"Crush him, Gegetsuburi!"
Marechiyo Ōmaeda roared loudly as he swung the massive spiked flail of his Zanpakutō. The heavy iron ball tore through the air and smashed toward the Quincy standing across from him.
Before the weapon could land, several metallic conduits suddenly extended from the enemy's body. The pipes unfolded like mechanical limbs and transformed into razor-edged blades.
Clang.
The blades struck the iron ball mid-swing.
Crack.
Ōmaeda's Gegetsuburi shattered instantly, the spiked head breaking apart into fragments of spiritual metal that scattered across the ground.
Ōmaeda froze.
He stared at the broken remnants of his Zanpakutō, disbelief filling his face.
"Huh…?"
But the Quincy was already moving.
One of the metallic pipes extended and reshaped itself into a narrow blade that shot straight toward Ōmaeda's throat.
Ōmaeda didn't even have time to react.
Whoosh.
A flash cut through the air.
The blade snapped in half.
A figure appeared between them.
"Ōmaeda."
The cold voice carried unmistakable authority.
"Withdraw. Go deal with the lower-rank Sternritter soldiers."
Soi Fon stood there, eyes sharp and focused on the enemy in front of her.
Ōmaeda immediately straightened.
"Y-Yes, Captain!"
Without hesitation he turned and fled toward another battlefield sector.
Seeing him escape, the Quincy's body shifted again. More than a dozen metal conduits extended from his back and shoulders, rapidly assembling into rotating Gatling-style cannons.
The barrels spun rapidly.
They aimed directly at the retreating Ōmaeda.
But before the first shot could fire
Slash.
Every cannon split cleanly in half.
Soi Fon appeared several meters away, lowering her arm.
"Your opponent," she said coldly, "is me."
The Quincy studied her calmly.
"Impressive speed."
His mechanical voice carried no emotion.
"But your movement patterns have already been analyzed."
As he spoke, several launch ports opened behind him.
A barrage of missiles shot out simultaneously, curving through the air toward Soi Fon from multiple angles.
Front.
Rear.
Left.
Right.
Every escape path was predicted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions engulfed the area.
But in the next instant
Soi Fon appeared behind him.
Her body was surrounded by crackling blue lightning.
Shunkō.
Using the explosive propulsion of the technique, she had moved faster than the expanding shockwave.
A golden stinger formed around her right index finger.
She thrust it forward.
The mark of a butterfly appeared on the Quincy's back.
The Quincy turned his head slightly.
"What did you do?"
Soi Fon landed lightly several meters away.
"My Zanpakutō's ability is Nigeki Kessatsu."
She pointed the stinger toward him.
"Two hits on the same location and the target dies instantly."
The Quincy paused.
"I can detect disruption in my spiritual structure," he said.
"But it is irrelevant."
His body opened again, revealing internal machinery pulsing with reishi.
"I am BG9, Sternritter 'K'."
"A mechanical lifeform enhanced with Quincy abilities."
"The energy pattern of your Shunkō has already been recorded."
Soi Fon's expression tightened slightly.
In the next moment
BG9 vanished.
He reappeared behind her.
Hundreds of blade-like pipes erupted outward, stabbing toward her from every direction.
"Target captured."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The blades pierced straight through her body.
But a moment later
The body dissolved into torn cloth.
Soi Fon appeared several meters away.
"Utsusemi."
She exhaled slowly and gripped her Zanpakutō.
"If Suzumebachi won't work on you…"
Her reiatsu surged.
"Then I'll end this another way."
She raised her arm.
"Bankai — Jakuhō Raikōben!"
Her Zanpakutō transformed into a massive missile launcher attached to her arm, an enormous warhead forming at the barrel's end.
BG9 immediately began scanning the weapon.
"Analyzing reishi density…"
The missile fired.
A blazing streak of energy tore across the sky.
BG9 instantly moved.
His mechanical body accelerated with extreme speed, narrowly dodging the incoming blast.
BOOM.
The missile detonated behind him, forming a massive crater across the white battlefield.
BG9 observed the explosion calmly.
"Trajectory recorded."
"I can avoid the next strike."
"Can you?"
A voice whispered behind him.
BG9 turned.
Soi Fon stood there, her body now completely engulfed in lightning.
Behind her floated six rings of condensed reishi, spinning slowly.
"Shunkō: Raijin Senkei."
The lightning-charged form amplified her speed and power dramatically.
Another missile launcher had already formed.
BG9 barely had time to react.
"Fire."
The missile detonated point-blank.
The explosion swallowed BG9 completely.
A pillar of fire erupted into the sky.
"You… will die too!"
His voice vanished within the blast.
But at the edge of the explosion
A flash of lightning escaped the firestorm.
Soi Fon reappeared far away.
Her Raijin Senkei form had allowed her to outrun the shockwave itself.
She exhaled slowly.
"Finally finished…"
Looking back at the shattered remains of BG9, she wiped sweat from her forehead.
"One Sternritter down."
Not far away
"Roar, Haineko."
Matsumoto Rangiku spoke softly.
Her Zanpakutō dissolved into ash.
The gray particles spiraled outward like a storm.
"Neko Rōringu!"
The ash formed a violent vortex that swallowed the Quincy standing before her.
But when the ash cleared
The enemy stood completely unharmed.
Only his clothes showed minor tears.
Rangiku's eyes widened.
"How…?"
The Quincy spoke coldly.
"I am Cang Du, Sternritter 'I' The Iron."
"My Blut Vene grants absolute defense."
"No blade can pierce it."
Rangiku felt cold sweat run down her neck.
In the next moment
Cang Du appeared directly in front of her.
Metallic claws extended from his hands, slashing forward.
Rangiku quickly retreated with Shunpo, barely avoiding the strike.
But the claws extended further, forming massive reishi talons.
"Iron Claw."
The claws slammed downward.
BOOM.
The ground exploded.
Cang Du turned away calmly.
"Cats can kill snakes," he said quietly.
"But before a giant python…"
"There is only death."
"Is that so?"
A voice interrupted him.
Cang Du turned.
A man stood in the air, holding Rangiku gently by the shoulder.
Silver hair.
Fox-like eyes.
A familiar smile.
Ichimaru Gin.
Rangiku blinked in shock.
"Gin…?"
Gin set her down lightly.
"He called you a cat," Gin said lazily.
"That's a bit strange."
He glanced at her chest and smirked.
"Cats aren't usually that well-endowed."
"GIN!"
Rangiku's face turned red instantly.
Gin chuckled softly.
"I'm just telling the truth."
Cang Du narrowed his eyes.
"You two flirting on a battlefield… interesting."
Gin tilted his head.
"Oh right."
"I almost forgot about you."
Cang Du's expression darkened.
"If you are lovers…"
"I'll kill you together."
"Lovers? We're not"
Before Rangiku could finish
Gin suddenly pulled her closer and kissed her.
Rangiku's eyes went wide.
"Mm?!"
Cang Du raised his claws.
"Die together then!"
But suddenly
His body froze.
A thin blade had pierced directly through his chest.
His heart began disintegrating from the inside.
"How…?"
Cang Du collapsed to one knee.
Gin stood behind him, Zanpakutō extended.
"Kamishini no Yari," Gin said softly.
"The fastest blade in Soul Society."
Cang Du's body crumbled apart.
Gin looked down calmly.
"A giant python is strong," he said quietly.
"But it doesn't last long…"
"…after a cobra's venom enters the heart."
The Sternritter's body shattered into fragments of reishi.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
And far away, the overwhelming spiritual pressure of another battle continued to rise
the battlefield where Kurotsuki Renya fought.
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