The blade ring spiraled, whipping up a fierce wind that scattered the ash. The air cracked beneath Emilou's feet as she accelerated after Rangiku Matsumoto. "Little tricks like this are no threat once you see through them!"
Rangiku Matsumoto swept her hand, sending ash to coil around Emilou from behind, only for Emilou to smash it apart with a single punch.
The blade ring closed in. Rangiku Matsumoto could only barely block it with the guard of her katana, but the sheer force numbed the webbing between her thumb and forefinger and sent her flying backward out of control.
Emilou's strike landed, and she immediately pressed the attack. "It ends here!"
Boom!
Flames surged up, swallowing Emilou whole.
Rangiku Matsumoto steadied herself in midair and turned toward the direction of the attack. "It's you... What are you doing here, Hinamori? Are you... all right now?"
"Yes. Don't worry, Rangiku-san." Momo Hinamori held Tobiume in her hand. "I came here as the Lieutenant of the 5th Division. As the one managing the 5th Division, not as Aizen's subordinate. That man... is already an enemy of Soul Society."
"I see..." Rangiku Matsumoto looked away. "That's good."
Rangiku Matsumoto sighed inwardly.
Momo Hinamori herself had not even noticed that what she had just said was... Captain Aizen.
Within the blazing wall of fire, Sōsuke Aizen's gaze shifted faintly.
Gin Ichimaru noticed at once. "Something wrong, Captain Aizen?"
"Ah..." Sōsuke Aizen closed his eyes. "No. Just something trivial."
Clang!
Blades collided. The Ice Dragon on Tōshirō Hitsugaya's arm had grown visibly larger than before, increasing his strength enough for him to barely block Harribel's attack.
"Just now..." Harribel repeated the question Tōshirō Hitsugaya had asked her earlier. "Your Reiatsu was unstable. What happened?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tōshirō Hitsugaya released the Ice Dragon to force Harribel back, but his gaze drifted uncontrollably toward Momo Hinamori.
Why... are you forcing yourself?
The blade ring tore through the flames and whistled toward Momo Hinamori.
Rangiku Matsumoto raised her hand, condensing ash to block it.
Momo Hinamori swung Tobiume, releasing an exploding fireball that knocked the blade ring back.
The spinning blade ring returned to Emilou's hand. Her body bore obvious burns. "So you're the one who blasted me with that fireball..." Emilou growled. "Thrust, Cierva!"
Her wounds healed rapidly as brown fur enveloped her body. A pair of curved antlers sprouted from Emilou's head, but unlike ordinary antlers, the tips of their branches were razor-sharp.
With her Resurrección complete, Emilou lowered her head and charged, ramming toward the two of them at high speed.
Rangiku Matsumoto controlled the ash to stop her, but Emilou slipped past it with ease.
Momo Hinamori swung her katana and released a fireball, but even the hidden ash could not keep up with Emilou, let alone such an obvious attack.
Emilou's figure flashed as she dodged the fireball and launched her charge.
Boom!
The fireball that had brushed past her traced a strange arc through the air and struck Emilou with pinpoint accuracy, unleashing a scorching blast of wind.
"Damn it..." Emilou steadied herself again. "What the hell was that?"
"Hadō #12: Fushibi." Momo Hinamori lightly moved her Zanpakutō, and Kidō lines formed from Reiatsu appeared in the air, extending from her blade to Emilou's body. "It's a Hadō that can conduct Kidō power. And my Zanpakutō is a Kidō type."
In other words, as long as Fushibi connected them, Momo Hinamori's attacks were guaranteed to hit.
"Idiot!" Emilou released her Reiatsu and scattered the Kidō lines, then charged headfirst. "You actually told your enemy something that important!"
"If I hadn't said that..." Momo Hinamori's eyes widened slightly. "How would you have charged in so confidently?"
"What?" Emilou sensed that something was wrong, but it was already too late.
More Kidō lines appeared, weaving into a dense net around Momo Hinamori and Rangiku Matsumoto.
Fushibi itself was not hidden. The reason Emilou had failed to notice it before was because Momo Hinamori had also used Bakudō #26: Kyokkō to cover the Kidō and conceal it.
Emilou had clearly been cautious with her first attack after Resurrección.
That much was obvious from the way she had dodged Haineko and Tobiume's attacks.
After all, with a new enemy appearing, it was only natural for Emilou to be on guard.
That was why Momo Hinamori had deliberately revealed Fushibi's presence, lowering Emilou's guard.
The true Fushibi was not a Kidō line, but a Kidō net.
Momo Hinamori had spread Fushibi around them and concealed it with Kyokkō. The moment Emilou crashed into the net.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" Momo Hinamori called out. Flames surged from her palm, spreading along the Kidō net wrapped around Emilou and engulfing her completely.
Rangiku Matsumoto stared at Momo Hinamori in shock. It was her first time seeing such an intricate Kidō net.
And that was without even mentioning the fact that it had been combined with two other kinds of Kidō.
Because of Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto had some understanding of Momo Hinamori's abilities.
As a Kidō specialist, Momo Hinamori mostly handled paperwork in the 5th Division, leaving her with little time to improve her strength.
The Momo Hinamori from before should not have been capable of this.
Clearly, Momo Hinamori had not been resting peacefully these past few days. She had been training all along.
"Bite him to death!" Seeing that Emilou was in trouble, Mila immediately activated her Resurrección. "Devour, Leona!"
The hair on top of her head turned golden and grew dramatically longer, while the longsword in Mila's hand widened at a visible speed, transforming into a heavy blade like a door panel.
Tetsuzaemon Iba raised his katana and blocked Mila's path. "I told you, your opponent is me."
Mila swung her heavy sword. "Then I'll butcher you first!"
With a metallic clang, Tetsuzaemon Iba steadily caught the heavy blow.
"What?" Mila could not believe it. Her attack after Resurrección had actually been blocked.
"Strangle." Sung-Sun then activated her Resurrección. "Anaconda."
Her lower body transformed into a giant white python. Sung-Sun raised her hand, and a white snake shot from her sleeve, biting toward Chōjirō Sasakibe.
Pfft!
A slender Western-style sword pierced her chest. Sung-Sun's eyes widened in shock. "You were holding back this whole time..."
During their earlier fight, she had always felt that her opponent was only average. Once she used Resurrección, she believed she could end the battle in an instant.
But she had never imagined that at the very moment she activated Resurrección, the moment she was most confident in her own strength, Chōjirō Sasakibe would unleash power far beyond what he had shown before. Power that even surpassed her after Resurrección.
Chōjirō Sasakibe silently drew Gonryōmaru back. With a flick of his wrist, he thrust toward Sung-Sun's head.
"Enough playing around!" Emilou's voice rang out. "Do it!"
Emilou tore off her left arm. Mila cut off her own left arm. Sung-Sun twisted her left arm until it snapped free.
The severed arms broke away from their bodies and intertwined in midair, kneading together into a single mass before suddenly swelling. Amid a crimson glow, they transformed into a twisted monster!
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