul to witness it and her lifespan shortens. After a brief battle with Noel and Serah, Caius retreats after Yeul tells him that time changed and he accompanies her into a portal so that Yeul doesn’t see the future. He enacted two attempts to lure Serah and Noel, both centering in Academia. The first attempt failed after Yeul gives them an artefact opening a time gate to the proto Fal’Cie, Adam. With Noel and Serah making changes to the timeline, Yeul witnesses a vision and dies. The explanation of Caius entering Valhalla to battle Lightning was further explained in 700 AF after battling Noel in an attempt to make him become the next guardian, but after defeating Noel, Caius had second thoughts. After the battle, Caius found a way to Valhalla while simultaneously Yeul dies in the Dying World. While laying her to rest in the sea of Chaos, Caius receives her vision of Cocoon and Gran Pulse being saved from total destruction and that’s how Caius’ battle with Lightning came full circle. In his second attempt to lure Noel and Serah, he uses Alyssa, one of Hope’s trustees to give them an artefact that leads them to the Void Beyond. That plan proved successful and Caius, specifically his future self, impales both of them into a dream state. By the time, Serah and Noel find Lightning in the far future, Lightning reveals Caius’ true plans of destroying both Cocoon and Gran Pulse to free the Yeuls. So the plan was to attack him simultaneously in Academia 500 AF and in Valhalla. He was eventually defeated even in his Chaos Bahamut and Jet/Amber/Garnet Bahamut forms. Caius forces Noel to deliver the final blow in the Heart of Chaos. By doing that and resolving the paradoxes, Etro dies, Serah dies, and the human world is consumed by Chaos. In the secret ending, Caius sits on Etro’s throne in the Void Beyond gaining new immortality caused by the many Yeuls. In LR, he is roaming around where Etro’s temple stood, surrounded by Chaos’ aura. For the one last battle between Lightning and Caius, Lightning was told by incarnations of Yeul to free him from his suffering. Caius refuses salvation from Light in the short run. After Bhunivelze’s defeat and in the creation of the new world, Caius insists on being the god who watches over the dead to keep balance between the world and the Unseen Realm. In one final act of redemption, Caius kills Noel (in a good way) to release the last incarnation of Yeul to be with him, Lightning, and the rest of the party as he departs with the other Yeuls to the Unseen Realm to guide the dead.

Powers/Abilities (Aizen Sousuke)

Aizen's primary ability lies in his Zanpaktou, Kyoka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower Water Moon), which was capable of complete hypnosis ~ distorting all senses to the point where it can change matter's shape, form, feel, and smell. However, after retrieving the Hogyoku, the implantation of the Hogyoku successfully (later backfired) in amplifying his form, power, speed, durability, spiritual power, regeneration, and Kido (using a high-level Kido without citing the whole incantation). Aizen is pretty much at God-like status and even before the Hogyoku implantation, he was a strong, old, and charismatic Shinigami Captain. He was able to stop Captain Komamura & Hitsugaya easily without having to resort to unsheathing his Zanpaktou, defeat Ichigo (in the very beginning) with just 1 finger, and thwart Grimmjow's advances just from his spiritual energy. His Kyoka Suigetsu clearly misled everyone & his Hogyoku Implantation amplified his power ten-fold ~ and he still is a threat to the Gotei 13 & the Wandenreich (was able to distort current antagonist, Yhwach, for a little bit). 

Powers/Abilities (Caius Ballad)

