Being a neat freak was indeed another of Szayelaporro's quirks. However, he was not yet in his future Arrancar state; the white, hardened skin covering him acted as armor, but it was still very much a part of his body.
The grime currently marring his body wasn't mere dust or mud. It was the residual damage left behind by Raikōhō—not severe, but certainly not something that could be washed away with a quick rinse.
*Is Szayelaporro going to perform a 'molting' right in front of me?* Kōe wondered with mild curiosity.
He watched as Szayelaporro extended the tentacles from his back into a puddle of black water on the ground, slowly absorbing the very liquid he had previously used to disrupt Kōe's perception back into his body.
"Aside from their disruptive properties, I also laced these fluids with various healing agents," Szayelaporro explained.
The blemishes on Szayelaporro's body gradually vanished completely. Kōe knew that if the Hollow wasn't exaggerating, the effects of his earlier Raikōhō had already been completely nullified.
This entire forest served as Szayelaporro's personal pharmacy. It was his home turf, allowing him to heal at will during combat—an absolutely disadvantageous situation for Kōe.
But this didn't seem like an unsolvable problem. With a tap of his toes, Kōe instantly appeared right in front of Szayelaporro. All he had to do was deny his opponent the opportunity to heal. That much, at least, he could manage.
"Right side!" Szayelaporro dropped the five fingers of his right hand. According to his data, Kōe had a habit of launching his first strike with an iaido draw—a remarkably fast strike, to be sure.
It was hard to say whether he had preemptively predicted Kōe's attack trajectory or simply blocked it in the nick of time. Five rapier-like nails and Kōe's Zanpakutō met in midair almost simultaneously, clashing with a sharp ring.
"[Hadō #78・Zangerin]!"
"Do you really think you can cast that?!"
Facing the white, bladed ring manifesting on Kōe's blade, Szayelaporro showed no fear. The slender tentacles on his lower body whipped out to wrap around Kōe's ankle, while his left hand formed a claw and swiped viciously downward.
Szayelaporro's words acted like a prophecy. Zangerin hadn't even existed for a full second before it dissipated, scattering like clouds blown away by the wind.
In truth, Kōe had sensed something was wrong the moment he released Zangerin. Shifting his feet to evade the tentacles, he hastily executed a Shunpo, dodging Szayelaporro's clawed swipe by a hair's breadth.
"[Hadō #78・Zangerin]!" Swinging his Zanpakutō, he recast the spell that had just collapsed. Simultaneously, Kōe thrust out his left palm. "[Hadō #33・Sōkatsui]!"
A tidal wave of blue flames surged forward, carrying the white bladed ring as it roared toward Szayelaporro.
Szayelaporro didn't make any grand gestures. He merely pointed his index finger. Just like before, Zangerin instantly disintegrated. The blue flames of Sōkatsui also weakened at a visible rate; despite crossing a distance of nearly a hundred meters, by the time it reached Szayelaporro, it had been reduced to a thin, harmless flicker.
"When I said it was useless, I wasn't just referring to the techniques you've already shown me," Szayelaporro said, casually stepping over the dying embers as he slowly walked toward Kōe. "Everything about you has been thoroughly analyzed."
"Everyone possesses a unique Reiatsu structure. As long as I understand that structure and know how to dismantle it, none of your techniques will ever pose a threat to me again."
While Szayelaporro prattled on, Kōe split his focus. On one hand, he kept a close eye on his opponent's every movement, wary of a sudden attack.
On the other hand, Kōe attempted to channel Reiryoku into his Zanpakutō. The situation he was facing right now went far beyond his Reiryoku structure simply being deciphered.
The concept of a Reiryoku structure certainly existed, but it didn't merely dictate the weak points of techniques released through Reiryoku. If it were only at that level, Kōe could do the exact same thing.
If a technique were compared to a wooden table, different tables would have different structures and shapes, yielding different functions.
The Reiryoku structure, then, was the very material of the table—whether it was made of mahogany, rosewood, or something else entirely. This fundamental composition was incredibly difficult for a person to alter. At the very least, the current Kōe had no way of changing his.
Therefore, Szayelaporro wasn't wrong. If one could crack a person's Reiatsu structure, they could easily dismantle all of that person's techniques without needing to analyze the specific flaws of each individual move on the fly.
It was a problem, but not an insurmountable one.
After all, breaking down a Reiryoku structure wasn't something that happened instantaneously. As long as he could strike the enemy before the structure was dismantled, it wouldn't matter if his opponent had deciphered it or not. Thus, this wasn't what gave Kōe the biggest headache.
Despite both spells collapsing, the disintegration of Zangerin and Sōkatsui were caused by entirely different reasons. Kōe had already noticed this during his first close-range cast of Zangerin.
Fearing it might have been his imagination, he had deliberately tested it again, and the results confirmed his suspicions.
Right now, it felt as though an invisible barrier coated his Zanpakutō, absorbing his Reiatsu and making it incredibly difficult for his energy to adhere to the blade.
Although spiking his Reiatsu could temporarily alleviate the issue, this barrier seemed to grow, gradually increasing the amount of Reiatsu it absorbed. Given enough time, it would revert to the initial state, inevitably resulting in his complete inability to channel Reiatsu through his Zanpakutō.
"Have you noticed it already? You really are the perceptive type. My analysis was spot on."
Kōe's subtle actions had caught Szayelaporro's attention. The Arrancar was in no rush to attack; instead, he stopped walking and tapped his own head, adopting a thoughtful expression.
"What are you thinking about right now? Let me guess."
"'Why can't I channel Reiatsu into my blade? What's causing this? Is it Kidō, or some unique Menos ability?'"
While Szayelaporro hadn't guessed entirely correctly, he had struck a chord with some of Kōe's inner thoughts.
There wasn't a trace of Szayelaporro's Reiatsu on his Zanpakutō. Kōe was certain this wasn't a special technique cast using Reiatsu; it was likely some bizarre spiritual tool Szayelaporro had invented.
*But when exactly did he plant it on me? And how am I supposed to break this kind of seal?*
If the function of this unknown spiritual tool was to absorb Reiatsu, then his Zanpakutō was effectively sealed. Whether he released it or not wouldn't matter—it was nothing more than a hunk of scrap metal.
Having so many of his methods silently sealed away was terrible news. Of course, he still had tricks up his sleeve that his opponent didn't know about, but he had to resolve this baffling situation first.
Fortunately, Kōe's opponent was Szayelaporro. This egomaniac couldn't wait to start boasting, acting like a triumphant victor who had already won the war.
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