The Battle of Sōkyoku Hill (XII)

On the execution platform of Sōkyoku Hill, the moonlight was obscured by the Reishi dust left behind when the Garganta closed, and the entire ruins were shrouded in a thin, gray haze.

Hu knelt in the center of the shattered stone slab, his the Roar devoid of any human trace—the sound was squeezed out from the depths of his chest, twisted by some more primal force as it passed through his throat, becoming a low, guttural roar, like an ancient beast panting at the bottom of an abyss.

White substance seeped out from the gaps in his exoskeleton armor, layer upon layer, covering his limbs, his torso, his face, enveloping him in a white "egg".

"Amber!" Fon Shaoling knelt less than three feet in front of him, her hands still in the same position as before, her fingertips covered in blood. The Suzumebachi slipped through her loosened fingers and fell onto the broken stone slab, making a very faint and delicate metallic sound.

She looked up at the body before her, which was being consumed by the white substance.

"Hu... wake up..." Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

The "egg" moved slightly, and the sharp scraping sound of fingernails against the stone slab pierced the night sky.

The first thing to pierce the white shell was the two horns on its head. The horns were as thick as an adult's arm, and they shot upwards from the sides of the forehead. The surface of the horns had a faint blue halo under the moonlight, and blue Reishi erupted from the tips of the horns like a volcanic eruption.

The illusory mask pushed aside the streamlined helmet of the Heavenly Demon Armor, revealing it.

It is more primitive and ferocious, as if it grew directly from the depths of the skeleton, with high cheekbones, a protruding lower jaw, and two rows of fangs that crisscross like a cluster of knives protruding from the lower edge of the mask, each one gleaming with a cold white bony luster.

A narrow, elongated eyepiece, stretched horizontally, indicates a hollow eye!

On its torso, deep blue and silver-gray biological armor burst through the white substance covering it. The armor was covered with sharp bone spikes and layers of scales, each scale like an independent living thing, expanding and contracting slightly with the rhythm of its breathing.

Between the chest and abdomen, muscle lines and energy patterns intertwine, and with each pulse, a deep blue light is injected into the tips of the bone spurs at the ends of the limbs.

The transformation of his arms was the most complete; the Jiku'a and the Blade of Power had completely merged into his forearms, transforming into a pair of enormous arm blades.

The blade grew out of the ulna, its surface swirling with deep purple demonic flames, and the space around the blade was burned with extremely fine cracks.

The base of the arm blade is fused with the bone, and the biomass carapace at the connection point has segmented exoskeleton ridges, with the texture of muscle fibers clearly visible.

A pair of enormous, translucent energy wings unfolded from his back, their surfaces shimmering like ice crystals. Each wing bone was composed of pure compressed Reishi, and a ghostly blue flame flowed across its surface. When moonlight penetrated the wing membrane, it refracted into aurora-like spots of light.

The tail extends from the coccyx, is long and thin with barbs at the end, and has sharp edges like a razor, swaying slowly behind it.

As the last piece of white material slid off the top of the helmet, everyone unconsciously held their breath.

He raised his head, his irrational eyes locking onto everyone present through his narrow goggles. There was no anger, no hatred, not even the desire to fight—only the purest, most unrestrained hunting instinct.

Tears welled up in Fon Shaoling's golden eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the back of her hand, which was still stained with Hu's blood.

She reached out, her fingertips hovering in front of his sharp claws, as if touching a piece of porcelain that might shatter at any moment.

"No... don't look at me like that." Her fingers were trembling. "Come back... please come back..."

The Hollowfication Amber did not respond to her; his arm blade sliced through the air, wreathed in deep purple demonic flames, and slashed down at her.

"Soi Fon!"

Yoruichi bumped into Fon Shaoling's side, scooped her up, and rolled out of the blade's range. The blade grazed Yoruichi's shoulder, and the demonic flames licked her sleeve, the fabric silently turning to ash.

