The Space Rift That Wouldn't Close

"Wait, the sky... it cracked open?"

A young Thirteenth Division shinigami stared up at the sky, his throat dry and his voice caught in his throat.

His companion stared fixedly at the sky, the Zanpakuto in his hand trembling.

"W-what is that thing... a Hollow? Isn't it ridiculously huge?!"

"I... I want to go home..."

Before he could finish, a heavy Reiatsu poured from the rift and crashed down over the entire battlefield.

Everyone below, Shinigami and Hollows alike, slowed to a halt.

The weaker Shinigami were pressed face-first into the bloodstained mud, unable even to lift their heads.

The lesser Hollows fared even worse. Several near the rift were crushed into scattered Reishi on the spot, without even a scream.

Those who could still just barely stand were at least close to Seat Officer level.

But they were only "standing." With veins bulging in their necks, they managed to slowly turn their gaze toward the sky.

And then they saw it.

A gigantic, ghastly white mask slowly emerging from the mountain-sized black rift.

"It's over..." someone murmured, his voice filled with icy despair. "That must be... the 'Great Hollow' the textbooks mentioned."

"The kind even Captain-level Shinigami might not be able to handle..."

"Looks like today... we're really going to die here."

The Thirteenth Division shinigami turned deathly pale. Their bodies instinctively wanted to retreat, but fear and Reiatsu pinned their feet in place.

By contrast, the Eleventh Division members were just as grim-faced, but they gritted their teeth and gripped their Zanpakuto even tighter.

There was no retreat in their eyes, only a stubborn, savage glint. Even if they died, they'd land a blow on that thing.

But their despair was real.

The enormous face alone must have been dozens of meters tall, nearly filling the entire rift.

Then two equally massive hands emerged on either side of its head, seized the edges of the rift, and violently tore them apart.

Crack!

The sky really had been ripped open.

A black gash stretched across the heavens, like a scar that would never heal.

Then a gigantic foot stepped out of the rift. Its toenails alone were taller than an ordinary Shinigami.

As the creature fully entered the Human World, the weight of its Reiatsu surged once more.

Several Hollows that had already been on their last legs were instantly crushed into scraps of Reishi.

"Phew."

Yan Si held Ashido, whose Reiatsu was in disarray and breathing rapid, and landed steadily beside Kuroyashiki Kenpachi.

The Eleventh Division captain tilted his head and rolled his neck from side to side with one hand. His vertebrae cracked softly as he wore the casual expression of someone who'd just woken up with a stiff neck.

The weight in Yan Si's heart dropped with a thud.

His ominous prediction had come true: a Great Hollow really had shown up.

But at this level, it wasn't even a question of whether it could kill Kuroyashiki Kenpachi. The real question was whether it could make him take the fight seriously.

Unless it was a top-tier Great Hollow on the level of a Vasto Lorde, this hulking brute was probably only good for warming up the "Kenpachi."

"Captain Kuroyashiki!"

Shiba Kaien stumbled over, his forehead slick with sweat. It was clear that the Great Hollow's Reiatsu made it hard for him to move.

Seeing Kuroyashiki Kenpachi casually limbering up, he visibly relaxed.

But then his gaze swept to the side. Vice-Captain Ashido was still panting as he recovered his breath, while Yan Si, the Ninth Division's Fifth Seat, looked perfectly composed—not even his hair was out of place.

Shiba Kaien's eyes widened.

"How come you're fine?"

Yan Si kept his usual cold expression, like some noble young man of the Soul Society. He glanced at him and replied calmly,

"Because I'm handsome."

Shiba Kaien stared, nearly choking on his breath. "I'll admit you're good-looking! But what does being handsome have to do with withstanding a Great Hollow's Reiatsu?!"

Yan Si turned away, fixing him with his emotionless eyes, and added four words:

"Handsome means strong."

Shiba Kaien opened his mouth, at a loss for how to argue with such a baseless claim.

Yan Si paid him no further attention and turned to Kuroyashiki Kenpachi, who was still rolling his neck.

"Captain, hurry up and take it down. If we wait any longer, someone's really going to collapse."

"Oh? Sorry, sorry." Kuroyashiki Kenpachi laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's an old habit. I always want to see what interesting things the other side can bring out."

The reason he hadn't attacked yet was that he'd been waiting for the other side to make the first move, just like before, when he'd encountered that young man in Zaraki District.

He paused and looked toward the Great Hollow, which was lowering its head to survey the battlefield and choose its next snack. His smile held a hint of boredom.

"Still, it's rude to keep a guest waiting too long."

He gripped his Zanpakuto's hilt with both hands and raised it above his head.

No incantation, no charging up, not even an especially dramatic stance.

He simply swung once at the mountain-sized figure in the distance.

The air froze in that instant.

Then a crescent-shaped slash, made entirely of Reiatsu, tore through the earth and split the air as it swept silently toward the Great Hollow's neck.

In its wake, even the light seemed to be cut apart.

The purple blade of light Kuroyashiki Kenpachi had unleashed swept quietly across the Great Hollow's neck.

The oppressive Reiatsu weighing on everyone's shoulders vanished with a soft pop.

Caught off guard when their struggle suddenly came to an end, many Shinigami who'd been gritting their teeth and holding on pitched forward and fell awkwardly to the ground, crying out in pain.

"Graaah!"

Only then did a muffled roar ring out from high above.

The mountain-sized white figure began to crumble at the neck, rapidly breaking apart into countless pale blue motes of Reishi that quietly faded into the smoke-filled sky.

"Tch, just as I thought. Boring." Kuroyashiki Kenpachi casually slung his Zanpakuto over his shoulder and pursed his lips.

That slash had felt no different from cutting down an ordinary Hollow. The only difference was that the target was bigger.

It hadn't even made his heart beat a little faster. He just couldn't get excited.

He'd enjoyed cutting down all those ordinary Hollows earlier, since there'd been so many of them, and fighting them had been a decent way to stretch his muscles.

But it was like stepping on ants. Whether he crushed one or a hundred, the "fun" was essentially the same. Neither could truly ignite his deep-seated hunger for battle.

"Ashido," he ordered without looking back, "take the others and clear out the area. We should head back soon. This place reeks."

"Yes, Captain." Ashido replied steadily and began organizing the shinigami who could still move.

Only then did the Shinigami who'd survived the disaster finally come to their senses.

"D-did you see that?! One slash! Just one!"

"Unbelievable! That's the 'Kenpachi'! The strongest Shinigami!"

"What kind of Great Hollow was that? In front of Captain Kuroyashiki, it was trash!"

"I really thought I was going to die... sob..."

Excitement, admiration, lingering fear, exhaustion... all kinds of emotions erupted.

Many shinigami slumped right down onto the ground, panting heavily. Their faces were streaked with sweat and mud, yet they wore foolish grins of relief.

Shiba Kaien wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and directed the Thirteenth Division members to help their fallen comrades.

Yan Si, however, didn't look at the cheering crowd or at Kuroyashiki Kenpachi as he returned with his Zanpakuto.

His gaze remained fixed on the sky.

The rift was still there, showing no sign of closing.