At noon, the blazing sunlight was sliced by the clouds, scattering in patches across the vast plains. It was a beautiful day.
Even though it was the most sleep-inducing time of the day, there was not a trace of tranquility on the plains. Dozens of creatures with bizarre forms, circular holes in their chests, and various white masks covering their faces were roaring as they attacked a man in the center. These creatures were the invaders of the Soul Society—Hollows.
The man besieged by these Hollows was dressed in the garb of a Shinigami. He had just sent a red, goat-like Hollow flying with a single punch when a completely brown Hollow, resembling a hairless, long-armed baboon, closed in from behind.
At the same time, two more Hollows charged from the left and right with their maws wide open. Massive shadows accompanied by hot, foul breath arrived in an instant. In the next second, his blood would splatter across the ground as he was torn to shreds!
However, the man didn't see it that way. He simply let his body fall forward, causing the three Hollows from the sides and rear to crash into a tangled heap, biting nothing but air.
That wasn't the end of it. The man engaged his core, brought his feet together, and kicked upward. The jaws of the three Hollows were forced shut, shattering their thick, tower-shield-sized teeth. It was clearly a heavy blow, and the clear sky, previously obscured by three massive faces, once again cast its light down.
But this light lasted for less than a second before it was blocked again by eight white masks. Leading them was the red goat Hollow. The rest of the Hollows had caught up. Viscous drool the size of human heads dripped from the corners of their mouths; they were ready for a feast.
"Ew! Don't drool all over me!"
The man yelled, pushing off with his hands to kick away the filthy creatures in his sight, his entire body inverting into a straight handstand. Then, he split his legs, twisted his arms, and a black storm suddenly erupted!
Almost simultaneously, the surrounding Hollows were sent flying diagonally in unison.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Eleven loud crashes marked the end of this failed siege. Eleven massive craters, smoking with yellow dust, were scattered messily around the man, but not a single one was within fifteen meters of him.
"What a shame! You were just a little bit off!" The man widened his right eye, peering through the tiny gap between his thumb and index finger, and shouted, "Just a tiny bit more and I would have been eaten! Put some effort into it, guys!"
What was going on?
If there were any onlookers—human or Hollow—they would undoubtedly be asking this question. He was clearly a Shinigami, yet he was encouraging the Hollows to eat him. Did he have a death wish?
The man certainly wasn't looking to die. Although stubble had sprouted on his chin and a few more scars marked his face, his features hadn't changed much. Anyone familiar with him would recognize him at a glance and immediately call out his name—Shihouin Kōe!
It had been five years since he left the Seireitei. Or was it six? Kōe couldn't quite remember. At first, he kept track of the days, but ever since he missed counting that first day, time had become nothing more than a blurry concept to him.
Life in the Plains of Slaughter was nothing like the Seireitei. Sometimes, an encounter with Hollows would turn into a brawl lasting several days. The passage of time truly held no meaning here.
Over the years, Kōe had always been alone. Of course, he wasn't constantly fighting in the Plains of Slaughter. The old man's orders were for him to garrison the Rukongai, without specifying a fixed district. Therefore, he would occasionally retreat to around District 40 to rest and recuperate, but he spent the vast majority of his time training in the Plains of Slaughter.
In truth, having someone to watch your back in the Plains of Slaughter was definitely better, but that applied to ordinary Shinigami, not Shihouin Kōe!
Kōe smiled as he swatted away a Hollow charging at his face, immediately spinning around with a sweeping kick to launch a one-horned humanoid ambusher behind him. Without anyone around to bother him, many things were much more convenient to do.
"Why are you faltering again! Coordinate your attacks better! Coming at me one by one is putting me to sleep!"
Without anyone around to bother him, many things were much more convenient to do. Just like right now—if there were other Shinigami by his side, these eleven Hollows would have been wiped out long ago, completely ruining the training effect.
Over the years, aside from carrying out Old Man Yama's assigned duties, Kōe had spent most of his time practicing Hakuda. Without releasing his Reiatsu, he relied purely on Kōki and his physical strength, fighting hordes of Hollows using hand-to-hand combat.
The results of this training were obvious. The reason Kōe's Hakuda used to be a free giveaway was mainly because he always had to run through the moves in his head before striking. Simply put, he was too rigidly bound to forms. This made him exceptionally effective against weaker opponents, but when facing a master like Yoruichi, his attacks were always a beat too slow, and adapting his moves was even slower.
In a Hakuda battle where life and death were decided in an instant, this was an absolute disaster! It was tantamount to handing his life over on a silver platter, making his reputation for "free giveaways" entirely justified.
