Rukongai.
Within the forest, Enrakyōten fled in a desperate rush.
Finally, someone had suddenly intervened to create a distraction. Such a golden opportunity could not be wasted; it had to escape the Tsunayashiro estate immediately.
As a Zanpakutō passed down for a million years, it had often been shelved by successive heads of the Tsunayashiro family due to its side effect of shaving away the wielder's soul. Although the current head, Tsunayashiro Taketori, used it occasionally, he employed unknown special techniques to avoid that soul-shaving cost.
To Enrakyōten, the souls of Soul Reapers were the essential fuel for its power. Since Taketori wanted to use its abilities without offering up his own soul in return, staying with such a freeloading master would only result in being drained dry.
Now that it was finally free, it only needed to find a secluded place and wait for the storm to pass. Then, it could begin harvesting the souls of Soul Reapers from the shadows.
But—
Sensing a strange Spiritual Pressure doggedly pursuing it through the atmosphere, Enrakyōten's expression turned incredibly grim.
It seemed Taketori had no intention of letting it go. Moreover, judging by the crushing pressure coming from behind, the pursuer was fast.
Rather than continuing to waste Spiritual Power on a chase, it would be better to find a suitable hidden terrain and kill this fellow before other Soul Reapers arrived. It could devour his soul in the process, bolstering its current strength.
Having seemingly made up its mind, Enrakyōten suddenly veered away from its straight path, heading toward the outer districts of Rukongai.
Naraku Sora paused for a moment, but soon that familiar smile returned to his face. He surged forward, his Spiritual Pressure exploding as he gave chase.
Soon, Enrakyōten came to a halt within a valley.
"Soul Reaper, this is where it ends."
The two mouths within its eye sockets moved in unison. Though it was a short sentence, the sight of two mouths splitting the speech was profoundly eerie.
"You can talk?" Sora blinked in surprise. "I thought you were a mute."
Enrakyōten's expression instantly darkened. As the mouths in its eye sockets moved, a bizarre ripple suddenly undulated through the air.
As a Zanpakutō that had claimed half of Tsunayashiro Taketori's Spiritual Pressure, it could clearly perceive the level of the Soul Reaper before it.
'Hmph, Fourth Class.'
An ant that could be crushed with a wave of the hand.
Threads of electricity flickered across Enrakyōten's body. In an instant, a violent, golden flash enveloped its form, erupting with a low-frequency vibration. Amidst a cacophony of sharp sounds resembling thousands of chirping birds, lightning imbued with destruction surged from the long blade, soaring into the sky.
Without another word, Enrakyōten opened with an overwhelmingly powerful offensive. The lightning transformed into a pillar of light, radiating a scorching heat as it clawed its way toward Sora's position.
Kōkō Gonryō Rikyu!
In that moment, the earth beneath them shook violently. A massive shockwave struck as terrifyingly high temperatures flooded the area, drowning Sora in pure destruction.
Enrakyōten assumed an attack of this caliber would be enough to execute a Soul Reaper of Lieutenant-level caliber, but to its surprise, a brilliant white line erupted from within the lightning.
Sora drew his blade—
Secret Art: Dragon Flash.
The cold glint of the edge cleaved the lightning pillar in half, passing through it as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Enrakyōten's expression shifted slightly as it immediately lunged to the side. A violent sword pressure exploded from the silver-white flash, grazing past it and striking the distant valley wall.
A thunderous explosion followed. A massive crater appeared on the cliffside, sending countless boulders tumbling down and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Enrakyōten's nerves were taut. The mouths in its eye sockets "stared" fixedly at the figure standing not far away with sword in hand. The Spiritual Pressure wasn't overwhelming, yet it exerted a sense of pure, raw pressure.
Scorching heat rose as flames of violent Spiritual Pressure caused the ground to char. It was as if a sun were rising within the valley.
The moment Sora gripped his hilt, a shattering roar erupted. Pure, suffocating heat radiated outward without restraint. Accompanied by a sweeping gale, the figure vanished. A straight line of fire erupted from the cracks in the earth, leaving behind a scorched black trail.
Flash Step.
In a heartbeat, Sora crossed a hundred meters, streaking through the valley like a meteor straight for Enrakyōten. His blade, wrapped in flames of Spiritual Pressure, swung high and crashed down with a howl.
