The Murderous Demon's Romance

~

The slaughter between Araki and Unohana continued without end...

Blood-red slashes tore through the sky, while dazzling Lapis Lazuli light melted the earth.

If she could, Unohana Yachiru wished that her battle with Araki would never end. Even if the ages passed and the Three Worlds shattered, Unohana only wanted to keep fighting forever—blades drawing blood, fists striking flesh. She had been born for battle!

"Ah! This is the feeling~"

A blissful smile spread across Unohana's face. Even she herself had long forgotten how long it had been since she had encountered an opponent as powerful as Araki, someone nearly her equal...

Yet just as the Sea of Blood beneath Unohana's feet was not truly endless, when her Spiritual Pressure and stamina had nearly run dry, the Lapis Lazuli light in the sky still shone on!

"Is that so? So your Bankai ability differs from mine?"

"Your Lapis Lazuli light shining in the sky not only heals you, but also weakens my Spiritual Pressure and stamina. Besides that, it seems even the healing ability of the Zanpakuto in my hand has been weakened by your Zanpakuto..."

Unohana Yachiru stopped swinging her blade. She raised her head and looked at the Lapis Lazuli light in the sky, which seemed to shine eternally in place of the sun, a look of realization appearing on her face.

When Unohana had seen that Araki's Lapis Lazuli light could rapidly heal every injury he suffered, just like her Sea of Blood, she had thought that Araki's Bankai possessed the same ability as hers!

Their Zanpakuto should both have been Zanpakuto with high-speed healing abilities...

But when Unohana discovered that the Spiritual Pressure and stamina within her body were plummeting at an abnormal rate, she finally understood...

Araki's Zanpakuto did not merely heal its user. It could also weaken an enemy's stamina and Spiritual Pressure!

This weakening was simply incredibly gradual, like boiling a frog in warm water. The enemy would not notice it in a short time, but by the time they did, it would already be too late.

Just like her now—by the time she had discovered the mystery behind Araki's Zanpakuto ability, she no longer had the strength to fight him. Even the Zanpakuto in her hand now felt incomparably heavy...

Araki had stolen even the strength she needed to swing her blade.

"More accurately, my Ruriko did not weaken your Spiritual Pressure or stamina. It assimilated your Spiritual Pressure and took your stamina."

After hearing Unohana's words, Araki did not try to conceal anything. Not only did he readily admit his Zanpakuto's ability, he even specifically corrected Unohana's misunderstanding of it.

Yes, do not misunderstand. His Zanpakuto did not merely possess some simple ability to weaken others!

Rather, it directly plundered its enemies in every aspect—their Spiritual Pressure, stamina, and abilities!

Since only Araki, Unohana, and Genryūsai were present, Araki briefly explained his ability...

After all, one was Araki's future first wife, and one was Araki's master. Strictly speaking, there were no outsiders here~

"Your Zanpakuto can assimilate my Spiritual Pressure? I see..."

After hearing Araki's explanation, Unohana instantly understood what he meant.

Unohana had originally wondered why, after fighting Araki for so long, even she was nearly at the end of her strength, while Araki—whose Spiritual Pressure was clearly inferior to hers—had not shown the slightest sign of fatigue.

Now she finally understood. While fighting her, Araki had continuously been "stealing" the Spiritual Pressure and stamina within her through the Ruriko in his hand.

As one side waned and the other grew, even an opponent evenly matched with Araki would not be his match!

Even some beings stronger than Araki would find his ability incredibly troublesome!

More precisely, as long as Araki's enemy had no means of defeating him instantly or within a short period of time, once they were dragged into his rhythm, the final victor could only be Araki.

"Have I lost?"

Unohana Yachiru murmured to herself. Though she wanted to continue fighting, her slender wrist no longer had the strength to wield the blade in her hand.

Unable to fight any longer, Unohana used all her strength to stand amid the ruins. Her hollow eyes seemed to see the montage of her life, the experiences of her past years passing before her frame by frame like a slideshow...

She had never been a good person~

Before meeting Captain-Commander Yamamoto, she had been a great villain renowned throughout Soul Society—a killing machine who constantly challenged every swordsmanship school in Soul Society and slew countless heroes...

A great villain like her should have died the day she met Captain-Commander Yamamoto!

Perhaps Captain-Commander Yamamoto had taken pity on her, or perhaps her life was simply not meant to end. Not only had she survived that day, she had become the captain of the Gotei 13, 11th Division! From then on, a Murderous Demon appeared in the Seireitei, shouting slogans of "protection" while practicing slaughter!

Yet all of this would end after she met Araki.

"I have lost to Genryu twice now~"

Unohana smiled. She had accepted it, so she opened her arms to welcome the end that awaited her.

She readily admitted her defeat, yet she still gripped the Zanpakuto in her hand. Clearly, she acknowledged that she had lost to Araki, but she had not lost to his swordsmanship. She had lost to the superiority of Araki's Zanpakuto. Thus, her fighting spirit still burned fiercely. Thus, she was still... unsatisfied!

But a loss was a loss, and she would not deny it. From today onward, she would no longer be the captain of the Gotei 13, 11th Division, and the name "Kenpachi" would be inherited by Araki.

