Nozarashi

Milluki's roar was still exploding in his earpiece.

Bai Zhu had already vaulted out from the outside of the bell tower.

The sensation of weightlessness came quickly.

Wind whipped past his ears. The church's spire, the priests in the courtyard, and the scattering worshippers all shot upward in his field of view.

Bai Zhu glanced down.

That was high.

A little higher than he had expected.

"Milluki."

"What?!"

"I suddenly feel like that move just now wasn't very life-preserving."

"You only realized that now?!"

Bai Zhu held the Zanpakuto in one hand while using the other to adjust his posture in midair.

The top of the bell tower had already exploded, flames surging upward.

The bronze bell had snapped free from its main axle and came crashing down with a heap of wooden supports. The crowd that had been praying inside the church completely erupted.

"The Lord has manifested!"

"The bell is falling! Run!"

"Someone is attacking the church!"

"Protect the holy icon!"

The crowd descended into chaos.

Several priests rushed toward the bell tower at once, while the others began dispersing the worshippers.

One bishop in silver robes raised his head, his gaze locking directly onto Bai Zhu in midair.

He stood before the main hall steps, short in stature, leaning on a silver staff.

The next second, the stone slabs beneath his feet cracked.

He shot forward more than ten meters.

"Intruder!"

Even in midair, Bai Zhu did not forget to crack a joke.

"Not a bad voice. What a waste not selling fish at the market."

Milluki cursed as he switched surveillance feeds.

"Quit messing around! That silver-robed bishop has far more Nen than ordinary guards. If he hits you before you land, you'll break at least two bones!"

"Are you worried about me?"

"I'm afraid if you die, no one will be there to back up my brother!"

"Got it. Tsundere."

"Fuck off!"

The silver-robed bishop raised his staff, and a ring of Nen lit up around its tip.

Several guards closed in as well.

When they saw the sword in Bai Zhu's hand, they all slowed for a beat.

The sword looked ordinary.

At least, to them, it was ridiculously ordinary.

There were no traces of Nen wrapped around it, no gleam of special material, not even a single symbol.

Yet Bai Zhu held it far too naturally.

So naturally that it made people think the thing really had some incredible background.

Bai Zhu had no intention of explaining.

Showing off lost its value once you explained it.

Just as he was about to land, a translucent panel suddenly popped up.

[Ella's Suffering (2/?) · Cradle of the Holy Infant! Completed]

[Mission description: Protect the "Holy Infant mother," uncover the truth behind the Creation Society's resurrection ritual, and gain Ella's trust.]

[Stage reward: 100 Achievement Points. Issued.]

[Additional reward: Unlocked one new Kidō draw.]

[Current total Achievement Points: 606. Remaining allocable Achievement Points: 166. Current total Reiatsu: 6060]

Bai Zhu nearly laughed out loud in midair.

It was here!

It really was here!

This had been worth it.

Trust secured, mission settled, draw privilege received.

The silver-robed bishop had already rushed directly beneath him, silver staff pointed at the sky.

"The Lord's sanctuary shall not be defiled!"

Bai Zhu gripped the hilt with both hands.

Reiatsu poured into the blade.

He still did not know what this sword was called, could not release it, and did not understand things like Shikai or Bankai.

But that did not stop him from treating Reiatsu like a battery and cramming it into the blade.

The blade grew slightly heavier.

Bai Zhu hung in the air, his robes whipped wildly by the wind.

A crowd below raised their heads to watch him.

At that moment, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Wouldn't it be a waste not to shout something in a scene this good?

If I don't shout, I won't look like a protagonist.

Even if I shout the wrong thing, it doesn't matter. No one will understand anyway.

Bai Zhu took a deep breath and swung downward with both hands.

"Nozarashi!!!"

Milluki fell silent instantly.

At the inn.

Milluki stared at the screen, frozen stiff.

On-screen, Bai Zhu fell from outside the exploded bell tower, gripping his sword in both hands and forcibly cleaving out a streak of Reiatsu.

Milluki could not understand those two words.

But they were cool.

Insanely cool.

Just the right amount of chuuni.

Cool as hell.

Milluki's throat bobbed, and he nearly shouted along with him.

Ella stood beside him, watching the screen as well.

She did not understand combat. She only saw that streak of light crash down and send all the surrounding guards flying.

Some slammed into walls, some rolled into the snow, and two crashed straight through the church's side door.

Bai Zhu landed.

The stone slabs beneath his feet cracked in a circle.

His knees buckled slightly, and he nearly lost his footing.

