Firmly blocking the giant axe that fell from the sky, Kōe couldn't help but grit his teeth. He swung his right arm hard, pushing Baraggan away.
Although Baraggan's axe couldn't physically wound him thanks to [Static Recording], the unique nature of Kōki's Bankai meant he was constantly subjected to the agonizing pain of his flesh and bones shattering. He couldn't even grow numb to it.
Of course, all this suffering was worth it. As the chains in his palm dissolved into black mist and drilled into Szayelaporro's body, [Sword Vine Star Seal] was finally complete.
Countless silver-gray threads sprouted from the awl-swords, spreading and intertwining within Szayelaporro's body to form a chaotic humanoid lattice.
The chains binding the surface of his body also transformed, turning into pitch-black vines covered in vicious thorns that began to grow wildly.
Before these thorns, the hard skin of a Vasto Lorde-class Menos was as fragile as thin paper, tearing instantly. After stabbing into Szayelaporro's body, they connected with the lattice inside him.
Szayelaporro wasn't oblivious to the changes within his body. On the contrary, he understood the agony of being turned into a living specimen better than anyone. Even knowing the chances of successful resistance were minuscule, he still fought back desperately, though to no effect.
Previously, the Reiatsu in his body had merely felt thick and sluggish, like wet mud or heavy mercury. But now, he couldn't feel his Reiatsu at all. Not even a single drop...
He roared in despair, desperately trying to unleash his abilities at Kōe on the ground below.
His original intention of capturing Kōe alive had long been thrown out the window. Right now, all he wanted was for the Shinigami who had bestowed this humiliation upon him to be torn to pieces in the next second, reduced to a bloody pulp before his eyes!
Unfortunately, it was useless...
The ability that required a certain amount of Reiatsu to execute—[Madness Theater]—couldn't be used at all!
"So I really don't have any Reiatsu left..." The fire of hope in his eyes gradually extinguished.
As the vines on his body grew, everything in Szayelaporro's vision—Kōe, Baraggan, and even concepts like hope—was replaced by a bottomless, pitch-black abyss. Who knew if the despair brought by this monotonous world, where only his thoughts remained, would ever numb him.
Looking at Szayelaporro, who was now wrapped in vines and resembled a charred tree, Kōe couldn't help but smile, even with a troublesome enemy still present.
For Szayelaporro, sealed by [Sword Vine Star Seal], the lattice inside his body served as the roots for the vines on his surface. They would absorb the sealed victim's Reiatsu to grow, and any internal resistance would only make this absorption stronger.
Even if destroyed from the outside, the vines would absorb the sealed person's Reiatsu to regenerate. The only way to break it was to simultaneously destroy the surface vines and the internal lattice without harming Szayelaporro.
Theoretically, other than Kōe himself actively undoing the seal using the runes left on his palm, there was no second way to break [Sword Vine Star Seal].
Of course, this was only theoretical. There were no absolutes in this world; it was entirely possible for Shinigami or Hollows to possess some bizarre ability that could do it. Kōe himself had a second method to break [Sword Vine Star Seal]. However, none of this was what he needed to be thinking about right now.
Kōe glanced at his sleeve. The biggest problem in front of him right now was absolutely Baraggan.
The spot where Baraggan had just slashed was now torn with a hole. It should be noted that this was the first slash his Bankai—[Kōki Rakusen Ishō]—had come into contact with, which should have triggered the external [Static Recording].
Naturally, this didn't mean [Static Recording] hadn't activated. When he took the slash just now, he hadn't felt any impact force himself, and [Static Recording] had clearly recorded the intensity of the strike.
As for why the immortal garment was damaged, Kōe could only think of one answer: Baraggan's ability—Senescence.
This was the ability he had hoped to test when he released his Bankai while rescuing Roca, wanting to see if it could bypass [Static Recording]. Because of Baraggan's carelessness back then, he hadn't reached a definitive conclusion.
However, Baraggan was an inconsequential existence to Kōe anyway. Testing him was just a matter of caution and convenience; the result wasn't important to him, so Kōe hadn't forced the issue.
All things in creation age and decay. That was the description of Baraggan's ability, Senescence, from his past life.
Now it seemed that this ability—which acted like time acceleration, causing whatever it touched to rapidly age and rot—was equally effective against a Zanpakutō's Bankai. It was true for the Bankai of Squad 2 Captain Suì-Fēng in his past life, and it was true for Kōe's Bankai now, even if his Bankai's ability was [Static Recording].
Of course, the current Baraggan was not yet the 2nd Espada who had undergone Arrancarification in the future. His Senescence ability was far less powerful than what Kōe knew from his past life.
First, the speed of aging wasn't that fast. If it had the intensity Kōe remembered from his past life, his immortal garment would have rapidly rotted the moment it touched the giant axe. If he hadn't severed the affected area in time, he probably would have disappeared by now.
Second was the degree of aging. It was important to note that after Arrancarification, anything that touched even a little of the aura Baraggan released would age endlessly until it turned into nothingness.
But right now, the hole on Kōe's sleeve was irregular, its edges completely messy. This was enough to prove that the current Baraggan couldn't make this aging process continue endlessly. The degree of aging was stronger in areas where Reiatsu was concentrated compared to where it was dispersed.
This was good news, but it couldn't change the fact that at this very moment, Baraggan was Kōe's natural nemesis. And all of this was caused by the already sealed Szayelaporro.
First, he had used Reikenchū—a method not controlled by Reiatsu—to seal his other Zanpakutō. Then, in the end, he had used some unknown method to cripple Kōe's right hand. Although Szayelaporro's carelessness had led to his own sealing, his caution had left Kōe with a massive problem.
Thinking about it now, what methods did Kōe have left to deal with Baraggan?
Kidō? Or the sealing arts that had just succeeded? Kidō would have minimal effect on Baraggan, who was constantly influenced by his own Senescence ability. And theoretically, sealing arts would be completely useless against him.
Yes, the reason Baraggan looked like a skeleton was because even he couldn't avoid his own Senescence ability. If his body wasn't covered by a unique, barrier-like layer, he would have died from his own aging.
As for Kōki's Bankai, either [Static Recording] was the nemesis of Senescence, or Senescence was the nemesis of [Static Recording]. Unfortunately, the current situation was the latter.
Baraggan could completely ignore the ability of Kōe's Bankai and slowly rot away the immortal garment. If there was no other way, even though Kōe had already sealed Szayelaporro, he wouldn't live to enjoy the hard-won fruits of his victory.
Now, what choice should he make?
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