Chapter 242
This is also a drawback of the Jōkaku Enjō: unlike other common Bakudō, while the extremely high temperature of the flames restricts or even eliminates the opponent's movement space, it also affects the user's attack methods.
"Certainly..."
Szayelaporro gave a mocking smile.
"Taking the opportunity to escape would be a good plan, I think."
"No need for that."
Haruto swung his sword and slashed.
"Puff."
"?"
Szayelaporro's completely unexpected expression.
Haruto himself severed his left arm, which was charred black inside and out from controlling the excessive Reishi flames, with a single stroke.
"Hadō #96!"
"Sizzle!!"
A deep blue flame, as profound as the ocean, ignited on the gradually rising Seisen.
Haruto doesn't need to break through the Jōkaku Enjō and engulf the flames; he only needs to assimilate the flames into part of his attack—this is the true meaning of Ryūjin Jakka: a combo technique that can adapt to various situations and is virtually endless in its variations.
Burnt, broken arm.
Based on these conditions, the available moves are already obvious:
"Ittō Kasō!"
"Zzz!!"
The slashing Seisen, accompanied by bursts of flame, consumed everything around its point of impact.
"Boom!!"
Sankt Bogen.
The Jōkaku Enjō.
Ittō Kasō.
Haruto had gathered three powerful techniques, all for this final, decisive strike.
In the hands of Captain-Commander Yamamoto, Aizen's Millón Escudo was shattered in one blow by this move; although Szayelaporro's Reiatsu Haruto's, his defensive modified Cero was far inferior to Aizen's Millón Escudo.
Its destructive power is beyond doubt.
Thump.
It was accompanied by a deafening explosion.
Szayelaporro, who was originally dressed entirely in spotless white, suddenly leaped out of the blast radius in his pitch-black Sonído.
The surface skin is cracking and peeling off in pieces: it's the Hierro that has been pushed to its limits, melted and cracked by the ultra-high temperature.
As for Cero?
That thing was blown to pieces in the first wave of impact.
"Call!"
"Call."
The Heat, dry air, inhaled deeply into my cracked lungs, was barely enough to keep me from coughing—that was the bare minimum for a scientist.
The trachea will burst.
"Very good."
Szayelaporro's Reiatsu is very unstable.
As his breathing rose and fell to its lowest point, he even fell to the level of the Adjuchas: While the Ittō Kasō did not have the ability to burn Vasto Lorde back into the Adjuchas, the state that Szayelaporro was showing was actually not much stronger than the combined strength of the Adjuchas from before.
"That move just now was very similar to the technique I saw Baraggan record... You are indeed a worthy target for study."
"..."
Haruto did not reply immediately.
"Baraggan doesn't seem like the type to record his failures."
Because his condition was also very bad.
His severed left arm is High-Speed Regeneration; it's not a serious injury. The key issue is his depletion of Reiatsu.
Although the Sankt Bogen fired the first arrow, both the Jōkaku Enjō and the Ittō Kasō, both Kidō ninety-six, were used in the Shunkō state—without dispelling Shunkō (Water God Battle Form). This meant that while maintaining a power amplification of about seven times, the pressure on their Reiatsu also reached a terrifying seventy times.
Haruto could ignore the tenfold increase in spiritual pressure, but these few strikes... Haruto the Reiatsu he'd accumulated over two years was for nothing.
"Really?"
Szayelaporro chuckled and said:
"I might be mistaken."
"..."
The idle chatter didn't last long.
Compared to Haruto's previous battles, this one could even be described as brief.
Both sides are trying to buy time for recovery.
Haruto was waiting for the High-Speed Regeneration of his arm to finish, while Szayelaporro was waiting for the "burning" effect to heal: he dared not move his body at all, and if it weren't for the medicine that had been secretly injected into his body earlier, he would have been spitting out black ash from his mouth when he spoke.
I stopped spouting trash talk simply to focus all my energy.
But...
"Click."
A barely perceptible crack appeared in the ground beneath Haruto's feet.
