Kuchiki Byakuya extended his right hand, palm flat.
Among the thousands of pink blades floating overhead, the nearest trembled slightly, then streaked into his palm.
Byakuya slid his right foot half a foot backward, braced his heel against the ground, and lowered his center of gravity as he leaned forward.
He raised his blade-bearing right hand above his head, his arm muscles taut, the lines of his shoulder clearly visible beneath his Captain's Haori.
A moment later, spiritual power erupted beneath his feet.
Bang! Stone slabs shattered.
A shallow crater burst open where Byakuya had stood, sending rubble flying backward.
He became a pink afterimage, charging straight at Kuchiki Kyōka.
He moved so fast that the air split with a piercing whistle.
The instant he reached Kōga, Byakuya swung his raised right hand down.
The blade sliced through the air, trailing a pink arc.
Clang! The crash of metal rang out, grating enough to set teeth on edge.
The blade struck Kuchiki Kyōka's left shoulder.
More precisely, it struck the skin of his shoulder.
But that was no ordinary skin.
Where the blade had landed, his skin was grayish white, its texture like polished bone. The surface was smooth, without so much as a scratch.
Byakuya narrowed his eyes.
Almost simultaneously, a dark blur attacked from the side.
It was Muramasa's blade, deep purple.
Byakuya did not withdraw his sword.
Twisting from his waist, he forcibly turned his body in midair, raised both feet, and kicked at the dark blur.
A wet slicing sound.
Pain stabbed through the sole of his foot. Byakuya felt something cut through his shoe, then his skin, muscle, and bone.
Warm liquid sprayed out, splashing his trouser leg.
He delivered three consecutive kicks in midair.
Each struck the flat of Muramasa, using the recoil to