Chapter 132
Given his current physical condition, maintaining the large-scale ice-soil tilted armor capable of deflecting Bala is already the limit Haruto can achieve.
"Boom!!"
At the very end of the seemingly endless Bala, the Kidō defense, Kōjutsu Eishō incessantly for a moment, finally crumbled.
Beyond the battlefield, where the thick smoke has dissipated.
"Buzz."
"!!"
Adjuchas grinned.
"..."
"Run!!"
Cero.
Adjuchas instantly defeated Daijiji's Cero, and even Haruto in his full form had no way to stop him.
As for the word he uttered subconsciously...
Only Isane is mobile on their side, but even if she dodges this Cero with Isane Shunpo speed, what can she do?
Even Captain-level powerhouses might not be able to escape the power of Adjuchas's Sonído.
"Laugh!!"
The irresistible Cero cleared everything in its path, the intense light so bright that even Haruto Eye Opening.
"――"
"Tears fell like rain, filling the river."
At that time.
A clear and pleasant female voice rang in Haruto's ears.
"Squeak!!"
The relentless, unstoppable Cero, amidst a frenzied and piercing shriek, poured entirely into the hand of the familiar figure blocking his path.
"Beep."
The world is at peace.
All the Reiatsu that filled every corner of the battlefield, whether it originally belonged to Soul Reaper or Hollows, vanished completely at this moment.
"World-Protecting Hollow Blade!"
"Mutsuki... teacher?"
Mutsuki Shōkaku.
In her tightly clenched hands was a wakizashi, no longer than her forearm, and it was this unassuming weapon that had absorbed Adjuchas's Cero.
Without a doubt.
That was Mutsuki Shōkaku's Zanpakuto he had never shown before.
"Yo."
Mutsuki Shōkaku tilted her head back at a 45-degree angle to look at Haruto.
"!!"
The blood and tears still streaming down their cheeks, the twisting veins in their shoulders and neck... all spoke volumes about how terrible their owner's condition was.
Mutsuki Shōkaku's outward display of Reiatsu fluctuated wildly, from an ordinary level on the verge of death to Third-Class Reii approaching that of Captain-level.
"Haruto."
A gentle voice.
It was exactly the same as when the two first met at the Shin'ō Academy.
That was the second time Haruto had experienced pure kindness in Soul Society, aside from the grandmother who had adopted him.
"You did a great job."
Mutsuki Shōkaku's fingers trembled as she gripped the sword. She wanted to reach out and do something, but in the end, she didn't lift her hand from the hilt even a fraction.
"The teacher can help you..."
"Zzz!!"
Mutsuki Shōkaku's Zanpakuto seemed to rise uncontrollably towards his head.
"Like a surging tide, leading you home."
The short, silver-white blade, enveloped by a vast, surging Reiatsu, transformed into a blood-red greatsword as long as a person.
That's all.
Mutsuki Shōkaku's voice was already barely audible.
"... teacher?"
From the moment he appeared and blocked the Cero to the moment his body was on the verge of collapse, everything was condensed into less than ten seconds.
Haruto has many problems:
For example, what happened to the sage, and how was she able to escape and get here? For example, what is the ability of this Zanpakuto, and why was it able to block Adjuchas's Cero with Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure? For example...
Haruto's chaotic thoughts couldn't be cleared up in a short time.
But.
He doesn't have that kind of time.
"World-Bearing Release Blade!"
The greatsword slashed through the void towards Adjuchas.
The immense Reiatsu suddenly transformed into a crimson blood moon, like a tranquil lake and a surging river, reflecting the approaching fear in Adjuchas's eyes.
"――"
"Boom!!"
――――
The forest was divided in two.
The bottomless hole where the blood moon fell testifies to the power of that strike.
"Clatter."
Grass clippings and sand fell like a torrential rain.
"I see."
In the dim, murky curtain, Adjuchas, who had lost half of his body, moved slowly forward, his limbs swaying.
"Not having all three of you appear together was an incredibly wise choice."
But.
Such an injury is nothing to Adjuchas.
"Absorb completely, retaliate fully."
From the broken incision, muscle fibers intertwined like countless tentacles, quickly forming a new limb.
High-Speed Regeneration.
The signature ability of the Menos Grande.
The reconstructed limbs are not as strong and flexible as before, but they can adapt quickly after a short period of combat.
"The reflected Cero even completely ignored my spatial abilities..."
"If I hadn't had enough experience in this area, I probably would have been taken down by this guy."
Adjuchas shook his somewhat weak arm, and as the white bone patterns spread, they soon produced a tearing sound as if the air was being ripped apart.
Spatial abilities are Adjuchas's natural talent.
Even if the energy level is comparable to one's own Cero, any ranged attack that is a release-type attack cannot escape the fate of being reversed.
Just now.
Adjuchas intended to return Mutsuki Shōkaku's slash to its original form—but it misjudged Mutsuki Shōkaku's Zanpakuto abilities. If it hadn't been for its experience and sense of crisis allowing it to turn its head at the last moment, it would be the Visored that would be shattered now.
Once Adjuchas's Visored breaks...
Given the strength of that last strike, even if it didn't immediately fall back to Gillian, the Severing Flow Reiatsu would be far from enough to sustain its continued fight. Not to mention, the overflowing Reiatsu definitely attract Soul Reaper capable of hunting it.
Even now.
Adjuchas has only recently advanced in cultivation, and its mastery of its abilities is far from perfect. High-Speed Regeneration consumes a large amount of Reiatsu.
Coupled with its previously reckless and unrestrained fighting style, its Reiatsu is now only about Hanza of its peak level.
"Alright."
Adjuchas twitched his body.
Playtime is over.
"Don't be too sad..."
After confirming that I have adapted to the new body—
I'll reunite you with your family right away.
Adjuchas's voice remained utterly calm.
All threats have been eliminated.
The Soul Reaper had successfully wounded it was now completely lifeless: her Zanpakuto was indeed troublesome, but absorbing power far exceeding its own limits at once inevitably came at a price.
There was no need for him to lift a finger; absorbing the violent Reiatsu from the Hollow was enough to completely destroy her body. Otherwise, how could a Soul Reaper of Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure possibly harm a Shinigami that had already completed its evolution?
If it were a battle between equals, Adjuchas might still be wary of his opponent's abilities, but the difference in Reiatsu...
The outcome is decided.
"Buzz."
Adjuchas opened his jaw.
Within that deep darkness, the Cero light coalesced once more.
――――
"..."
Zanpakuto into pieces of metal, a lifeless corpse.
Haruto stared blankly at everything before him.
Behind him, Nanao, Ayaka, Kiyone Seine, whether near or far, had all lost consciousness.
The fact that only a faint but stable Reiatsu remained indicated that they still retained vital signs.
Only the Isane.
Picking up the Zanpakuto that had been blown away by the impact, Isane was still making her last effort to use Kidō in conjunction with the power of Itegumo to stabilize Mutsuki- sensei's injuries.
But.
Isane herself knew it was futile.
The girl simply refused to believe what she was seeing: if even the supposedly "not lacking in self- Mutsuki, Haruto, could only barely injure the illusory figure before her with a desperate, all-out attack...
Do they still have a chance of winning?
"Snap."
A strong, powerful hand patted Isane's shoulder.
"?"
With a bewildered look in Isane's eyes, Haruto helped the girl slowly stand up.
Is that so?