Rei released his Shikai, and the gale of Reiatsu that rose around him scattered the raging flames. Only then did the three Seated Officers of the Tenth Division's pupils contract.
The criminal's shirt had been burned almost completely away, and his ankle-length pants had been burned down to knee-length shorts. But a red chain was wrapped around his right hand, connecting it to an enormous red straight sword.
The flames spreading all around had long since cut off the view of any witnesses. The already secluded street of thatched houses had been deserted after the unlucky man and his companions died, leaving only the four of them in the area.
Gulp!
Pressed by Rei's presence and Reiatsu, the short middle-aged man swallowed and said gravely, "His Reiatsu was already astonishing before his Shikai. After releasing it... even a lieutenant probably wouldn't be a match for him!"
"Don't panic. Judging from how he reacted earlier, he can't use Kidō or Shunpo. He's just a criminal who can release his Zanpakuto and has considerable Reiatsu."
The elderly Soul Reaper carrying the hammer remained composed and gave an assessment of Rei's general abilities.
"That's right. It's three against one, and at most, he has one more ability that absorbs Reiryoku. If we don't hold back, we can win."
The red-haired Yamada was confident. He really didn't believe Rei could turn the tables. The short middle-aged man also wanted to say something, but Rei spoke first...
"Hey, you three are pretty skilled. With strength like that, what seats do you hold in the Gotei 13?"
Seeing them whispering nonstop had piqued Rei's interest after releasing his Shikai. He wanted to know roughly where his combat strength stood.
He would judge his combat strength according to the seats they named. If he beat them, he could look higher. If he lost... that would be the end of it, and there would be no need to look.
"Then I'll tell you my name. Yamada Ryūki, Fifth Seat of the Gotei 13's Tenth Division!"
"Furukawa, Fourth Seat of the Gotei 13's Tenth Division!"
"He Liang, Third Seat of the Gotei 13's Tenth Division!"
The red-haired young man gave his name first, followed by the elderly Soul Reaper, and then the short middle-aged man, who spoke through gritted teeth. All three of them held fairly high seats.
The short middle-aged man named He Liang, in particular, was second only to the captain and lieutenant.
The Gotei 13 had a challenge system: members could challenge Seated Officers, and the winners would take their positions.
Although captains had the greatest authority over appointments, no captain would appoint someone who had lost a one-on-one fight as a Seated Officer. Such a person certainly wouldn't command the others' respect.
"Hahahaha, you're actually officers seated near the top of your division. How interesting. I suppose I'll follow that bad habit of announcing my name too. It's a little embarrassing, really. I shouldn't be very well known. My name is Nangong Ling. I don't know whether you've heard of me..."
Rei grew excited. He had already revealed his Shikai, so there was no use fearing the Gotei 13 now. If he couldn't kill all of them, he would have to face the Gotei 13 hunting him down from then on.
"So it's you..."
"Nangong Ling, who killed five Gillians and an Adjuchas."
"This is going to be tricky."
From the three men's expressions and tones, it was clear that Rei had already made a name for himself throughout the Gotei 13 by killing those Menos Grande. Perhaps no one had approached him to recruit him simply because they couldn't find him, or because he had once refused to join the Gotei 13.
"Looks like I'm pretty famous after all, but I don't have time to waste on you. Let's begin!"
"Hmph!"
Rei snorted, pulled the greatsword out of the ground, and charged forward. Seeing how fast he was even without Shunpo, the three men's hearts skipped a beat.
Rei headed straight for Fifth Seat Yamada Ryūki, but Furukawa blocked him with his great iron hammer.
The hammerhead was a hexagonal prism, about fifty centimeters long and thirty centimeters across. The iron shaft running through it was also 1.2 meters long. It was a typical power-type Zanpakuto.
Furukawa swung the hammer in a semicircle at the rapidly approaching Rei. Rei had to duck quickly to avoid the blow, then slipped past Furukawa and attacked Yamada. But by the time he swung his sword at him, Yamada had already dodged with Shunpo.
Several little birds appeared where Yamada had stood, about to explode. Rei knocked them away with Blood Drink, causing their explosions to miss.
Having passed Rei, Furukawa seized the chance to swing his hammer down at his head. Rei turned, channeled Reiatsu into Blood Drink, and swung upward to meet the hammer.
Clang!
"Impossible!"
A shock wave burst out, and Furukawa was sent flying, his face full of disbelief.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"
Third Seat He Liang's Hadō, cast without an incantation, struck Rei head-on. Fifth Seat Yamada followed up with his own attack, sending flaming little birds rushing at him. Five more explosions went off in succession, and the smoke once again obscured their view.
A beam of red Reiatsu, almost impossible to see from the front, pierced through the flames and shot straight at Yamada, who was surrounded by firebirds.
"Yamada, watch out! Block, Turtle!"
He Liang saw the pale red beam from the side and shouted. He immediately released his Zanpakuto and moved to help Yamada block, but he was too slow.
Yamada's lung was pierced, and blood poured from his mouth. A wound as wide as Blood Drink Sword's blade had opened in the right side of his chest.
"Blood-Coagulating Piercer!"
As the smoke and flames cleared a little, Rei rested Blood Drink on his shoulder, letting the blade cut into his palm and shoulder. He fired another wave of sword-shaped Reiatsu at He Liang...
This was the move that had defeated Yanis. It worked on the same principle as Blood-Coagulating Slash, using Rei's blood to activate it, but it was faster. Its drawback was that it could only attack in a straight line.
