How Did He Die?

The people on both sides clashed in the blink of an eye, and for a time, battle cries filled the entire area.

Habutae had not stayed at the rear. Instead, she stood at the very front, continuously swinging the two enormous axes in her hands and hacking down at the enemies before her. Not a single person survived beneath those twin axes.

Even setting aside the fact that the villains she had brought possessed stronger spiritual pressure and numerical superiority, Daimaru and the others would never have been a match for the people of District 80 in a one-on-one fight.

The reason was simple: the villains of District 80 possessed superior combat skills.

If evaluated using the system's levels, most of Daimaru and the others' "combat skills" were still at the beginner stage, with only a few reaching the elementary stage. Meanwhile, most of Habutae and the others' "combat skills" were at the elementary stage, and a few had even reached the intermediate stage.

Their skills had not only been honed through slaughter, but had also undergone relatively crude systematic training.

The Zanjutsu and Hakuda they possessed had already begun to take shape.

Less than a minute after the two sides came into contact, Daimaru's side had already fallen into an absolute disadvantage.

"Where's that bastard?!"

Daimaru hacked off the head of the enemy before him, then looked around the battlefield with an ugly expression. No matter how he searched, he could not find any trace of Duan Mu.

He didn't run away, did he?

At that thought, Daimaru's expression grew even darker. He might have been insane, but a madman was not necessarily a fool. The short battle had already made him understand that if no outside force intervened, his people would be slaughtered by Habutae before long!

Even surrendering now would lead to the same result.

Submission or death!

That was the rule of the game in the districts with higher numbers. Ignoring the final warning meant making a choice. Daimaru and the others had only two paths before them: annihilate the opposing side, or be annihilated by them.

During the slaughter just now, Daimaru had still retained a sliver of hope despite realizing the disparity.

However...

Duan Mu, who had been behind him, had suddenly vanished, causing even that last sliver of hope in his heart to disappear. Unwilling to give up, he continued searching the surroundings, hoping to find Duan Mu.

"I remember you!"

Just then, a deep, heavy female voice came from nearby: "You're the deputy who's always been at Daimaru's side, aren't you?"

The scar on Daimaru's face twitched. Even without looking up, he knew who had arrived from that distinctive voice.

Looking up, he saw that Habutae had somehow reached the center of the town. Behind her stretched a blood-soaked path paved with blood and corpses, while the two enormous axes in her hands continuously dripped fresh blood.

"Is this the result of all your efforts over the past few days?"

Habutae gave a mocking laugh and looked at Daimaru with disdain. "I even gave you so many days to prepare."

Despite saying that, Habutae's gaze kept discreetly observing the surroundings.

In truth, after discovering Daimaru, she had not come straight to him. Instead, she had secretly observed him for some time.

She appeared rough and boisterous on the outside, but in reality, she was not reckless. She was extremely calm; otherwise, she would never have gained her current position in West District 80.

Judging from Daimaru's earlier reaction, he was clearly searching for someone.

Had he found someone to help him?

Or had he joined under another Great Villain from West District 80?

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Habutae's expression changed, and she looked toward both sides.

The spiritual pressure disappeared?

She had brought around two hundred people, but only one-third of them were actually on the main battlefield. That was why Daimaru's subordinates had been able to hold out until now despite being outnumbered, rather than collapsing and fleeing the moment they came into contact with the enemy.

The other two-thirds had split into two groups, surrounding the town from both sides and cutting off Daimaru and the others' escape routes.

Never let any opponent go. That was the common understanding among the residents of West District 80, because many people had died precisely because of this.

Some had already formed grudges with others but let them escape, only to be killed when those enemies returned for revenge after growing stronger. Some fugitives had taken refuge with powerful people, who eventually came looking for them... The reasons varied widely and came in all shapes and forms!

Living in West District 80 meant living on the edge of a blade. Naturally, they could not avoid killing people. Once they decided to kill, they would leave no survivors, giving the other side no chance to retaliate.

That was exactly why Habutae had sent two groups to cut off the town's rear routes. Whether they were Daimaru's subordinates or not, she had no intention of letting any of the residents of District 79 go!

And just now...

Habutae, who had grown wary because of Daimaru's reaction, suddenly discovered that the spiritual-pressure fluctuations of the two groups she had sent to block the rear were rapidly declining at an astonishing speed!

"Ahhh~~"

Almost at the same time, a series of screams came from the rear of the town. Looking toward the sound, they saw a group of people rushing rapidly into the town from behind.

Daimaru and the others' expressions changed at once.

They've already circled around this quickly?

They naturally knew that Habutae had split her forces to cut off their retreat, but they had no ability to stop them. The main battlefield alone had already left them struggling to cope. How could they spare any thought for whether they were surrounded?

"That bastard~~!!"

Daimaru cursed with a twisted expression. He could now confirm that the bastard boss of Yorozuya had definitely fled after realizing that the situation was unfavorable. Otherwise, with his strength, how could he have gone so long without attracting any attention?

However, Daimaru did not notice that when Habutae saw those people, she did not look pleased at having completed the encirclement. Instead, her expression darkened as she gazed past her subordinates into the distance.

Vmmm~~

In an instant, a sea of red flames appeared out of thin air behind Habutae's subordinates.

As the flames appeared, a chant whose exact source could not be determined suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

"O Ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, spreading your wings and soaring, crowned with the name of humanity! Scorching heat and chaos, surging backward across the sea toward the south, advance!"

The crimson flames expanded explosively along with the chant, gradually condensing into an enormous fireball that distorted the air. The flames were so dense that they seemed capable of refining heaven and earth beneath their burning heat. Even a single spark within could instantly evaporate the moisture in the surrounding trees.

An immense spiritual pressure spread through the area. Beneath the fireball, a figure flickered in and out of sight. It was Duan Mu, who had vanished at the beginning of the battle.

Duan Mu raised his right hand and pressed downward. Then he shouted in a low voice, "Bakudō no Thirty-One: Kakka Hō!" The air around them trembled, and the fireball above his head immediately surged toward Habutae's subordinates retreating toward the center of the town, trailing roaring waves of heat.

Only then did Daimaru realize...

The people surging in from the rear of the town were not wearing bloodthirsty, savage grins. Their faces were filled with terror and despair.

This was not an encirclement at all. They were fleeing into the town in disarray!

Boom~~

The fireball exploded, and the flames contained within erupted with a thunderous roar. For a moment, the entire town seemed to be illuminated by the blaze.

Screams rang across the entire battlefield.

The buildings throughout the rear of the town were burned down. The flames rapidly spread, turning figure after figure into charred corpses.

Amid the blaze...

Duan Mu slowly walked out. As he advanced, the flames around him parted to either side, forming a path for him to pass through.

His aura...

Had once again transformed completely. It was dark and cold, permeated by the aura of death. His expression was utterly different from the scorching flames around him—indifferent to the extreme, as if the charred corpses beneath his feet were not bodies at all, but merely a flat road.

A Soul Reaper!

Whether they were on Daimaru's side or Habutae's side, those two words involuntarily surfaced in their minds.

But he was not the Soul Reaper known throughout Soul Society. He was a Soul Reaper who had emerged from hell, whose only purpose was to reap the lives of living beings!

Daimaru was no longer curious about what Duan Mu had done while alive. In any case, judging from the sinister aura that seeped from the depths of his soul, that man had definitely been an extremely dangerous human in life.

Now, he was only curious...

How did Duan Mu die!?

How could someone like him have been so young when he was killed by those who sought to eradicate evil?

Happy New Year! I returned to my hometown for New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year. Without a computer, I couldn't write at all, and besides... I was simply too busy.