After the battle

After landing and sheathing his sword, Hu stayed where he was, half-kneeling on the ground with both hands gripping it. He gasped for breath, veins bulging on his face, hands, and legs beneath his clothes as sweat poured down.

Behind him, the Gillian gradually crumbled into ash.

By then, most of the Onmitsukidō had dealt with the Hollows in the settlement and made their way to the clearing from various parts of it. Many had seen Hu's battle. With a Zanpakuto that had only just achieved Shikai, he had been able to take on a Menos Grande alone. The strength of his Zanpakuto's Shikai and the sheer style of that final move were enough to make them realize that the fellow their leader had gone to such lengths to keep in the Fon Clan was indeed a rare genius.

Hu felt as though the muscles all over his body were about to tear apart. His lungs heaved violently, drawing in air and Reishi from the atmosphere without pause, but his heart was filled with nervous excitement:

"Judgment Cut: Absolute"—the pinnacle of that man's technique! That was incredible. I didn't expect to pull it off with just Shikai. Jiku'a didn't even know to keep it hidden. Without that move, I might not have been able to cut this thing down. Now that Cilian's seen it, he shouldn't have anything to say...

With that thought, Hu raised his head and looked at Cilian.

As for Cilian...

Cilian's face was frighteningly cold. He stared fixedly at the half-kneeling Hu and walked slowly toward him.

"That move just now was pretty cool..." Cilian said coldly. Hu had just begun to grin when Cilian continued, "After using that move, can you even stand up?"

Hu's smile froze before it could bloom. Cilian walked once around him and kicked him in the backside.

Hu sprang straight up as though he had been electrocuted.

"Ah! That hurts!" Hu tried to reach back and rub his backside, but the movement made his arm cramp too.

"Ah! My arm!"

That set off a chain reaction. His limbs cramped one after another, his bones cracked, and because he was thrashing about, his lungs couldn't take in enough air. He began to feel a little short of oxygen...

Cilian simply watched, neither stepping forward to treat him nor allowing anyone else to approach.

"Is that move the reason you dared to challenge a Menos Grande alone?" Seeing that Hu apparently had no time to answer, Cilian began answering his own question. "You unleash a large number of slashes in an instant within a certain area. Combined with your Zanpakuto's ability to cut even through space, it really is powerful enough to defeat a Gillian."

"But..." Cilian looked at Hu, who had finished rolling around and now lay there like a rag. "Your body can't keep up. After using that move, you're finished too."

Cilian picked Hu up and ordered the Onmitsukidō to assemble.

"Take a good look. Have you forgotten something?"

The Onmitsukidō gathered, each of them dragging along clothed Hollows restrained in various ways...

"Since that Hollow just now was separated from Shimizu's body by you, take a look at these Hollows..." Cilian tossed Hu down in front of the Hollows the Onmitsukidō had bound and brought over.

Hu stared blankly at the masked Hollows, each with a faint presence. Some were still wailing, while others continued to struggle, trying to break free of their restraints.

"Separating a Plus from a Hollow undoubtedly requires your Zanpakuto's ability." Cilian tossed Hu's Zanpakuto down beside him. "Tell me, how many people can you still save now?"

"In your eyes, are all the other Pluses turned into Hollows nothing but beasts driven by instinct? Or do you think none of these people in front of you have someone they need to care for personally? Or, in your carefree life, are their tragedies not something you need to put right?"

Hu's spirits sank. He tried to get up and pick up the sword in front of him, but he couldn't move his hand at all...

"You've only just gained power, and you've already squandered it all. You cast aside the oath and resolve you'd just made the very next moment?"

Cilian began ordering the Onmitsukidō to clean up the battlefield, leaving Hu lying on the ground alone and paying him no further attention. Even Shimizu was stopped when he tried to approach.

Once the battlefield had been cleared, all the captured Hollows restrained, and everyone was ready to withdraw, Cilian walked over to Hu.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"I'm sorry, Instructor Cilian... I got carried away."

"Once we're back, get treated immediately. You need to make up for your own mistake."

"Yes..."