As a boss character and the primary antagonist in FFXIII-2, the amount of facing Caius in the game is TOO DAMN HIGH! In addition to wielding the large, dark sword, Ragnarok, Caius possesses quite a handful of powerful magic spells and with the essence of chaos, can transform into Chaos Bahamut and later, Jet Bahamut. He is fought in his human form a total of five times, five times, FIVE TIMES (*Booker T spinaroonie*) plus his Bahamut forms make that a total of nine battles with this guy. In his human form as I said before, he is fought five times in five different locations and time periods: Oerba 200 AF, the Void Beyond, Dying World 700 AF, Academia 500 AF, and finally in Valhalla and he can cast pretty powerful magic abilities and he can deal devastating physical attacks. To top it off he has a total of like 12-13 abilities, he’ll use all of them in at least one out of the many battles and some well he’ll just use some. During the final battle against him in Valhalla, his abilities become more organized into the traditional Paradigm roles of Commando, Ravager, and Healer (Medic). As a Commando, his abilities are Blast Wave (Caius strikes Ragnarok to the ground, unleashing purple-ish flames), Graviton (similar to the Ruin attack, but more powerful), Giga-Graviton, Inferno, Eye of Bahamut, Ultima, and Pulsar Burst (fires an array of Graviton all at once). As a Ravager, his ability is just Graviton, and as a Healer, his abilities are Heart of Chaos (restore HP), Body and Soul (stat buffer), Absolution (stat buffer again), and Dispelga. As Chaos Bahamu, Caius is fought three times: in Valhalla, Academia 500 AF, and Valhalla again and is able to cast Umbral Vise, Whirlwind, Ignis, Pulsar Burst, Obliterating Breath, Inferno, and Megaflare and they can deal very considerable amount of damage. As Jet Bahamut, he has two separate forms of Bahamut protecting it: Amber Bahamut and Garnet Bahamut and his notable devastating attacks include: Judgment Blade, Dying Sun, Gigaflare, and Exaflare (can immediately drain out a party’s HP). In LR, Caius’ abilities is somewhat dumb downed considering he’s not the central focus anymore, but as a boss, he’s still powerful enough to kick your @$$. Caius is well known to patiently exploit his opponent’s weakness and hide his emotions to keep them guessing on his thoughts and motives.

Verdict (By MechG)

And the winner is...

The last two BF posts (this one and the next one) are tough ones for me to judge. These two villains just make us ask the question: “WHY DON’T YOU JUST F*CK OFF AND DIE?” (Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” reference). After really evaluating these two, they’re both immortal, they pose a common threat to their respective worlds, but if you were to ask me who’s more evil, who has superior abilities, and who posed the biggest threat, this victory goes to Aizen. When I look at Caius, he doesn’t seem all that evil, he’s just burdened to see Yeul die in his arms time and time again and he’s doing all he can to free Yeul from her curse of dying as changes are made into the timeline even if it means destroying Cocoon and Gran Pulse as a whole. With Aizen, I see a really sadistic man, a man who basically doesn’t give a sh*t about anything other than himself; he’s seen by many in the Soul Society as this noble man, when in reality, he has no remorse for his fellow captains or lieutenants.  Referring way back to the Sephiroth-Aizen showdown Stillmattic and I did in August of 2013, I said Aizen is on another realm and has proven godlike status and achieved a higher power among the Soul Society; against Caius, it’s no different because before Caius was immortal, he was mortal and almost had his life taken away by a Farseer Warrior stronger than him. With Aizen, no Captain in the Gotei 13, no Espada, no Arrancar, no Shinigami, is able to match wits with him or better him in terms of powers/abilities mano e mano. Speaking of powers/abilities, comparing Aizen’s with Caius’ is like pitting a Peyton Manning-lead offense against a mid to low ranked defense in the NFL. The defense can give Manning different formations, but if they show blitz while Manning scans the field, Manning will call an audible immediately after exploiting a favorable matchup to pick apart the defense. That’s what Aizen would’ve done considering his great intellect; Caius can give him different looks with his powers/abilities to exploit a weakness in Aizen at the opportune time, but Aizen will exploit Caius’ move before he can execute it and use that against him. Aizen is just too difficult to exploit and when he’s in a killing mood, it’s lights out for the man in front of him and that’s why he’s the victor. Also Aizen’s Hogyoku transformations destroy Caius’ transformation into Chaos Bahamut/Jet Bahamut transformations any day of the weak.

So who do you think won? Aizen Sousuke from Bleach or Caius Ballad from Final Fantasy XIII-2? Comment below and let us know. The final BF post will be up sometime later. Thank you so much for following MechG and I's collaboration of Bleach & Final Fantasy Fight Nights. As of now (May 30th), Bleach leads 8-7 against FF. Until then, you all stay classy now. Throwback down below.