Dark brown currents surged up from beneath Kenpachi Zaraki's feet, shooting straight into the clouds.
The reishi structure of all Wahrwelt gave a grating groan under that crushing pressure.
The 11th Division haori draped over his shoulders instantly tore apart, scattering into countless scraps in the gale.
The skin all over Kenpachi Zaraki's body rapidly turned a deep, dark red, like the somber hue of iron tempered in a raging fire.
On either side of his forehead, two horns as rough as obsidian broke through his skin, curving slightly outward.
His already unruly, spiky hair fell loose, and reason vanished entirely from the depths of his eyes, leaving only pure ferocity and fighting spirit.
Nozarashi, gripped in both his hands, underwent an equally astonishing transformation.
The sword, shaped like an enormous door panel, abruptly shortened by nearly half. Its spine thickened, and its edge took on uneven, broken teeth, like a savage broken blade left after being snapped by force.
This form no longer belonged to a Soul Reaper, but to a demonic fiend that had crawled from the depths of the abyss into the human world.
"Urr... Raaaagh!"
A low, guttural roar rolled from deep in Kenpachi Zaraki's throat, shattering a broad stretch of stone slabs beneath his feet.
Gerard looked down at the fiend whose form had changed so drastically. A trace of astonishment crossed his enormous face before giving way to unrestrained laughter.
"So you've turned into a horned fiend? What a pitiful, ugly death struggle!"
Gerard raised his enormous right foot, and a shadow that blotted out the sky stamped down from above.
Facing a foot large enough to flatten a city block, Kenpachi Zaraki did not even attempt to dodge.
His dark red figure left an afterimage where he stood, and his stomp blasted a