Its stubby golden arms braced against the ground, the enormous golden infant raised its head. Its pale, pupil-less eyes stared wide, and its mouth, spewing purple poisonous mist, twitched as it slurped Szayelaporro's bizarre wings into its mouth like noodles.
"A monster?" A figure appeared beside Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. It was none other than Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the 12th Division. "You should be calling it the creation of a genius, ne~"
"Mayuri... Kurotsuchi..." Uryū Ishida recognized him at once. "How did you... Guh!"
His voice suddenly turned strange, and a clear purple hue spread across his skin. "Is this poison? How did I get poisoned again...? I was already poisoned once. I should have resistance by now..."
"Resistance? You're oversimplifying things." Mayuri Kurotsuchi glanced at the poisoned group. "Changing the formula every time you mix a poison is common sense."
"You... bastard..." Uryū Ishida tried to get up, but in the end, he collapsed weakly back to the ground.
"Nemu," Mayuri Kurotsuchi said with a wave of his hand. "Give them the antidote."
"Yes, Mayuri-sama." Nemu Kurotsuchi approached with a case and injected the antidote into Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado. "What about these two Hollows?"
"They're our allies," Uryū Ishida said, his voice quickly returning to normal as the antidote took effect. "You may not have seen it, but they really did help us."
"Didn't see it?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi wagged a finger, signaling Nemu Kurotsuchi to give Dondochakka and Pesche the antidote as well. "I watched your entire battle from beginning to end."
"What did you say!?"
"It would be foolish to rush into battle against an unknown enemy. Do you really think I would do something that stupid?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's fingers twitched. "I thought the Espada might bring me some sort of surprise, but in the end, this is all they amount to, ne~"
"All they amount to..." Szayelaporro's voice rang out. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
The head of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō split open. Strange, fleshy tumor-like wings stretched out from within and brushed across Mayuri Kurotsuchi's body.
Amid Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō's wails, Szayelaporro crawled out from its head, holding a doll that looked exactly like Mayuri Kurotsuchi. "Do you mean this level, where I can so easily hold you in the palm of my hand?"
"You..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's gaze darkened. "What did you do?"
"You self-important inferior creatures always have so many questions. To spare you from dying in confusion, I'll be merciful and explain." Szayelaporro toyed with the doll in his hand. "[Gabriel]. This is the most important ability of my Fornicarás, the ability to gestate myself inside an enemy."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked interested. "Oh?"
"If you had harmed me with a blade, perhaps I really would have died. Unfortunately, what you used was a Zanpakutō in biological form." Szayelaporro's lips curled with pride. "Once I invade a living body, I can absorb its nutrients, grow rapidly, and be reborn!"
He spread his arms, his voice almost reverent. "I do not prolong my life out of fear of death. I incorporate death into my own life cycle, endlessly revolving between death and rebirth until I become a truly perfect life!"
"Absorb nutrients?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi raised his hand and pressed a button. The golden Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō beneath Szayelaporro swelled grotesquely, its entire head bulging into a grape-like mass before finally bursting with a wet pop. "Then what will you absorb now?"
The shattered Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō returned to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's hand and changed back into the form of an Asauchi. "I modified it long ago. I can destroy it whenever I wish, ne."
"Foolish. The absorption was completed long ago. I already obtained everything from it. Even if you destroy your own Bankai, you cannot stop my resurrection." Szayelaporro landed on the ground and opened the doll in his hand. "But that's fine. Even if you still had your Bankai, you couldn't stop your own death."
...
With a light pinch of his fingers, the little toy inside the doll that represented a kidney was crushed to pieces.
"Pfft!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi shuddered and spat out a large mouthful of blood.
"I truly am sorry." Szayelaporro crushed another tendon. "To make a Captain die so pitifully. It pains me, really."
"Aaahhhhh!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!" Szayelaporro could not contain the smile on his face. "It pains me so much, hahahahaha!"
