Chapter 204
"Puff!!"
The silver spear pierced through Haruto's abdomen, carrying his body several times further than before.
"Boom!"
Two buildings along the path collapsed instantly.
"Clatter."
Gravel and steel bars fell from the sky.
While the kicks, which extend for hundreds of meters, may not be as sharp, their speed and power still bear the hallmarks of a "Shinsō."
"Dragon-Serpent Iron Dance."
Baishin slowly uttered the name of the move.
Just by looking at the destructive power of that side kick, one can understand how powerful his Bankai is: even though the defense of the Shisō Kekkai was greatly weakened by the combination of Bakudō, it shouldn't have been able to be broken through by a "normal attack" in one move.
How are you feeling?
The Baishin is about to be withdrawn from the right leg.
In his Bankai form, aside from two Kidō that are almost fused with his body, all his abilities are concentrated on strengthening his steel body, and all changes in form (ability) require a massive amount of Reiatsu.
Don't be fooled by how insignificant that attack was; it consumed just as much energy as Haruto's slash.
However--
"?"
The Baishin technique was unsuccessful, and the leg-retracting movement was significantly hindered.
This is not normal.
The attack just now shattered the opponent's Hakusui. Without this organ, even the most powerful Soul Reaper cannot mobilize even a fraction of Reiatsu.
But why...?
"Snap."
The thick smoke dissipated.
Through the building, which had been cut in half and pierced through, Baishin finally saw Haruto's posture: his injured right arm hung at his side, and his left hand firmly gripped his ankle.
"Got you?"
Haruto looked up, and although it sounded like they were talking face-to-face, Baishin from this distance.
Head-on collision?
Even the "surging" slash only resulted in mutual injury, Haruto never believed from the beginning that he could withstand the Baishin with his bare body.
But for the plan to work, he must make physical contact with the opponent—and this requires the opponent to lower their guard.
And the trap...
They even made arrangements before encountering their opponents:
Haruto didn't hide his Reiatsu when he came to the World of the Living. Otherwise, although Baishin also has the ability to hide his Reiatsu, she would never have been able to detect his existence as a "Captain-level" individual. Just now, he suddenly suppressed his Reiatsu —it's impossible to completely conceal it during battle, but it's not difficult to simulate a decrease in Reiatsu —which successfully made Baishin think that victory was in his grasp and lower her guard.
This was a plan Haruto had prepared in advance to lure the snake out of its hole before he set off.
As for the specialized solution for Baishin...
"Hyōga Seiran!"
An extremely cold current rapidly spread from Baishin's right leg to her body, freezing her into a huge block of ice in the blink of an eye!
This is the reason for making contact with the opponent's body.
In the instant he was struck by "Silver-Winged Comet Heaven," Haruto used the Reishi flame that ignited within his body for a fleeting moment to confirm a fact: the metal that constitutes Baishin's body has a thermal conductivity far greater than that of air.
Then the rest is quite simple.
Thump.
As the Baishin fell to the ground—
"The Daichi Ten'yō!"
Haruto, having landed with Shunpo, stomped his foot hard on the ground.
Irregular stone walls arched out from the ground, further "reinforcing" the Baishin that were already frozen and unable to move.
--Along with the ever-spreading chill.
At last.
"Kurohitsugi!"
The pitch-black coffin completely covered Baishin.
"Click."
Even though cracks immediately appeared on the surface of the newly formed Kurohitsugi, it couldn't change Haruto's next plan:
"It's too late."
The Reishi that make up the Ransōtengai pulled its right arm upwards.
The Reiatsu gushing from the wound, combined with the natural Reishi absorbed by the Sklaverei, formed the blue flames that shot up from the blade.
This is not a powerful technique, but merely the foundation upon which the Heilig Pfeil is formed.
Haruto simply skipped the initial and middle stages of condensation and firing, directly allowing the concentrated Reishi to adhere to the blade in the form of Flow flames.
"Boom!!"
The triple Shibari were shattered and collapsed by a single strike from the Baishin.
However, the time that had been given was more than enough for Haruto.
"Sunstorm - Evaporation Slash!"
A crescent moon formed of flames landed on Baishin's chest, just as she broke open the Kurohitsugi.
"Laugh!!"
Haruto didn't have a stronger fire-type Kidō, otherwise he wouldn't have resorted to such a troublesome and easily exposed method; if he knew Ittō Kasō, he could have just rushed up and slashed directly when Hyōga Seiran hit him.
Even so.
The Quincy's concentrated flames of Reishi are more than enough for this situation.
"Boom!!"
The massive explosion unleashed an incredibly violent shockwave.
In addition, the extremely high temperatures that spread caused several buildings around the impact point to melt and collapse.
As for the Baishin at the very center—
"Hiss."
In the center of a deep, dark pit.
The man, surrounded by steam, had patches of metallic skin peeling off, and his heavy, noisy breathing was enough to tell him he was in poor condition.
A clash between extreme cold and extreme heat.
Such absolute and opposing forces, acting together on Baishin, did not shatter him into pieces of iron.
The power of this Bankai could be even higher.
"At once..."
"This?"
The Baishin rubbed forcefully across the corner of her mouth.
The Flow liquid metal dripped uncontrollably onto the ground, melting and creating holes in the already dark pit.
"..."
Haruto silently raised his Zanpakuto.
He held the sword in his right hand at his side, while his left hand gently stroked the bright, water-like surface of the blade.
"Fang Thrust."
It was a simple, unadorned, sudden slash accompanied by the Shunpo.
"Bite."
Just before the blade touched Rilan's wound.
Baishin's remaining hand was once again covered in a deep, dark silver color, and it gripped Seisen tightly from above the back of the blade.
That's it?
The sound of the Baishin returned to normal.
"Splash."
But Haruto's figure turned into water and fell to the ground.
That's "Oboro".
--The flowing, illusory form possessing Reiatsu confused Baishin's senses.
"That's it."
Another stream of Seisen had already been quietly pressed against the Saketsu of the Baishin.
"Tinkle."
The Stillness effect of the Seisen won't last long against Soul Reaper of the Baishin level, but a few seconds is enough.
"Then--"
Baishin had indeed guessed Haruto's purpose: extreme cold and extreme heat were merely preludes to making him brittle; the final, piercing strike was the end.
However, Haruto's strike just now was not the final blow he had anticipated.
"Tsk."
The blade, sparking as it cut downwards, slid from the Saketsu to the wound diagonally across the chest and abdomen.
"Snap."
Insert it, then rotate it like a key into a lock.
"Break forth, Seisen!"
The collision of extreme cold and extreme heat rendered Baishin's body incredibly fragile for a short period. Then, by giving him maximum Flow from a state of Stillness...
"Boom!!"
As the fine iron plates shot out in a fan shape, the Soul Reaper known as Baishin no longer existed in this world.
"Call out!"
Blood Shock, Sheath the Blade.
The liquid metal that had been adhering to the blade turned back into bright red blood with Baishin's death.
"Call out."
The Reishi threads stitched the wound from the inside out.
When operated with fingers, combining it with the Ransōtengai of Kaidō can increase the healing speed by 3 times.
The efficiency is equivalent to Byakuya controlling Senbonzakura by hand.
"Don't move."
Haruto's eyelids drooped slightly.
It must be said that he was quite exhausted at the moment: this was the first time Haruto had used Seisen's "bursting" ability in actual combat, and if Sklaverei hadn't temporarily replenished some Reishi, he would probably have already fallen asleep from exhaustion.
As well as...
He concealed the murderous intent flickering in his eyes.