Chapter 112
――――
Volume 1: Chapter 70, The sword is a murder weapon, swordsmanship is a killing technique.
"Puff."
With a swift movement, the knife fell, stabbing one after another.
A thin stream of blood gushed towards the sky.
Haruto walked around the ruins of the castle tower, and a few minutes later, there were no other living Soul Reaper besides him.
"... madness."
Haruto's opinion of the nobility remained unchanged.
These people, too, rose to their current positions through military merit, but after holding their positions without contributing anything for so long, they've forgotten the very foundation upon which they built their careers.
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
If Haruto were in their shoes, he should either not get involved for the sake of saving face, or simply find a Captain-level expert to keep things under control.
In his early years at the Shin'ō Academy, Haruto did indeed maintain the proper humility in front of nobles.
But he has now killed far more nobles than he can count in two hands; the saying "possessing a sharp weapon, one's killing intent arises naturally" is not without reason.
"Completed."
Haruto Zanpakuto back into his waistband and casually wiped the blood off his body.
"They must be quite wealthy, it's a pity they don't have the habit of carrying cash."
Murder and robbery.
Both complement each other and are indispensable.
Haruto didn't collect many gold coins after his rounds of killing, but he did manage to get a good item from Satō Tsunayashiro:
A metal plaque gleaming with a crimson sheen.
"What's this?"
Haruto felt the Reiatsu emanating from this spiritual artifact.
"Fire type..."
"The Reiatsu accumulated inside is almost overflowing. Could it be a one-time release of a super Shakkahō?"
It has a smooth, warm touch, and feels like a hand warmer when held in your hand.
"No."
Haruto chuckled to himself and shook his head.
"Leaving aside how severe the symptoms related to Soul Reaper, Satō Tsunayashiro is already this age, so she probably doesn't need to use it to relieve her menstrual symptoms."
"..."
"Methods to deal with Hyōga Seiran?"
After Haruto could only categorize the function of this magical artifact into this aspect.
As Hyōga Seiran Kōga Kuchiki's signature Kidō, Tsunayashiro Clan will try to counter.
Keep it.
Haruto rubbed the surface of the spirit tool.
The fiery red texture gradually revealed rather ancient characters: Heat Haze Edict.
"If you really don't need it, you can give it to a girl. It will definitely look better than a scarf or something similar in winter."
After they picked up the trophy, shouts gradually rose from outside the castle tower.
With such a large explosion happening right at his doorstep, Haruto estimated that the surrounding nobles should have already come to investigate. The reason for their slow response could only be attributed to one thing: they were also frightened by the explosion and were afraid of being caught in the aftershocks.
"On another note."
Haruto looked up at the sky.
"So many nobles have died here. Even if I did nothing wrong, the Central 46 Chambers will still have to slap a huge accusation on me, won't they?"
Haruto has not lost his fear of the Central 46 Chambers.
The feeling of killing nobles hadn't faded yet... Aizen would probably enjoy killing even more centuries later.
"Byakuya sent word that we should go ahead and do it; what is the Kuchiki Clan doing—"
While Haruto was still talking to himself.
"Buzz!"
An irregular thin line suddenly appeared in the still clear sky amidst swirling black smoke.
"?"
Before Haruto could even react to what it was, a strange, ferocious, savage, and powerful Reiatsu had already slowly spread out like a mouth along the thin lines, reverberating unrestrainedly above this cluster of noble cities.
Darkness quickly obscured part of the sky.
The clown Visored with its long nose casts a huge shadow and instills fear simply by appearing.
"Gillian!?"
Lower-level Menos Grande, Gillian.
Don't be fooled by the description using "lower-level" to refer to them; the very word "Menos Grande" implies immense power.
The Menos Grande are divided into three levels.
The lower- Gillian, the middle-ranking Adjuchas, and the higher-ranking Vasto Lorde.
What level is Vasto Lorde?
According to the legends of the Gotei 13, ten Vasto Lorde- class Menos Grande could destroy Soul Society.