"No... stop..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi raised his trembling head. "Stop making me laugh."
"!?" Szayelaporro was struck with alarm. "You... how...?"
"You call it rebirth, yet you're still using the same old tricks." Mayuri Kurotsuchi sneered. "It's laughable enough to make my teeth fall out, ne."
"Damn you!" Szayelaporro crushed the heart. "Impossible!"
"Pfft!" Mayuri Kurotsuchi spat out another mouthful of blood.
The smile returned to Szayelaporro's face. "What was that...? It clearly works, doesn't it?"
"I didn't say it didn't work. I said it was boring."
"You're just bluffing!" Szayelaporro threw Mayuri Kurotsuchi's doll to the ground and crushed it underfoot. "Die!"
A faint sound came from Mayuri Kurotsuchi's body, and he swayed twice. "It really is boring, ne."
...
"Why?!" Szayelaporro flew into a rage. "I crushed your internal organs. Why haven't you died?!"
"Who told you a person dies just because their internal organs are crushed?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi reached up and pressed his own chest inward. "Even if I turn into liquid, I can still survive."
This was the liquefaction ability Mayuri Kurotsuchi had used during his battle with Uryū Ishida. Afterward, he had improved that power so his internal organs could still sustain his life even in a liquid state.
"I see. You turned your organs into life-sustaining fluid..." Szayelaporro quickly saw through Mayuri Kurotsuchi's trick. "But if that's the case, you can't fight at all!"
Sharp blades emerged from his chest, countless points aimed straight at Mayuri Kurotsuchi. "Looks familiar, doesn't it? This is your Bankai's ability. Now it's mine. Die. Urgh!"
His charge toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi stopped dead, and Szayelaporro's body stiffened. "How...?"
"You self-important inferior creatures always have so many questions. To spare you from dying in confusion, I'll be merciful and explain." Mayuri Kurotsuchi reminded him, "I already told you. I modified my Bankai long ago. Without my command, it will self-destruct at a specific time."
Szayelaporro began to melt. His body was collapsing.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's smile twisted. "It seems you absorbed that part as well during the process, ne."
"You bastard..." Szayelaporro drove the tentacles behind him into the body of a Fracción. "As long as I'm reborn again, I can remove that pointless modification!"
"Using the same move again?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's fingers twitched. "I thought the Espada might bring me some sort of surprise, but in the end, this is all they amount to, ne~"
"All they amount to..." Szayelaporro's voice rang out. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
The head of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō split open. Strange, fleshy tumor-like wings stretched out from within and brushed across Mayuri Kurotsuchi's body.
Szayelaporro crawled out from Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō's head, holding the doll. "Do you mean this level, where I can so easily hold you in the palm of my hand?"
"You..." Amusement flickered in Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes. "What did you do?"
"You self-important inferior creatures always have so many questions. To spare you from dying in confusion..." Szayelaporro toyed with the doll in his hand. "I'll be merciful and explain. This is..."
"The ability of Fornicarás, [Gabriel]," Mayuri Kurotsuchi finished for him. "Right?"
"You... how could you...?"
"Invading a living body, absorbing its nutrients, growing rapidly, and gaining new life." Mayuri Kurotsuchi spread his hands. "A perfect life that endlessly cycles between death and rebirth... does such a thing truly exist?"
"You have no idea how perfect my [Gabriel] is..."
"Perfect? Perfection does not exist. But because it does not exist, ordinary minds keep pursuing it." Mayuri Kurotsuchi cut Szayelaporro off. "I detest perfection. Once something is perfect, there is no room left for creation, and wisdom and talent lose all purpose. For us scientists, so-called perfection is despair."
"Des... despair?" Szayelaporro forced out a smile. "What nonsense are you spouting? My [Gabriel] is more perfect than any resurrection method that currently exists..."
"It may surpass every method that currently exists, but it cannot be perfect." Mayuri Kurotsuchi wagged his finger. "A scientist must pursue perfection while discovering imperfection, and find joy in the agony of that contradiction."