It felt like the fall of a heavy hammer.
Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!
The blue explosion tore through the air. The incoming heat instantly evaporated the leaping, distorted electrical arcs, turning the scene a brilliant crimson.
Enrakyōten's face twisted. Its spine went rigid as it dodged violently. The blade nearly grazed its cheek, detonating in a massive pit where it had stood a second before.
"Soul Reaper—" its mouths hissed as it regained its footing.
As a Zanpakutō capable of mimicking the abilities of others, Enrakyōten could clearly sense that Sora had completed his Shikai the moment the battle began. The Spiritual Pressure burning on the surface of his body was one source of his dominance.
However, it could not forcibly copy him. Lacking its own powerful offensive means, if it copied the opponent's power, it would only be dragged down to the same level. Then, it would likely be humiliated by the opponent's superior experience.
"Black."
A strange voice echoed. The ground beneath Enrakyōten's feet shattered inch by inch as its extreme speed allowed it to appear like a ghost to the front right. The silver blade rose and swung down.
Sora raised his sword to parry, but the expected strike never landed. There wasn't even the sound of a collision. Enrakyōten vanished into thin air as if swallowed by shadows.
Rip—!
The sound of tearing fabric came from behind as a lightning-fast slash descended. Before he could react, Sora felt a terrifying impact explode, sending him flying like a cannonball. He smashed through several large trees before finally coming to a halt.
"Phew..."
Sora stepped out from the wooden debris, rolling his shoulders. He felt a sudden sluggishness and numbness spread through his body, followed by a searing, piercing pain radiating from his back.
Enrakyōten understood its own abilities perfectly and gave its enemy no room to breathe. It charged at a speed invisible to the naked eye, arriving in an instant. Its blade shimmered under the morning sun.
A dazzling, blinding golden light suddenly erupted, making it impossible to look directly at the scene.
Sun-Radiance Flash: Kinpika!
When Sora tried to raise his sword to block, he realized the numbness from before had already covered his entire body, reaching into every inch of flesh and bone. Even though he sent the mental commands, his body remained frozen in its original posture, showing no sign of movement.
Ashisogi Jizō: Fear Degree 4!
In the previous strike where it had vanished and reappeared, Enrakyōten had copied Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Zanpakutō, Ashisogi Jizō. Its ability was to sever the "control" signals sent from the brain to the limbs.
Enrakyōten condensed Reishi fragments beneath its feet, "looking" down at its enemy. It whispered, "Black."
Under Sora's startled gaze, the blade slashed across the chest of his black kimono. In the next moment, the flames of Spiritual Pressure began to collapse. The specially-made garment shattered, and an impact several times more terrifying than before crashed down amidst a roar.
The earth groaned. The shockwave extended for hundreds of meters, piling soil to the horizon as a hurricane-like gale swept toward the sky. The heavy force swallowed Sora's body, ravaging his seemingly indestructible defense, as if determined to end him right there.
Enrakyōten stood calmly at the edge of the crater. It sensed the Spiritual Pressure buried under the dirt; it was incredibly weak, flickering as if it might vanish at any moment.
"Your soul belongs to me."
A pale white hand rose, pointing toward the center of the pit as Spiritual Pressure gathered.
Suddenly, a pillar of pitch-black Spiritual Pressure erupted from the ground, piercing the heavens. An extremely violent aura exploded, and a terrifying ripple surged from the crater, shaking everything in all directions. With a deafening roar, all debris in sight was disintegrated.
To Enrakyōten's disbelief, a battered body shrouded in black Spiritual Pressure walked out of the light pillar. The head tilted up, and fragments of white bone adorned the forehead.
A grotesque, jagged smile appeared.
The horrific wounds on the body healed at a speed that defied logic. Flesh wove back together with audible pops, and even the toxins left by Ashisogi Jizō were purged.
Enrakyōten took a deep breath, finally realizing the terror of the Soul Reaper before it, while also regretting its earlier decision. Had it known, it wouldn't have fought.
This guy was even more troublesome than Tsunayashiro Taketori. To be cut like that and still move—and with a recovery speed far exceeding the Hisagomaru it had copied.
Sora took a deep breath. The Reishi in the atmosphere gathered frantically, forming a visible torrent that swirled around him to fill the emptiness in his body.