The blade tip struck the stone slab where Fon Shaoling had just been kneeling, carving a trench several feet deep into the ground.

Yoruichi rolled a few steps away, still holding the trembling Fon Shaoling, her left arm slightly numb from the aftershocks of the impact. She glanced at the smooth cut on her sleeve, then looked up at the figure pulling the arm blade out of the ravine.

"All personnel—enter combat readiness." Captain-Commander Yamamoto's deep and authoritative voice broke the captains' stunned silence.

Ryūjin Jakka was drawn from its sheath, its blade crackling with intense flames; Shunsui Kyōraku drew Katen Kyōkotsu; Jūshirō Ukitake unleashed Sōgyo no Kotowari; Kenpachi Zaraki gripped his Zanpakuto with both hands, a rare Zanpakuto; Sajin Komamura held Tenken, his beastly eyes beneath his helmet locking onto a figure; Byakuya Kuchiki's Senbonzakura was poised to strike.

"Don't kill him!" Fon Shaoling broke free from Yoruichi's embrace and rushed to Captain-Commander Yamamoto. She spread her arms to shield everyone from Amber, her back to the Roar figure, her face still wet with tears.

"Please—don't kill him! There must be a way! There must be a way to pull him back from that state!"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto glanced at her but did not answer.

At this moment, Hollowfication Amber had already moved.

His attack came almost without warning, like a wild beast that had been starving for too long suddenly pouncing on its prey. He pounced directly on the Captain-Commander, who had the heaviest Reiatsu present.

His energy wings suddenly flapped behind him, and he transformed into a dark purple afterimage. His left arm blade swept horizontally, and the demonic flames wrapped around the blade drew a deep purple crescent arc in the air, slashing straight towards Captain-Commander Yamamoto's neck.

The Captain-Commander's pupils contracted slightly. Ryūjin Jakka horizontally in front of him, the blade colliding with the arm blade, and the shockwave exploded outwards from the two of them.

The already cracked stone slab beneath the old man's feet was shattered completely by the impact, sending fragments flying everywhere.

But this was only the first strike. In the instant that Amber was locked in a stalemate with the Captain-Commander, the blade on her right arm followed up with a vertical slash, falling from directly above her head at such a tricky angle that it was impossible to block it at the same time.

The Captain-Commander turned to the side, his left hand still holding Ryūjin Jakka his right hand released the hilt and aimed at Kou's chest.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō"

A crimson fireball exploded at point-blank range, the impact pushing Hollowfication Amber backward. But as he was being blasted back, he lashed out with his tail blade—the long, thin, and sharp tail, like a scorpion's stinger, stabbed at Yamamoto's calf from an extremely low angle.

Yamamoto Shunpo to retreat, the tail blade grazing his trouser leg. He landed on a broken stone pillar, glancing down at the very thin bloodstain on his ankle.

"The younger generation is truly formidable." He gripped the Ryūjin Jakka tightly again. "But this demeanor doesn't seem like you at all."

Amber pounced on all fours like a wild beast—the purple flames on her arms intensified, her tail blades thrust out from the side, and the tips of her energy wings simultaneously slashed at Yamamoto's legs.

Yamamoto gripped Ryūjin Jakka with one hand, the blade radiating intense Reiatsu as it swept out, colliding with Amber and producing a piercing hiss of something burning red.

But using the momentum of being knocked back, Kou turned around in mid-air and pounced on Shunsui Kyōraku to the side.

Kyōraku raised the Katen Kyōkotsu to parry, and the moment his arm blade collided with the twin swords, his wrist went numb from the shock. The force was pure, unadulterated brute power.

"How can this guy be so strong!" Kyōraku said through gritted teeth.

Amber's left arm blade swung again, Kyōraku dodged to the side. The blade grazed his chest, leaving a crack on the Captain's Haori. Before he could regain his footing, the tail blade followed swiftly.