But that was all in the past. Now, in combat, Kōe only saw the enemy's attack routes; there were no superfluous thoughts. His specific strikes and counters relied more on his body's instinctual reactions. He was already starting to grasp the concept of formlessness triumphing over form.
Of course, this didn't mean Kōe was a Hakuda master yet. He could only barely be considered proficient. If he ran into a true master like Yoruichi, he still wouldn't last ten exchanges.
Hakuda emphasized close-quarters combat, sticking to the opponent and separating in a flash. Currently, Kōe could only manage to react when engaged. He was still a long way from Yoruichi's level, where engaging and disengaging were entirely at her whim. His control over the rhythm of battle still required more tempering.
"Why are you still coming at me one by one! Didn't I say it's useless?" Kōe beckoned provocatively at the remaining Hollows who were just watching. "Come at me together, otherwise you won't get to eat me!"
"Don't listen to him, this Shinigami is out of Reiryoku!"
"That's right! He's just putting up a brave front now. We just need to torture him slowly!" the long-armed baboon Hollow shouted, charging forward alongside another Hollow.
'A war of attrition?' Kōe thought, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curling up. 'Let them think that. At least they won't realize I'm a tough nut to crack and run away.'
'Should I play along and show some fatigue? Never mind, I'll just pant a little after another two hours of fighting. I'll finish them off when the sun is halfway down. Turning enemies to ash under the setting sun—that scene will definitely look badass!'
Having made his plan, Kōe clenched his fists and charged toward the long-armed baboon Hollow. The tall boots on his feet vanished, and the black Kōki gauntlets enveloped his hands.
*Ding-ling...* At that moment, the sound of a wind chime drifted through the air. Though faint, it reached Kōe's ears clearly.
"Looks like I won't be able to play with you until dusk. What a pity."
Kōe muttered to himself. He shifted his fist into a claw to meet his opponent's punch, his five fingers locking tightly before yanking backward.
'Is that... my hand?' the baboon Hollow thought to itself, staring at the object in Kōe's left hand. It turned its head to look—there was nothing below its right shoulder. No, wait, there were a few threads of blood connecting to that thing.
'Ah, so that really is my hand.'
'But? Why doesn't it hurt?'
There was roaring to its right. It was its kin, a guy with a head like a bird. His cries were high-pitched, thin, and far too grating. It always told him to stop screaming, but he never listened.
The sound... vanished.
'He finally listened this time!'
The baboon Hollow looked up. That stupid bird head had actually disappeared. Its own long arm—the arm it was so proud of, which was longer than its own body—had smashed half of the bird Hollow's body to pieces and was still moving downward.
Kōe finally dashed right in front of the long-armed baboon Hollow. Pushing off with his right foot, he leaped high into the air. He straightened his right hand into a blade and swung outward, leaving a trail of black ink in the air.
The baboon Hollow felt incredibly dizzy at that moment. The sky and the earth continuously alternated in its vision.
Then came the darkness, gradually spreading across this world like a rising tide. No, it was the world shattering piece by piece, like peeling wallpaper. No, it was its own body crumbling away bit by bit.
'Ah, so I'm the one fading away...'
Landing on the ground, Kōe casually tossed the slowly dissipating arm in his left hand behind him. In an instant, two Hollows had been reduced to dust by him, remaining in the Soul Society forever.
The remaining Hollows hadn't even reacted. The roars of a few hadn't even completely faded yet.
"I told you earlier, coming at me one by one is useless." Kōe cracked his neck from side to side. His tone was gentle, as if he were educating underachieving students. Were it not for those icy eyes, his words would make one feel as though they were basking in the warm, comfortable sunlight of spring.
But those eyes were very real. So at this moment, the Hollows felt as if they were standing on a mountain of blades, not daring to move a single muscle!
"Now, the roles of attacker and defender are reversed!"
He had changed! The Hollows present could clearly feel that Kōe's aura had shifted!
The air felt as though it were filled with invisible blades, making their skin ache faintly. What 'spent force'! What 'out of Reiryoku'! It was all fake! It was all an illusion created by the man before them!
"Rei... Reiatsu!" a four-armed Hollow with only a single vertical black line on its mask screamed. "Run! This guy is a Captain—"
Before it could finish its sentence, it was blasted away by Kōe's punch. Its body scattered more and more as it flew through the air, turning into gravel-like dust and completely vanishing before it even hit the ground. It was hard to tell if it had been shattered by the blow or if it had naturally dissipated upon death.
