Wave after wave of rust filled his throat. Every breath tore through his lungs with searing pain. The sounds around him grew increasingly muffled, and his vision gradually darkened.
Asano Kiyoshi gasped for breath. Although he could not suffer fatal injuries within Sword Mountain and Blade Hell, the damage inflicted on his body was unavoidable. Nnoitra's slash had nearly split open Kiyoshi's lungs, greatly impairing his ability to keep fighting.
When Kiyoshi swung his twelfth slash, Nnoitra suddenly raised the arm that had long since fallen limp. He grabbed the long blade in Kiyoshi's hand, then turned to look at him with an almost crazed expression. His voice trembled as he spoke.
"What the hell, Shinigami? So in this strange place of yours, no matter how badly you're hurt, you won't die... Then that's perfect! Because... because no matter how many times I cut you to death, it'll never be enough to satisfy my hatred!"
With that, Nnoitra used his hand to straighten the head that was nearly falling from his neck. His features twisted into a knot, and with a vicious slash, one of Asano Kiyoshi's arms flew into the air.
Kiyoshi had not reacted to that attack at all. Compared to Nnoitra, his combat experience was still far too lacking.
He had been doing his best to attack the joints of Nnoitra's limbs, but even within Sword Mountain and Blade Hell, Nnoitra's body was still so hard that it made his arms go numb.
After so many attacks, he had only barely managed to slightly impair Nnoitra's arm.
Yet once Nnoitra recovered, he had nearly crippled Kiyoshi's arm with a single slash.
Looking at the severed arm, Nnoitra's face was full of delight. He stared at Kiyoshi and spoke word by word.
"Hey, Shinigami, don't look so surprised.