Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The sound of something tearing through the air merged into one continuous roar. Looking at Duan Mu, who had been surrounded with nowhere to escape, Habutae's expression changed drastically.
Duan Mu couldn't die. If he did, it would be her and the Nishijinori Boss next.
Thinking this, Habutae tossed the Boss from her shoulder onto the ground and staggered forward. However, just as she took a step, a sudden change erupted in the battlefield!!
Looking over, she saw Duan Mu, who had been trapped within the encirclement, suddenly transform into a series of afterimages, weaving through the densely packed blades.
He looked just like a leaf in a violent storm. No matter how fierce the wind was, it couldn't tear him apart. Instead, he used the force of the wind to dance between the blades!
How was that possible!?
Watching those afterimages skim past the sharp blades, both Habutae and Jiu Su, who was observing from outside, couldn't help but narrow their eyes.
This was no longer something that could be accomplished through speed alone. It was more like...
Familiarity?
Jiu Su didn't know how to describe the scene before him. It looked as though everyone present was cooperating with Duan Mu in putting on a performance.
That was, if one ignored the terror on the "actors'" faces. Compared to the two spectators, Jiu Su and Habutae, those involved felt as though their opponent could see the future. Often, before a blade even arrived, he had already assumed the posture needed to dodge it.
He dodged attacks that could be avoided, and took the ones he couldn't evade head-on.
A layer of Repulsion barrier enveloped his fists, allowing him to effortlessly withstand the unavoidable attacks. If a Soul Reaper had been here, they would have realized that the Repulsion barrier was actually Bakudō #8: Kyaku.
Seeing the future was naturally beyond Duan Mu's abilities.
The reason he could dodge as though he had foreseen the future was entirely because, in that instant, he had seen through the trajectories of every attack.
Zanjutsu: Intermediate (0/10000)
In fact, during his previous battle, Duan Mu had already realized that even without a Zanpakuto, Zanjutsu was still worth cultivating.
The reason was simple: one had to understand something before one could break it!
Intermediate Zanjutsu had given Duan Mu the eyesight needed to spot the flaws in the attacks of those surrounding him. That was why he gave people the impression that he could see the future.
Of course, the main reason was also that these people's attacks were far too repetitive and monotonous. Choosing the best place to dodge wasn't difficult.
Dodging passively would never end the battle. He wasn't planning to waste too much spiritual pressure on these people. After dodging another massive cleaver, he stopped avoiding attacks as he had before and instead reached out with his left hand to grab the blade.
Seeing this, the man holding the cleaver's expression changed. He instinctively tried to pull it free, but contrary to his expectations... the cleaver came back with ease, without encountering the slightest resistance.
The discovery left the swordsman stunned at first, then his expression changed drastically!!
Because...
As the massive cleaver was pulled back, Duan Mu's strange, half-smiling face also entered his pupils. At some point, a long, pale index finger had been placed against his chest.
"Hado #4: Byakurai."
Bang!
Lightning suddenly flashed at his fingertip. The swordsman felt a sharp pain in his chest, and everything before his eyes immediately blurred.
After killing one man, Duan Mu didn't pause for even a moment. Sliding backward, he transformed into a black arc and appeared before the next person like a ghost.
It was a bald man. He hadn't yet recovered from the shock of his companion's death when darkness filled his vision. Duan Mu's ghostly figure suddenly appeared before him, red light rising from his right hand.
"Kakka Hō!"
The surrounding temperature soared in an instant, and terror appeared in the bald man's eyes as Duan Mu charged right up to him.
Fortunately, the people around him immediately reacted and rushed over once more. Duan Mu changed from evasion to offense, giving the disorganized men another chance to attack.
Sharp blades came slashing in, and the earlier scene played out again.
However, they also understood that the outcome of their previous assault might happen again.
But as long as they kept attacking and gave their opponent no chance to counterattack, he would eventually exhaust his spiritual pressure in a battle of many against one. The moment he revealed even the slightest opening, they would hack him to death in a storm of blades!
Yet what happened next exceeded everyone's expectations.
Just as the group charged toward Duan Mu, his right hand suddenly flipped, and he slammed the Kakka Hō that had originally been aimed at the bald man into the ground beneath his feet.
Boom!
The tremendous explosion was deafening.
The fragile ground was like tofu. Endless soil surged into the sky, and in the blink of an eye, a massive crater more than a dozen meters across formed in the center of the battlefield.
The people who had been charging toward Duan Mu suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath their feet, and they all staggered.
"Watch out, above your heads!!"
Before they could steady themselves, Jiu Su's urgent shout suddenly rang out.
"Bones of beasts scattered across the stars, spire, red crystal, wheels of steel. Movement is wind, stillness is emptiness, and the sound of crossing spears fills the hollow city!" Along with Jiu Su's anxious roar came an unfamiliar chant.
The group followed the sound and saw a full moon hanging amid the night sky, looking extraordinarily beautiful.
But faced with this beautiful sight, the villains felt a chill throughout their bodies.
Because it wasn't a full moon at all. It was violent thunder forcibly compressed into one mass.
At that moment, Duan Mu, suspended in the air, suddenly brought his right hand down.
"Kidō #63: Raikōhō!"
Roar--!!!
Everywhere the lightning passed, the air let out a sound as though it couldn't bear the strain, like a roar. Dense beams of lightning directly enveloped everyone.
Rumble...
The ground violently shook in that instant, while smoke from the explosion shrouded the entire area.
From the hurricane-like thunder to the faint lingering echoes, everything eventually fell silent.
Beneath the smoke...
There was no one left. Only a massive crater remained, along with streaks of charred blackness that looked like brands.
A monster!!
Habutae stared dumbfoundedly at Duan Mu in midair, her heart completely overwhelmed by shock.
He had used a fireball-style Kidō to destroy the enemy's footing, then, while they were busy steadying themselves, used the shock wave from the fireball's explosion to launch himself into the night sky.
Everything had flowed together so smoothly. Jiu Su's subordinates hadn't even had time to react before all of them had been turned into blackened charcoals.
She had seen Duan Mu fight before, but the Duan Mu from last time had never used such powerful Kidō. Rather than fighting then, he had seemed more like he was using her subordinates to familiarize himself with battle!
But now...
This was him truly giving it his all.
His ghostlike speed, immensely powerful Kidō, bizarre evasive movements, and wide variety of close-combat techniques... Combined, they made Habutae feel an uncontrollable relief at having survived a disaster.
Because if Duan Mu had fought her in this state back then, she would never have escaped District 79.
Wait... where was Jiu Su!?
Habutae's expression changed.
"Watch out!!"
Before you continue