"A Captain? I'm still far from that. I'm just an ordinary Shinigami." Kōe shook his head and continued charging toward the next Hollow. "But since I am a Shinigami, I can't just let you run away!"
Before his voice faded, another Hollow dissipated in mid-air. It vanished before the dust kicked up by Kōe's footsteps had even settled.
Do Hollows feel fear? Undoubtedly, they do. Death occurred every single moment in Hueco Mundo. The terror of being devoured was enough to seep into one's very marrow just by witnessing it.
But the fear Kōe brought at this moment was different. That calmness, that utter indifference, the way he casually snuffed out their kin—it made the Hollows present feel that their deaths were completely worthless. Dying just to die. Death was their destination, the very meaning of their existence. And his duty was simply to bestow that death upon them.
Run! There was no need to shout this time; their survival instincts drove them to make the correct choice. Three of them even directly tore at space, attempting to open a Garganta and flee back to Hueco Mundo.
"Are you looking down on me? How could I let you escape so easily!"
Kōe's gentle voice echoed once more. The three Hollows dissipated without even catching a glimpse of a crack leading to Hueco Mundo. Ultimately, the Soul Society was the Shinigami's home turf. Even in the Plains of Slaughter, tearing open a rift would take more than ten seconds.
With that path blocked, the remaining Hollows began fleeing in three different directions, simultaneously praying in their hearts that the man would go the other way so they could escape successfully.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll show you something new." Kōe swept his gaze over them and quickly decided to deal with the two fleeing alone first. "[Kōki Fourth Form・Deliver]!"
The one-horned humanoid Hollow hadn't even taken two steps before a black fist appeared right in front of its face. Then, the scenery on both sides rapidly rushed forward as it was sent flying backward.
'I'm going to die!' That was its immediate thought. But after flying for a while, it still hadn't dissipated. It could still feel pain. 'I'm still alive! That Shinigami messed up!'
Its joy didn't last long before the one-horned Hollow felt its back crash into something. Turning its head, it saw the other Hollow that had fled alone. However, the other's body was gradually vanishing. 'This stupid guy still ended up dying at the hands of that Shinigami in the end!'
'But... why is the sky getting darker? It looks... it looks just like Hueco Mundo...'
The two Hollows fleeing for their lives crashed into each other and dissipated just like that. Meanwhile, Kōe had already arrived in front of the final two Hollows.
"Do you know which god people hate the most?"
The red, goat-like Hollow froze. Looking up, it saw the very man who had brought it such terror. Its companion beside it had already been sent flying backward, vanishing into thin air.
"It's the Shinigami—the God of Death. From the moment people are born, it follows right behind them. No matter how much you curse it, it won't leave, and no matter how you try, you can't hide from it."
"Spare me!" The goat Hollow immediately dropped to its knees, slamming its head heavily against the ground. Its voice trembled as it pleaded, "I beg you! Spare me! I promise I will never set foot in the Soul Society again! Or the World of the Living! I swear!"
The surroundings instantly fell silent. 'Could he really be letting me live?' The goat Hollow tried to guess Kōe's intentions, but it didn't dare lift its head. It could only continue waiting like a prisoner on trial.
"Did you know?" That familiar voice spoke again, but this time, the gentleness was gone, replaced by a faint trace of sorrow.
"Where I come from, there's a saying: because a snake's blood is cold, everyone who saves a snake ends up dead!" Kōe sighed and continued, "And what about you? You Hollows have no hearts. Are you truly capable of gratitude?"
'He's not going to spare me. He's going to kill me!' The goat Hollow understood Kōe's words this time. However, it wasn't going to just sit there and wait for death; it was going to fight for its life.
'As long as I plunge my hand into his chest, I can live!' The goat Hollow thought. Just as it raised its head to act, a black hand appeared right in front of its face. It had seen this hand many times, but this time was different. This time, it looked much smoother, gleaming with a strange metallic luster that hadn't been there before.
The hand drew closer and closer, growing larger and blurrier. Immediately after, the world before its eyes shattered into pieces!
"I'm in a good mood today!" Kōe muttered to himself, looking at the mask shattering into fragments and slowly fading away in his hand. "So you shouldn't have felt any pain."
*Ding-ling...* The sound of the wind chime echoed in the air once more.
"Alright, alright, I know you're here!" Kōe extended his index finger, looking up with a smile. "Come on down!"
Following Kōe's gaze, a black butterfly leisurely flapped its wings and landed on his index finger. The wind chime sound in the air vanished, and the surroundings fell quiet once again. This time, it was truly quiet.
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