"Bullshit!" Szayelaporro crushed the doll, only to find that Mayuri Kurotsuchi did not die. Several blades emerged from his chest, their dense tips aimed at Mayuri Kurotsuchi. "Looks familiar, doesn't it? This is your Bankai's ability. Now it's mine. Die. Urgh!"
His charge toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi stopped dead, and Szayelaporro's body went rigid. "How...?"
"Put simply, the moment you said the arrogant word 'perfect,' you had already lost to me." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's golden eyes reflected Szayelaporro as his body continued to break down. "Of course, that assumes... you truly are a scientist."
"You tampered with your Bankai, and that affected me?" Szayelaporro quickly saw through Mayuri Kurotsuchi's trick. The tentacles behind him pierced into the body of a Fracción. "As long as I'm reborn again, I can remove that influence!"
"Even if I were to treat you as a scientist..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's fingers twitched. "You still only amount to this much, ne~"
"All I amount to..." Szayelaporro's voice rang out. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
The head of Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō split open. Strange, fleshy tumor-like wings stretched out from within and brushed across Mayuri Kurotsuchi's body.
Szayelaporro crawled out, holding the doll in his hand. "Do you mean this level, where I can so easily hold you in the palm of my hand?"
"You..." Amusement flickered in Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes. "What did you do?"
"You self-important...!!!" Szayelaporro's fingers froze, and the doll slipped from his hand. His eyes widened, and his body trembled faintly. "What is this...?"
"Oh? You noticed?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's twisted smile revealed yellow-gold teeth. "Eighth Espada, Szayelaporro Granz. How many times has this scene occurred now?"
Szayelaporro stared at the Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō beneath him. "...What did you do?"
"I assume you know Muten Natsu? This is a drug I developed specifically for dealing with him, and I have been storing it inside Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō." Mayuri Kurotsuchi tapped his head lightly with a long black fingernail. "Muten Natsu's fighting style is troublesome. If he gets the chance, he can end a battle in an instant with his katana technique."
Sweat appeared on Szayelaporro's forehead. "...What exactly happened?"
"I studied Muten Natsu's draw-and-slash technique in detail, and in the end, I discovered that before he draws his katana, the slashing motion has already been calculated countless times inside his mind. What appears to be a simple single strike is, in truth, something he has repeated in his mind countless times." Mayuri Kurotsuchi swayed his finger lightly. "To deal with that draw-and-slash technique, all I needed was to make him repeat that process."
"Repeat...?" Szayelaporro seemed to realize something. "You don't mean..."
"[Postcognition Drug]. This drug grants you the power to see through the past," Mayuri Kurotsuchi explained smoothly. "In battle, each time you pass a certain key point, it sends you back to a specific moment in the past. For Muten Natsu, that moment is the instant he swings his katana to kill me. For you, it is..."
Szayelaporro murmured blankly, "The instant [Gabriel] activates."
"If you do not activate [Gabriel], you will self-destruct at a specific time, just like Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. If you do activate [Gabriel], you return to the past and repeat the process." Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked at Szayelaporro. "Not prolonging life out of fear of death, but incorporating death into your own life cycle, endlessly revolving between death and rebirth... In your eyes, is this the true perfect life?"
"Perfect...?" Szayelaporro looked down at his hands. "Does perfection really exist?"
Now, in order to survive, Szayelaporro had to activate [Gabriel] again and again.
He was prolonging his life in this way because he feared death.
He was not incorporating death into his own life cycle. He was merely endlessly cycling between death and rebirth.
Once... then again... and again!!!
"No need to worry. This drug will damage your brain. You will lose your memories of returning to the past, and the brain damage will paralyze your body. Then..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes gleamed with the joy of a bountiful harvest. "Inside the bottle with your name written on it, you will repeat the ability you are proudest of in complete ignorance, all for the sake of my research."