Chapter 179

  Hearing Aizen’s words, Kaelith couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

  The Hollow opposite them wanted to take him back for experiments.

  His own ally wanted to capture that Hollow for experiments.

  He often felt that he just wasn’t twisted enough to fit in with people like them.

  The moment Szayeporro called out his release command, a violent wave of Reiatsu bsted outward in all directions.

  In the skies above, the heavy spiritual pressure poured down like a torrential flood.

  Under its onsught, the air trembled fiercely, and everything in view seemed to warp and distort.

  Kaelith felt as if every bone in his body was creaking. This Reiatsu was truly terrifying—far stronger than what he’d experienced even when Kuchiki Kōga used Bankai in the past.

  Was this really the Szayeporro he remembered, the one who could barely handle Ishida Uryū?

  Suddenly, he recalled the release command Szayeporro had spoken. If his memory served him right, Szayeporro’s original release phrase should have been “Sip, Fornicarás.” What was this “Drink deep and dance madly” supposed to be?

  It seemed the Szayeporro before him was quite different from the one in his impressions. The Szayeporro he knew of could only serve as a reference, not something to rely on fully.

  As both Kaelith and Aizen watched, the swirling spiritual energy around Szayeporro dispersed, revealing his transformed body.

  He now looked nothing like before. Initially, he had resembled a Shinigami more than a Hollow. Now he had fully reverted to a Hollow form.

  A pale mask covered his face, and two long white horns jutted upward. Four thick, wing-like appendages oozing viscous fluid swayed behind him. His white robe had transformed into flowing liquid, and his long, sleeve-like fingers had become ghastly white cws, their tips a dark purple. Each time they flexed, Kaelith thought of creatures like undead skeletons.

  With his release complete, Szayeporro grinned beneath his white mask. “Consider yourselves honored, Shinigami. Witnessing a Hollow perform a sword release… it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

  Kaelith’s eyes went wide, stunned.

  Aizen gnced at him from the corner of his eye. “What is it, Kaelith?”

  “It’s… it’s a minotaur! Look at those horns!” Kaelith pointed in astonishment at the white horns on Szayeporro’s head.

  Aizen looked at Szayeporro’s horns. There were indeed a pair of horns—so what? He had no idea what Kaelith was on about, but he was used to it by now. He calmly ignored Kaelith and began an incantation:

  “Ye scattered beast bones, spire, crimson crystal, steel wheels…”

  Without needing prior discussion, as Aizen chanted, Kaelith sprang into action. He leapt high, swinging both of his short bdes wreathed in blue fmes. The bdes whirled through the air from different angles toward Szayeporro. At the same time, blue fmes erupted from Kaelith’s shoulders and back.

  “Fsh Roar: Hell Chariot!”

  With a shout, Kaelith drove forward, fists raised, rushing straight at Szayeporro.

  Two of Szayeporro’s wing-like appendages shed out to intercept the incoming bdes, while the other two lunged at Kaelith’s body at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

  Boom!

  A fming blue fist smmed into one of Szayeporro’s appendages, splitting it open. But another appendage struck Kaelith, breaking through his Reiatsu defense and shattering his colrbone. Since becoming a Shinigami, Kaelith had never faced an enemy with such destructive power.

  Yet he didn’t pause even for a second. Within his body, a shadow-like power extended, bracing the broken bone and pulling the pieces back together. The pain was excruciating, but at least it wouldn’t hinder his ability to fight.

  Kaelith had suffered far worse injuries before. This level of pain barely counted as anything.

  Seeing Kaelith continue his charge without slowing, Szayeporro was surprised. He was certain he’d just crushed one of Kaelith’s crucial bones. Was this guy some kind of battle maniac?

  Meanwhile, the other two appendages met Kaelith’s twin bdes. Protected by a thick yer of Reiatsu, the appendages formed a sturdy defense, intending to catch the bdes. But the moment they touched the bde edges, they were sliced apart with ease, as if that defense didn’t exist at all.

  Szayeporro took note of this from the corner of his eye. Although two appendages were severed, he remained calm. It seemed his guess was correct: Kaelith’s bdes had a special property, likely something like ignoring defenses. A troublesome ability, but if put to good use, it would make Kaelith a fine boratory assistant as well as a test subject.

  Ah, now he was daydreaming. If the bdes could bypass defenses, then there was no point trying to block them. He decided to use all the appendages for direct attacks instead.

  Kaelith stepped forward, riding the storm conjured by Ikkotsu, crossing the short distance in a fsh until he was right in front of Szayeporro. The twin Rixiang Jimie bdes, chained to him, swung back at his command to deal with Szayeporro’s appendages.

  Meanwhile, Kaelith himself unleashed a punch.

  At the moment he struck, the power of the shadows merged into his arm.

  Sōkotsu!

  Bang!

  The punch nded squarely on Szayeporro’s face. Szayeporro tilted his head slightly and focused his Reiatsu to divert some of Kaelith’s strength, but the blow still tore off a chunk of his face and knocked out half of his mors, leaving him looking like a horror movie character.

  Without waiting for Szayeporro to react, Kaelith darted aside. From behind him came a roaring bst of golden Reiatsu:

  A fully-incanted Raikōhō, cast by the Kido prodigy Aizen!

  A golden tidal wave of Reiatsu instantly swallowed Szayeporro, rushing across the distant sky.

  Kaelith halted in midair not far away. He didn’t wait for the Raikōhō to dissipate. He immediately flung out his chain-bound twin bdes once more, slicing toward Szayeporro’s position. Without a doubt, such an assault wouldn’t be enough to finish Szayeporro off. Aizen knew this well.

  After unching Raikōhō, Aizen began chanting again without hesitation, raising a single finger and reciting his favorite Kido:

  “Veiled by murky crests, the unyielding and arrogant prowess…”