Kyōraku didn't have time to completely dodge; the tail blade grazed his torso, and blood seeped from the wound.

"Kyōraku!" Ukitake charged in from the side, "Bakudō #61 -Staff Light Prison!"

Six beams of light shot towards Hu from all directions, but before they could even touch his armor, Hu's arm swung rapidly in mid-air—instantly shattering all the beams into fragments of Reishi that dissipated.

Ukitake's pupils contracted slightly. "This..."

"Those fancy tricks won't work on him!" Kenpachi Zaraki charged in from the side, brandishing his Zanpakuto. He ripped off his eyepatch, and golden Reiatsu erupted like a volcanic eruption.

The Zanpakuto was raised high and then slashed down—without any technique, just the purest strike, concentrating all power into a single point.

With his arms crossed in front of him, Kenpachi's blade struck the blades, the impact shattering the ground beneath their feet. Kenpachi's feet carved two deep furrows in the ground, and the veins on his arms bulged.

"Not bad! Let's do it again!" Kenpachi's grin stretched from ear to ear.

Amber's arm blade pressed against Kenpachi's sword, emitting a low roar. Purple demonic flames exploded on the arm blade again, unleashing several void slashes that sent Kenpachi flying.

Kenpachi somersaulted several times in the air before finally stabilizing himself by plunging his sword into the ground. His entire body was torn apart by the Void Slash, and blood was flowing down the hilt of his sword. As soon as he looked up, he saw Amber lunge at his face.

"Zaraki!"

Sajin Komamura charged forward, Wisdom King raised his giant blade high above his head and slashed down. Komamura raised the blade on his left arm to block, and Wisdom King's knee to bend.

But in the next instant, Amber had already used the blade of her right arm to cut a very deep gash in the Wisdom King's armor, and Kashiwamura was also injured at the same time, with blood seeping from the crack.

Komamura grunted, but then turned the blade of the Tenken in his hand and swept it horizontally from the side. Komamura's energy wings suddenly unfolded, lifting him off the ground, the blade grazing his feet.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood not far away, with the petals of Senbonzakura slowly falling around him. Hundreds of millions of petals converged into a cherry blossom-colored torrent in the night sky, surging towards Koko, who was suspended in mid-air.

Amber turned around and the Roar at the surging cherry blossoms, which were instantly scattered.

Yoruichi appeared beside Kou using Shunpo, her right fist slamming into his mask with the force of a whirlwind. "Kid, wake up!"

Amber merely tilted her head slightly, the force of her punch grazing the edge of his mask. Yoruichi used the momentum of the punch to turn around, sweeping her left leg towards Hollowfication Amber's ankle.

Hu leaped up, his energy wings flapping violently behind him, suspending him higher in the air. His scarlet eyes slowly swept over each of the captains present, and an extremely shrill the Roar came from beneath his visor.

"This guy..." Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat, a hint of helplessness in his voice, "So many of us, and we still can't take him down."

"His attacks are unpredictable," Ukitake said. "He's like a wild beast, doing whatever he wants."

"Then we need to restrict his movement," Byakuya Kuchiki said calmly.

"Easy for you to say." Kenpachi Zanpakuto over his shoulder. "You all saw that move, didn't you? It's not something you can just easily replicate."

"Please wait a moment!"

Just then, Rangiku Matsumoto rushed up Sōkyoku Hill. Her hair was disheveled from running, and her golden hair flew in the night wind like a tattered flag. Her chest heaved violently. She had rushed Shunpo way from the Tenth Division barracks using Shunpo, almost exhausting all her strength.

Her voice trembled, "Amber's Zanpakuto —is the key to saving Amber!"

Rangiku, panting heavily, said, "Kou has a history of separating Hollows and Souls using Jiku'a. If we can find a way to make Kou control the Jiku'a himself, he can remove the Hollow Poison from his body!"

Fon Shaoling suddenly raised her head.

Jiku'a!

