Byakuya Kuchiki felt a burning sensation spreading through his chest. He tried to support his body and stand up, but he simply could not move.
An endless wave of fear continued to invade his mind little by little, as if it were trying to burn his consciousness completely away.
In the distance, Renji Abarai had already fallen unconscious.
Just as the lives of the two were about to reach their limit, a sharp cracking sound suddenly rang out. A fissure appeared on the enormous "eye wall" beside Äs Nödt.
A figure tore open the crack and stepped in slowly.
"Another one?"
Äs Nödt sneered coldly as he looked at the intruder.
"You actually walked into the range of my fear. Once you are stared at by my eyes, terror will devour you—"
Before he could finish speaking, a lightning spear pierced straight through his body.
In the next instant, the spear exploded.
Äs Nödt's entire body was torn apart and gradually dissipated into particles of Reishi.
His ability was extremely troublesome, but his durability was not overwhelming. Facing an explosion of that scale, he could only die with unwillingness.
Until the moment of his death, Äs Nödt still could not understand why fear had no effect on the opponent. In his understanding, all living beings possessed fear.
His figure completely turned into dust and vanished.
Byakuya let out a long breath of relief. He raised his head and looked toward the sky, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"…Are you Ulquiorra Cifer?"
Byakuya had already obtained intelligence regarding Ulquiorra. Although there were slight differences compared to previous records, the face was unmistakably similar.
"Mm."
A calm and indifferent voice answered. A figure with wings spread behind his back floated silently in mid-air.
"Thank you for saving me," Byakuya said.
Ulquiorra replied flatly,
"I am only carrying out the order of Master Kurotsuki Renya."
He was about to leave when Byakuya called out from below,
"Why were you not affected by fear?"
Ulquiorra paused for a moment and answered softly,
"Because… I have no heart."
After saying these words, his figure disappeared into the distance.
"No heart… Can that still be called life?"
But in any case, Renya's appearance had already proven that he had not betrayed the Seireitei, and the enemy would inevitably be wiped out.
With that final thought, Byakuya closed his eyes and fainted.
…
Boom.
When Gerard Valkyrie's fist was about to strike Kaien Shiba, a huge figure suddenly appeared behind Gerard and threw a punch.
Boom.
Gerard was blasted backward and landed heavily in the distant desert.
"Leave quickly."
A burly figure appeared in front of Kaien.
"Who… are you?" Kaien asked weakly, unable to recognize the monstrous form before him.
"My name is Kūgo Ginjō. I am a subordinate of Kurotsuki Renya. You should retreat and seek treatment immediately."
Ginjō's voice was deep and heavy. At this moment, his Hollowfication had deepened, causing his appearance to resemble a gigantic bull-like demon.
Hearing his words, Kaien barely managed to stand and staggered toward the Fourth Division's direction.
Meanwhile, Ginjō charged at Gerard again. He appeared before him and threw another punch.
Boom.
A dull shockwave spread outward from the impact. Gerard's chest visibly sank as his bones shattered.
"That's it?"
Ginjō laughed loudly. Facing such an opponent, why had Renya required him to push his Hollowfication this far?
However, in the very next instant, Gerard's injuries healed completely. He stood up and swung his sword downward.
"…No injuries?"
Ginjō dodged the slash with a horrified expression.
His previous punch had contained the vibration-type power of his Fullbring ability. It should have crushed Gerard's chest entirely. Yet the enemy remained unharmed.
Seeing Gerard attack again, Ginjō suddenly stomped on the ground.
"The Bull Demon's Trample."
A violent tremor spread through the surrounding space. Gerard lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Ginjō immediately appeared above him. Grabbing the cross-shaped ornament on his chest, he transformed it into a massive sword.
Unlike Shūkurō Tsukishima, and unlike those who had fused their Fullbring medium completely with Hollowfication, Ginjō still retained full control over his Fullbring ability.
He gripped the giant sword with both hands and slashed downward.
Puff.
The blade, charged with shock-force vibrations, split Gerard's head, chest, and abdomen apart.
"This time… you must be dead."
Ginjō exhaled slowly.
Yet Gerard's body continued to regenerate. He rose to his feet once more.
His figure had grown even larger. Previously, Ginjō had reached about half his height — now he barely reached the enemy's calf.
"I cannot be killed."
Gerard raised his sword and struck again.
"Why… Why is it useless?"
Ginjō evaded repeatedly, unable to understand how the opponent could recover from being split in two.
Gerard declared proudly,
"My ability is the power of 'The Miracle.' All states unfavorable to me are converted into favorable ones. The damage you inflict upon me becomes my strength… and my speed."
As he finished speaking, he swung his sword again.
Ginjō jumped away and barely dodged the slash, but the moment he appeared in mid-air, a gigantic fist was already waiting.
Boom.
He raised his arms to block, yet was still blasted away and slammed into the ground.
He struggled to stand when Gerard stepped forward and stomped down.
"…Not good."
Ginjō rolled to the side and avoided the stomp, but a long sword immediately followed toward his head.
"Damn it…"
He saw the blade approaching yet could not evade in time.
At the critical moment, a thunderous impact rang out. The sword was knocked off course and flew into the distance.
A figure floated silently nearby.
"…Thank you, Ulquiorra."
Ginjō wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave a bitter smile.
It was Ulquiorra, who had just finished his previous battle.
"Let us deal with him together."
After saying this, Ulquiorra rushed toward Gerard without hesitation. Ginjō followed immediately behind him.
…
Meanwhile, Jugram Haschwalth raised his sword to strike the fallen Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
At that moment, a boundless surge of seawater swept forward and blasted Haschwalth into the distance.
While he was still being carried by the current, a figure appeared behind him and thrust an arm straight through his chest.
"Cough…"
Haschwalth spat out blood as he looked at the arm protruding from his body in surprise.
A figure slowly leaned forward and whispered,
"You are dead."
"So easy."
"That's right. Master Renya specifically warned Lady Tier Harribel to be cautious, yet it turned out to be this simple."
In the distance, Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose and Cyan Sung-Sun spoke among themselves.
Within the seawater, Harribel slowly withdrew her arm and shook the blood away.
"…Finished."
She turned to leave.
However, the moment she moved, her chest suddenly shattered open. She froze in place.
Haschwalth's wound had already healed. A cracked scapegoat shield appeared in his left hand.
He spoke calmly,
"My ability is 'The Balance.' I can redistribute fortune and misfortune. I transfer my misfortune into the shield… and then reflect it back onto my opponent."
"The injury you inflicted on me just now was enough to kill me. Therefore, the same level of injury is enough to kill you."
As he finished speaking, Harribel's body began sinking into the water.
But the instant she touched the surface, her figure dissolved into flowing liquid.
Around Haschwalth, four identical Harribels appeared simultaneously.
"You did not kill my true body. What you struck was only a water substitute I controlled."
All four figures thrust their arms forward at once, piercing toward Haschwalth.
Yet he remained unharmed. The four figures dissolved again.
Haschwalth destroyed the substitutes one after another, but his expression grew increasingly grim — because more and more water doubles continued to appear. There were now dozens surrounding him.
Meanwhile, the cracks on his scapegoat shield continued to spread.
Would the water substitutes be exhausted first…
Or would the shield shatter before that?
The answer was already obvious.
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