Combined with the previous exchange, Enrakyōten had used at least three Zanpakutō abilities. Beyond the initial Gonryōmaru, there was a nameless blade that could manipulate flashes to blind the eyes, the Katen Kyōkotsu that could teleport through shadows and turn children's games into reality, and the Ashisogi Jizō that inflicted neurotoxins to cut off nerve signals.
It was absurd.
Compared to a Soul Reaper's relatively singular mode of attack, the Zanpakutō powers recorded by Enrakyōten were complex and varied, making it nearly impossible to counter. Just as you adapted to one, it would pull out a completely opposite ability the next second.
Against such an opponent, it was best to crush them with overwhelming, destructive violence.
In the next heartbeat...
A savage grin burst into Enrakyōten's vision. A snowy blade fell from above, slashing down without mercy. A deafening boom echoed as if a meteor had struck. The ground jolted, and soft soil was instantly compacted by the gargantuan force.
As the residual force dissipated, ripples of air exploded under the morning light, shooting into the sky. Enrakyōten struggled out of the dirt, staggering as it activated Flash Step to try and escape the range of attack.
However, Sora was faster and more ferocious.
The moment Enrakyōten cleared the pit and looked up, a terrifying, daunting aura was already inches away.
'If I let you run at this distance, wouldn't my Hollowification be for nothing?'
Before it could react, the silver blade swung horizontally like a heavy sledgehammer. The terrifying impact surged through its body.
The sound of tearing flesh accompanied a clear snap of bone. Enrakyōten was sent flying like a broken kite, snapping giant trees and carving a deep trench in the earth before slamming hard into the cliff at the back of the valley.
The entire cliff face collapsed under the impact. Tons of rubble poured down, completely burying Enrakyōten.
The Hollowified Sora looked even more savage. He Flash-Stepped to the pile of rocks, his scorching Spiritual Pressure surging and dyeing his blade red.
However, just as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow, a bizarre ripple of Spiritual Pressure suddenly covered the area. It felt as if invisible slashes were falling upon Sora's body; his chest tore open, and bones shattered.
A hand wreathed in Spiritual Pressure broke through the rubble. Enrakyōten rose slowly, blood leaking from its mouth, its face contorted. As its chest split, it also caved in. The injuries were identical to the ones Sora currently bore.
Victory in a direct confrontation was impossible to see. In that case, it would stake everything on its final trump card.
Enrakyōten's expression turned solemn. It plunged its blade into the earth, its voice low and heavy. "Gagaku Kairyū—"
Crossed phantoms began to manifest across the scarred valley floor. Grotesque, abyssal maws coalesced, covering the entire valley in an instant. There was nowhere to hide.
The moment the abyss formed, a crushing pressure descended upon Sora. An invisible darkness expanded.
Deep red flickered atop the silent, pitch-black Spiritual Pressure. They tangled and coiled, forming distorted, violent electrical arcs that wove around Sora's muscular arm.
Enrakyōten, also standing within the range of the abyss, felt a sudden, ominous premonition when it saw Sora's current state. It was as if destruction was staring it in the face.
Sora punched toward the ground with his strongest strike.
Hollowification!
Black Flash: Ikkotsu!
In that split second, the explosion was deafening.
To Enrakyōten's horror, the abyssal maws of Gagaku Kairyū shattered like bubbles before its eyes. In their place, a terrifying shockwave, like a sun detonating, erupted from the ground!
Space itself distorted. Pure power swept through and swallowed everything. The Bankai power strictly forbidden by Central 46 was shattered by this single, unreasonable punch!
The earth roared. The entire valley let out an agonizing groan under the weight of that power. Soil and stone surged like waves amidst the violent tremors. The cracked peaks disintegrated instantly. Through the swirling dust, a massive hand suddenly appeared, brutally slamming into Enrakyōten's face.
Then—it slammed it down hard!
The soil beneath was instantly flattened into a deep crater. Amidst the searing pain, Enrakyōten finally woke from its shock. Looking at the savage grin inches away, it tried one last desperate struggle.
Yet before its ability could even trigger, an unstoppable strike pulverized its chest. Countless Reishi particles dispersed.
As the dust settled, Sora picked up a silver blade, beautiful as a mirror's surface. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with an eerie, magical allure.