"Bang!!"
The brief stalemate was broken by Szayelaporro.
With vines and thorns instantly covering the ground, the already blooming flowers piled up from all directions, forming a huge jungle.
--At the same time, it tore and devoured Haruto's position like a wild beast!
I won.
Szayelaporro, seemingly restored to his former state, completely disregarded the notion of a "balance of power."
He is the highest-ranking Vasto Lorde; a single successful attack could completely destroy all the advantages Haruto has built up.
Recover?
As Hueco Mundo's foremost scientist, he could have waited until he captured the other party before taking his time.
It's okay to take your time.
"Not necessarily."
"Buzz!!"
Their ideas aligned.
While Szayelaporro was creating the Flower of Domination —any creature swallowed by it would be transformed into a "puppet" that Szayelaporro could manipulate at will: This High-Speed Regeneration wasn't invincible; even if he swallowed Vasto Lorde of the same level, Szayelaporro could easily defeat it with this technique.
It can crush both the brain and the heart.
Without intelligence, Haruto would definitely have fallen into the trap by now.
But...
Haruto not only knew the information about Puppet of Domination, but he also knew everything about the Gabriel that Szayelaporro had not yet learned.
Intelligence warfare.
Haruto holds an absolute advantage.
Haruto had already prepared countermeasures.
"Holy Chant - Sanctuary Praise!"
A cross composed of five Reishi pillars rose from the ground.
The rain of annihilating arrows, shooting down from the pentagram at the top, instantly wiped out the vast flower forest.
"!!"
The carefully laid trap was completely wiped out, and even Szayelaporro frowned.
"Call out!"
Place two fingers near your mouth.
As the piercing whistle rang out, the desert beneath Szayelaporro's feet began to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck.
"Bang!"
One, two...
More than two hands' worth of modified Gillian —whose cloaks were surprisingly white—emerged from the collapsed sand.
"Your field..."
Szayelaporro clasped his hands together.
In an instant, a Gillian's head was sliced open along with the skull; but the massive and chaotic Reishi did not dissipate in Hueco Mundo, but instead rapidly converged towards Szayelaporro's mouth as he forcefully inhaled!
"... It shouldn't be able to hit outside, right?"
Szayelaporro's complexion visibly improved, and even his previously fluctuating Reiatsu began to stabilize again.
As mentioned earlier, when it comes to recovery, Szayelaporro has countless ways to quickly replenish his combat strength.
But.
Just as he raised his hand to absorb the second Gillian—
"Really."
The Reishi condensed from the Sanctuary Praise converged towards the severed arm, which quickly recovered and once again pointed at Szayelaporro.
"But I don't necessarily have to leave it on all the time, do I?"
"Smack!"
Bring your palms together and interlace your fingers, pointing them forward.
"Bakudō #99!"
Besides healing the injuries, the released Sanctuary Praise reconnected and coalesced into countless thin metal sheets linked together like chains before the Reishi dissipated.
Towards Szayelaporro and the Gillian race he summoned--
"·qu·!"
Steel nails?
That is the form of a continuous sealing technique that follows "Shiryū".
When releasing the Hyakurensan alone, Haruto prefers the use of the Sajō Sabaku... After referencing the monk's Hyapporankan, it became the form it is today.
"Clang!!"
The suppressive power of Bakudō #99 is beyond doubt.
The chain-like metal plates may seem fragile, but they are sufficient to Gillian. Once their numbers accumulate to a certain extent, even Vasto Lorde would find it difficult to break free in a short time: it can truly be called the "Hyakurensan of Heaven."
Both of them were testing their patience.
If Szayelaporro hadn't attacked Haruto just now, and instead had slowly recovered his Reiatsu, the current Bankin might not have hit: Vasto Lorde's Sonído could even dodge the Sankt Bogen, so whether the Hyakurensan could catch him is another matter.
Fortunately.
Haruto, who knew Szayelaporro's true nature, indeed had the upper hand in this round of competition.
"Hadō #99!"