"Ugh..."

It hurt.

But no one around him could tell.

Because his sword was still raised, and that strike had already cleared everything below him.

The bronze bell came crashing down from above, straight at his head.

Milluki finally snapped out of it in his earpiece.

"Above you! Above you! You idiot!"

Bai Zhu did not look up.

It was not that he did not want to.

Looking up would make it seem like he had not noticed it earlier.

He swung a backhand slash sideways.

Clang!

The bronze bell was knocked aside by the strike and flew toward the right side of the courtyard with an ear-piercing boom.

A statue of the Creation Society stood there.

Boom!

The statue snapped at the waist, its upper half collapsing straight into the snow.

Everyone in the courtyard froze for a moment.

The worshippers were dumbfounded.

The priests, meanwhile, saw red.

Bai Zhu looked at the collapsed statue and silently gave himself a thumbs-up.

Better to tear down an idol than beat people up.

That was what precision striking meant.

Just then, another system notification appeared.

[Hidden achievement: Used the Zanpakuto under the gaze of the masses and received applause from one spectator]

[Reward: 20 Achievement Points. Issued.]

[Current total Achievement Points: 626. Remaining allocable Achievement Points: 186. Current total Reiatsu: 6260]

Bai Zhu's hand holding the sword trembled.

Not from fear.

From exhilaration.

What kind of heavenly dungeon was this?

One slash advanced the main mission, and even hidden achievements settled automatically.

As for that spectator's applause...

He instinctively looked around.

No one was applauding.

The worshippers were practically scared shitless.

Milluki suddenly coughed in his earpiece.

"Um... what was that move called just now?"

Bai Zhu froze.

"You applauded?"

"Who applauded?! I just thought... it was okay."

"Okay?"

"A little better than okay."

Bai Zhu understood.

Case solved.

The system-certified spectator: Milluki.

The little fatty talked tough, but his body was honest.

Bai Zhu nearly laughed out loud.

"You like it? Want to learn? I'll teach you."

"Fuck off! I'm not learning!"

"Come on, repeat after me. No—za—ra—shi—"

"Are you sick?"

The silver-robed bishop slammed his staff heavily against the ground.

"Enough!"

The guards in the courtyard surrounded Bai Zhu again.

This time, they did not rush him all at once.

The row of people sent flying earlier had already made the problem clear.

This black-robed man was no ordinary intruder.

The silver-robed bishop stared at the sword in Bai Zhu's hand.

"Who are you?"

Bai Zhu rested the sword on his shoulder, enduring the numb ache in his wrist.

"An inspector dispatched from District Thirty-Seven."

The silver-robed bishop frowned.

"There is no District Thirty-Seven here."

Bai Zhu nodded.

"That's because your rank isn't high enough."

A priest beside him changed color.

He knew those words.

It seemed someone had said the same thing in the main hall just moments ago.

The silver-robed bishop was not intimidated.

He raised his silver staff, and Nen began gathering at its tip.

"Hold him off. Notify the underground levels—we've encountered an invasion above ground."

Milluki's voice immediately sounded in Bai Zhu's earpiece.

"It worked. They've started moving people. Six men are heading up from the elevator, and the guards around the underground perimeter have been reduced by a third."

"What about the core area?"

"Still no movement. The old bastard hasn't reacted."

Bai Zhu cursed under his breath.

"They've got quite the appetite. Even with the statue above ground collapsed, they still won't budge."

Milluki worked rapidly.

"Don't rush it. The silver-robed bishop has considerable authority. As long as he can't hold out, the underground will send more people."

Bai Zhu looked at the silver-robed bishop before him.

"So I just need to hurt him badly?"

"Preferably don't kill him. Living people can cry for help. Dead people only lie there."

"You're sounding more and more like an assassin."

"Bullshit. I already am one."

The silver-robed bishop moved.

His silver staff swept sideways, Nen pressing against its shaft. He was far faster than the guards from before.

Bai Zhu did not take the blow head-on.

He stepped back half a pace and brought his fingers together.

"Bakudo #4: Hainawa."

Golden light shot forth.

The silver-robed bishop twisted aside in advance. The golden light grazed his shoulder and bound an unlucky guard behind him.

The guard immediately fell flat on his face in the snow.

Bai Zhu clicked his tongue.

"Mid-level officers really are a bit tougher."

The silver-robed bishop snorted coldly.

"Heretical sorcery."

"Don't go throwing labels at a fellow practitioner. Your lot isn't clean either."