She remembered it clearly—that night, Amber told everyone the origin of the Mōcāng in the open space below Sōkyoku Hill.

If Jiku'a could separate Mōcāng at the beginning, it could also peel the Hollow Poison out of Hu's body.

"Yes! Jiku'a..." Fon Shaoling's voice was very soft, "Jiku'a can separate the dark side of Hu, so he can definitely separate the Hollow Poison as well. He has done the operation of separating the Void many times in Bamboo Creek Plain, so there will definitely be no mistakes, as long as he wakes up."

Her words silenced all the team captains.

Because everyone knows what this means—to execute this plan, Amber must drive Jiku'a herself, which requires shattering the mask representing Hollow on Amber's face, which brings us back to the question of how to restrain Amber.

"Then there's only one way." Captain-Commander Yamamoto spoke slowly, his pupils, refined by a thousand years, reflecting the Hollowfication eyes of the Hollow Amber.

"I will personally strip this brat of his mask."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto held Ryūjin Jakka in front of him and strode towards the Hollowfication Amber. His steps were as steady as those of an ancient tree, and with each step, the ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.

The wrinkles etched by time on his face resembled ancient wood grain, but his eyes—those pupils refined by a thousand years—now burned with a light that only appeared during the most chaotic era of Soul Society.

"All captains, step back." His voice wasn't loud, but through the gradually intensifying Reiatsu, it easily reached everyone's ears. "Let this old man personally test this young man's capabilities."

The Hollowfication amber seemed to sense that the old man before it was different from the previous one. Instead of rushing forward immediately, it lowered its body, its tail swaying slowly behind it, and for the first time, a kind of wary emotion appeared in its scarlet eyes.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto stopped and stood ten steps away from Hollowfication Koko. He held Ryūjin Jakka in one hand, the blade hanging at his side, the Heat orange light casting a half-light and half-shadow on his profile.

He didn't strike any pose; he simply stood there, like an ancient tree that had never been shaken by any storm in the past thousand years.

"Yexing Hu," Captain-Commander Yamamoto said in a tone as if this were merely a matter of time after school, "No student has ever dared to sleep in front of me before. You should wake up."

Amber let out a low growl and vanished from its spot.

The next instant, he appeared in front of the Captain-Commander. Captain-Commander Yamamoto slightly turned his body, the movement was minimal, and the blade on his left arm grazed his chest, only leaving a cut on the Captain's Haori. He swung his right hand, and the back of the Ryūjin Jakka struck the wingtip, causing Amber to lose her balance.

A flicker of instinctive alertness flashed in Hollowfication Hu's crimson eyes. He retreated, his energy wings unfurling behind him as he tried to create distance.

The Captain-Commander would never give him that opportunity.

"Hadō #54: Haien"

A ball of the Heat flame shot out from the Captain-Commander's palm, aiming straight for Amber's face.

Amber raised his left arm blade to block, the flames collided with the blade and exploded, the demonic flames and fire tearing at each other, he was knocked back by the impact, before he could even regain his footing, Captain-Commander Yamamoto was already in front of him.

Ryūjin Jakka rose from below, its scorching blade slashing towards his breastplate. Amber hurriedly parried with her arm blades, and at the moment the blades collided, orange flames and purple demonic flames exploded around the two of them.

The shockwave blew the rubble off the execution platform, sending it flying and crashing against the cliff face, the Sōkyoku Scaffold, and the stone slab beneath the captains' feet.

Kyōraku pressed down on his straw hat, Yoruichi raised her arm to shield herself from the oncoming heat, Ukitake gripped the Sōgyo no Kotowari tightly, and Kenpachi's single eye burned in the reflection of the flames.

Yamamoto slashed down with his sword, each strike carrying the intense heat accumulated over a thousand years by Ryūjin Jakka. Koko's twin blades attacked alternately, sweeping and slashing horizontally, each strike possessing the brute force to tear through space. The two blades clashed, and orange and purple light illuminated the entire execution platform.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto's swordsmanship is precise, seasoned, and honed through countless battles. The angle of each strike has been refined through a thousand years of combat, and the power of each blow is just right.