Those who bore the name Kenpachi would face their final end openly!

"Those who kill shall eventually be killed!"

On the first day Unohana had taken up a sword, she had seen her own ending. She simply had not expected that day to arrive so quickly... But sooner was better. It was better than growing irritated with this boring world, unable for so long to find someone she wished to fight!

"Alright! Stop hesitating! Cut me down with your sword!"

Unohana said this as she looked at Araki.

"Pfft."

Araki looked at Unohana, who had willingly accepted her defeat, then approached her with a sharp blade in hand. He spoke no further. At this moment, every word would have been superfluous...

Araki looked indifferently at the breathtakingly beautiful woman before him, raised his Zanpakuto high, then thrust the blade through Unohana's chest! Blood splattered across the earth in that instant!

"Just like this..."

"So farewell, 'Genryu's Menkyo Kaiden'!"

Unohana had finally met the ending she had always foreseen. Yet before she could bid Araki farewell, a vast vitality flowed from the Zanpakuto Araki had plunged into her body, nourishing her exhausted body.

"Hmm?!"

Unohana, who had already accepted defeat and awaited "death," could not help widening her eyes upon feeling the immense vitality within her.

"My strength has returned?" Unohana froze for a moment before asking Araki, "What do you mean by this?"

"You quit after losing one match? Where could there possibly be such a good deal in this world?"

"The victor is king, the defeated are bandits! Those who lose must obey the victor's orders. That has been Soul Society's rule since ancient times, so do not think you can just run away like this!"

Araki smiled as he looked at Unohana's stunned expression.

"One era does not need two Kenpachi!"

Unohana understood Araki's meaning. She had experienced the loneliness he spoke of, but she remained stubborn.

"Huh?"

"What right does a loser have to talk so much?"

Looking at the stubborn Unohana, Araki used his free hand to jab forcefully at her smooth white forehead, leaving behind a crimson mark.

As Unohana frowned, Araki pulled his Zanpakuto from her body and continued, "To be honest, as long as I remain alive, whether you choose to end yourself or deliberately die at someone else's hands, the sword in my hand can pull you back from 'hell' without end!"

"In other words, as long as I am alive, you cannot die! If you want to fulfill your path and achieve your goal, then you have only one choice! Defeat me, then kill me!"

"..."

Araki's words were like a sharp blade piercing directly through Unohana's heart, as though injecting a shot of adrenaline into her already dead heart!

Her body began trembling without end in that moment. Unohana seemed to have long forgotten what it felt like to chase after those ahead of her, but now she remembered.

"Ah~"

"Araki, I think I may have fallen in 'love' with you!"

"I, Unohana, swear here that 'you' will die only beneath 'my' blade!"

Unohana's lovely face gradually twisted at that moment. A somewhat savage and sickly smile appeared on her pale face. Every cell in her body felt endless delight because of Araki's words!

In Unohana's eyes, in this unbearably boring world, there was nothing more flavorful or wonderful than pursuing what she loved, then using a battle and its outcome as the grand finale of her life upon a magnificent stage~

"Minazuki!"

As the Spiritual Pressure within Unohana's body recovered, "endless" blood once again overflowed around her.

This time, Unohana did not wield the surrounding blood as a weapon against Araki. Instead, she lightly touched her blade to the pool of blood on the ground, allowing the blood flowing across the earth to slowly crawl up along the sword in her hand...

In the blink of an eye, the blood dyed Unohana Yachiru's entire body red, like a scarlet blood robe draped over her graceful figure!

For a moment, the crimson-clad Unohana gained an enchanting air atop her sickly and twisted presence. She was like a vengeful ghost in red, like an incomparably beautiful rakshasa...

"Unohana, I truly look forward to the day you defeat me~"

"So move forward! Grow stronger! Strive to defeat me! Unohana Yachiru!!"

Araki's lips curled slightly as he looked at Unohana, who resembled a rakshasa or vengeful ghost.

"Keep shining, Ruriko..."

As he spoke, the Zanpakuto in Araki's hand suddenly blossomed with dazzling Lapis Lazuli light. A Jade Guanyin radiating endless pressure condensed behind Araki, then draped itself over his body like a garment.

At that moment, Guanyin descended upon the rakshasa!

"Before meeting you, I wielded my sword for myself alone."

"After meeting you, I will wield my sword for you alone!"

Unohana gazed at the dazzling and beautiful Lapis Lazuli light before her, a look of intoxication appearing on her exquisite face.

A Murderous Demon could not understand what kind of emotion "love" truly was, but a Murderous Demon had her own romance~

When the light faded, Araki used Flash Step to appear at Unohana's side and caught the former Kenpachi as she fell backward with a smile on her face.

Well, getting married was simply too slow...

Forcibly "marrying" her was faster!

Ahem...

Ah. This chapter was so difficult to write! I realized I simply could not write something as lofty as the fifth-life confession under Bartender's pen. I could only write about two Murderous Demons wielding swords for one another, redeeming each other as they stayed together for a thousand years to come. I hope everyone likes it! If anything feels off, I hope everyone can be understanding. I truly did my best! Also, the pacing was indeed a little slow, but it will speed up from here on. There is one more chapter, though it may be updated later.