He Liang's Zanpakuto took the form of a round shield with a turtle-shell pattern in its Shikai. Small blades lined its edge, and he could attack by throwing it.
It was clearly focused on defense, yet the highly penetrating Blood-Coagulating Piercer had left a mark on the shield. That was enough to shock He Liang. When had a defense-oriented Zanpakuto become so fragile? He didn't know.
Yamada had already lost the ability to fight. He wasn't dead, but blood continued to pour from him. Yet as soon as the blood left his wound, it turned into a red mist and vanished.
Meanwhile, the burns Rei had suffered in the two explosions were gradually healing. Furukawa, who was about to swing his hammer at Rei, was stunned. In that moment of hesitation, Rei slashed his wrist.
"Does he heal himself by absorbing his enemy's blood? Damn it, that's what his Zanpakuto can do?"
Furukawa gritted his teeth. The blood flowing from his wrist was being absorbed by Rei's Zanpakuto. Looking closely, he saw that the same was true of Yamada nearby.
"Starting to get scared? But it's a little too early for that!"
Rei bared his big white teeth in a chilling, terrifying grin and swung his greatsword at Furukawa. He was already as fast as Furukawa using Shunpo. The two fought at close quarters, leaving He Liang no chance to use Kidō for fear of hitting his ally.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"
He Liang used a minor Bakudō to restrain Rei briefly. The thin rope formed from Reishi wound toward him like a spirit snake slithering through the air.
Rei caught sight of the underhanded attack out of the corner of his eye. With a single swing, he cut through the Hainawa as it wrapped around him, then sent a Blood-Coagulating Slash at He Liang nearby.
He Liang was forced to raise his shield to block, because his companion, still alive but unable to move, was right behind him.
Rei clashed with Furukawa again. Because he had used blood to heal his burns, his blood gauge was only twenty percent full, yet he completely suppressed Furukawa.
Clang! Schlick!
In a one-on-one fight, the difference was plain to see. Furukawa took another cut, and this one was no ordinary scratch. It was meant to draw blood.
"Damn it, he's bleeding Furukawa, and his Reiatsu is getting stronger again... How despicable!"
Realizing the situation was turning bad, He Liang tried to go over. But whenever he moved to leave, Rei sent another Blood-Coagulating Slash at the immobile Yamada, making it clear that he would kill Yamada if He Liang dared leave.
He Liang hesitated again. He faced a difficult choice. The wounded Furukawa couldn't hold out much longer. The more blood he lost, the weaker he became, and the stronger Rei grew.
"Damn it! Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
He Liang roared and quickly joined the fight. He had realized that if Rei killed Furukawa, who could still fight, he would have no chance of winning either.
Several sudden bolts of white lightning interrupted Rei's relentless attack. Then a shield came flying like a boomerang, circling once before returning to He Liang's hand.
"Looks like you've made up your mind! If you'd done that sooner, you might still have had a chance. But now... it's too late! Hahahaha..."
As Rei laughed wildly, his Reiatsu rose another level. The stronger the person he wounded, the faster the blood gauge filled.
Not counting his wrist, Furukawa now had two serious wounds, while Yamada had been bleeding continuously since his lung was pierced.
The blood gauge on Blood Drink Sword's blade finally filled. Compared with when he had just released his Shikai, Rei's Reiatsu had nearly doubled.
There were originally two blood grooves on each side of the blade, but now they're gradually disappearing, and his Reiatsu has been rising as the grooves turn red... Damn it, this is clearly Captain-level Reiatsu... I'm going to die here...
He Liang was no saint, and his resolve had begun to waver. Rei said nothing about sparing them, instead swinging his sword down at them with all his strength.
Clang!
The gap between their Reiatsu was too great. Rei cut a small notch into He Liang's shield. The old man Furukawa was raising his hammer when Rei kicked him away, sending him tumbling dozens of meters and smashing into one of the few earthen walls in the area.
He Liang extended a finger and launched a sneak attack on Rei with Byakurai. Rei tilted his head slightly, but his neck was grazed, and blood flowed out.
Byakurai could paralyze whoever it hit. He Liang didn't waste the opportunity and hurled his shield at Rei.
Again, because of the difference in their Reiatsu, Rei's movements weren't paralyzed at all. He simply ducked under the spinning shield and charged straight at the unarmed He Liang.
He Liang's Shunpo was indeed fast, but Rei was faster. As He Liang's first Shunpo ended, Rei slashed diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, opening a huge wound.
Before falling, He Liang fixed his eyes on Rei. Then came the sound of something cutting through the air. The spinning shield was back, aimed straight at the back of Rei's neck.
But a cruel smile still hung on Rei's lips. With a swing of his greatsword, he knocked He Liang's Zanpakuto down and followed up with another cut to the right side of He Liang's chest.
"...Flap your wings and soar, you who bear the name of man, truth and temperance, stand upon the wall of sinless dreams with only your claws and fangs. Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
An incantation came from behind him. Rei didn't hear the first part clearly, but the voice grew louder and more fervent. Furukawa was casting Hadō.
A blast of white Reishi flames shot at Rei. He merely raised his greatsword and slashed down, splitting the fully chanted Sōkatsui in two and sending it into the charred houses around him.
A tremendous explosion rang out, and the houses, whose frames had still been standing, were instantly blasted down.
Before Furukawa could pick up his hammer, he discovered that his right hand, the one he was used to holding it with... was gone!