As for Amber's swordsmanship...

He lacked any swordsmanship; his attacks were completely haphazard, relying solely on his beastly instincts and primal killing intent.

But it is precisely this "lack of swordsmanship" that makes his attacks completely unpredictable.

The Captain-Commander's left shoulder was grazed by the arm blade, leaving a bloody mark. Amber's breastplate was slashed by the Ryūjin Jakka, and cracks spread outwards from the cut.

The two retreated simultaneously, standing ten paces apart, facing each other.

Yamamoto glanced down at the wound on his left shoulder, then looked up at Amber's crimson eyes. A faint smile curved his lips, "Good lad."

The Hollowfication Amber responded with the Roar, its energy wings suddenly unfurling behind it, propelling it into the air where it tumbled once.

Purple demonic flames erupted from his arm blades, condensing into dozens of purple fireballs in front of him. The fireballs shot out simultaneously, crashing towards the Captain-Commander like a meteor shower.

"Playing with fire in front of me?" Yamamoto raised his left hand, the blade of Ryūjin Jakka drawing an arc in front of him.

A scorching blade of energy shot out from the arc, cleaving all the fireballs in two. The energy continued its momentum, heading straight for Hu in mid-air.

Hu crossed his arms to try and block, but the moment the blade struck his arms, he was cleaved off balance and crashed heavily to the ground, sending shards of stone flying.

He rose from the rubble, his breastplate cracking more and fine fissures appearing along the edges of his visor, but his movements did not slow down in the slightest; instead, his the Roars became even more ferocious.

The Ryūjin Jakka clashed with the Arm Blade. Flames and demonic flames tore at each other. Orange and purple light intertwined.

The Captain's Haori to the mountain Captain-Commander, had several holes burned through it by the demonic flames, and the cuff of his left sleeve had turned to ash. His breathing was a little more rapid than at the beginning, but his sword remained steady, and his eyes remained calm.

Hu's physical condition was much worse than his; the cracks on his visor were becoming more numerous and denser, extending from the edge of the eyepiece all the way to his jaw.

The energy patterns on his chest armor began to flicker erratically, no longer pulsating as steadily as before, and his movements began to show a slight, almost imperceptible, sluggishness.

But his attacks became even more frenzied. He used his last bit of strength, crossed his arms in front of him, and purple demonic flames erupted from the blades like a volcanic eruption.

Yamamoto stopped, gripping Ryūjin Jakka with both hands. The flames on the blade began to shrink, condensing from a raging inferno into an extremely thin and bright beam of light, focusing on the very center of the blade.

The Hollowfication amber lunged forward, its arms crossed in front of it, concentrating all its power into this single strike.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto met Hollowfication Amber's charge with a single step, raising Ryūjin Jakka high.

He cleaved down with a single stroke.

The Ryūjin Jakka blade landed precisely in the center of the faceplate.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

At the moment the flames collided with the bone, there was no sound, no shockwave. Only a beam of light—a pale blue light, the light that belonged to Amber itself, erupted from the point where the blade touched the visor.

Then, the cracks began to spread.

From the point where the blade made contact, the first crack appeared on the visor. Then came the second, the third, and the fourth—spreading outwards like a spider web, from the edge of the narrow eyepiece all the way to the root of the fangs on the lower jaw. Each crack emitted a ghostly blue light, which grew brighter and brighter.

The purple demonic flames slowly extinguished from the arm blades. The light of the energy wings began to dim. The tail blades drooped limply to the ground.

The mask split open from the very center, and fragments peeled off one by one, falling onto the shattered stone slab with a very faint, crisp sound, revealing the skin beneath, the facial features, and the eyes that had finally turned back to silver.

Amber's mask has finally shattered!