Even the newly promoted Vasto Lorde possess Captain-level combat power comparable to Second-Class Spiritual Pressure. Two ancient Vasto Lorde with long lifespans could easily shatter the Gotei 13 or even directly storm the Soul King Palace.
This is not a legend, but a fact.
Vasto Lorde Adjuchas, who is one level weaker than Vastod, possesses combat strength comparable to an ordinary Captain-level Third-Class Reii.
Those that evolved from Gillian have a wide range of abilities and Reiatsu, with the strongest able to contend with Vasto Lorde, while the weakest cannot defeat a team of ten Gillian.
As for the lowest- Gillian...
The Seated Officer would have little chance of winning against them, and the vice-captain would generally not fight alone.
These Menos Grande, lacking individuality and self-awareness, only employ biting and ramming as their primary fighting methods. If only these two moves are considered, even if the high- Seated Officers cannot kill them, they can still retreat with ease.
The problem lies with the Cero.
As massive entities of Reiatsu, the internal mass of Gillian is comparable to that of Soul Reaper with Fourth-Class Spiritual Pressure. Their only ultimate attack Cero, while having a long charging time and low accuracy, is effective if it even Cero...
Those below the Captain-level are almost certain to die if they are not prepared.
In encounters in the Rukongai or the World of the Living, the intimidation power of Gillian might not be as terrifying as that of Giant Hollow with special abilities.
But if it were positional warfare...
No defender wants to face Gillian.
Because as long as you can't kill them in a short time, just wait for a Cero to land... next door.
On set, Ryū Aihara could only rage in vain.
Certainly.
If you can successfully block the Cero, it will eventually become a new legend like "This is the city that XXX defended!"
This is the Soul Society, and I am surrounded by the mansions of nobles.
If we're talking about the best way to destroy evidence, Haruto has to admit that having Gillian unleash Cero is indeed the best option.
"Truly befitting a noble family."
As Haruto thought this, he already saw the black and white mouth slowly opening beneath the large, deceptive mask.
"It seems that these long-standing family lines are all more or less related to the supernatural."
The raging Reiatsu took on a deep red hue, a prelude to Gillian Cero.
"Able to target and lure Menos Grande into launching attacks..."
"Whoosh!"
Haruto decisively Shunpo to escape; he didn't want to test whether his Dankū could withstand the Cero.
"No wonder Byakuya was never curious about how the heirs of the Tsunayashiro Clan attracted Hollows to attack the nobles of West Rukongai..."
"These are all well aware of methods used to destroy evidence."
"Buzz."
The beam of light swept gently across the ground.
"Boom!!"
The mushroom cloud that shot into the sky wiped away all traces inside and outside the castle tower in a matter of seconds.
――――
That's it.
That evening.
Haruto, sitting at one side of the table, recounted his day's events to Byakuya across from him.
Byakuya seemed to have trained really hard in the afternoon. After Haruto came back, he even had time to take a shower and then have a nice nap.
"..."
After hearing this, Byakuya remained silent for a while, as was his habit.
Actually, I didn't go to practice my cultivation just now.
"Ah?"
"This sweat is from running Shunpo and forth between the two sides."
"Ah??"
"... Also, that Gillian wasn't brought over by our family."
"Ah???"
"Can you stop?"
Byakuya was starting to get a little overwhelmed by Haruto's constant "ah."
"This is truly shocking... Aren't you going to explain yourself?"
Haruto poured Byakuya a cup of tea that Byakuya didn't really like.
"The Tsunayashiro Clan is unaware that you possess information about the Senju Kōten Taihō. Tsunayashiro Mamoru did not inform the Tsunayashiro Clan after obtaining the Kidō."
"I know that, and I verified it during the day."
Haruto nodded.
"Father's original intention was to use the one-time explosive spirit tool, a token of goodwill from the Shihoin Clan, to help you clean up the mess."
"But..."
Haruto continued Byakuya's sentence:
"I didn't see anyone."
"Yes, that's why I've been running errands for you all day... The Vice-Captain-level Soul Reaper I sent was attacked by a Hollow on the way."
Byakuya confirmed Haruto's statement.
"Dead?"
It took a very long time to identify the body.