"[Hadō #33・Sōkatsui!]"
Weaving through a cluster of low hills, Kōe casually waved his hand. A surging tide of pale blue flames roared to life, rushing toward the thick, grayish-black fog tailing closely behind him.
Glancing back without waiting to see the result, Kōe slightly bent his knees, ready to flee. Baraggan's aura of death was not something a number thirty-three Hadō could neutralize. For him, as long as a Kidō of this level could cause Baraggan a little trouble and buy him some time, it was enough.
This cat-and-mouse game of Kōe fleeing and Baraggan pursuing had already been going on for quite some time.
Along the way, Kōe had unleashed almost every Hadō from the twenties up to the eighties. Wherever the two of them passed, utter devastation followed, leaving not a single blade of grass intact.
While Kōe was partially responsible for this, the vast majority of the destruction was Baraggan's doing.
This furious King of Hueco Mundo had descended upon the Forest of Menos for the first time, and in doing so, reduced countless numbers of his own 'subjects' to withered bones that scattered in the wind.
He needed to cause Baraggan some trouble while maximizing the distance between them. Although the results weren't particularly obvious, the fact that Kōe could maintain the gap without it shrinking too much—despite being slightly slower than his pursuer—was a success in itself.
But this time, the situation seemed to have changed...
The oppressive Reiatsu suddenly vanished from behind him. Almost simultaneously, a rotting stench, like a pool of stagnant water, descended from above.
Kōe looked up. It was Baraggan, shrouded in a grayish-black aura of death like a towering giant. A pitch-black, double-bladed battle axe cleaved through the fog, slashing diagonally toward Kōe's shoulder!
Dodging sideways, the massive axe brushed right past Kōe's nose. The sheer force of the wind it kicked up stung his face.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, a ghastly white skeletal claw thrust out from the mist, violently grabbing his waist and digging its five fingers viciously inward.
*Riiip—*
The immortal garment that could withstand a strike from Azashiro Sōya was as fragile as paper before this skeletal claw. A large chunk of it was effortlessly torn away, fluttering in the wind like a tattered flag, yet completely unable to break free from the ghastly white flagpole of doom that held it.
"What a slippery rat."
The fog parted, and Baraggan's figure gradually emerged. He stared at the black cloth in his left hand, which was slowly rotting and fraying away, and the bright red liquid dripping from his fingertips. His two rows of neat teeth opened and closed as he muttered to himself, "No, it seems I caught you after all."
"However, why are you still completely unharmed?" Baraggan raised his head, his gaze falling on Kōe just a few steps away. Opening his jaw in what could barely be considered a smile, he asked, "Is it because of that strange robe?!"
At this moment, a piece of the robe around Kōe's waist had been torn off. Although there wasn't a single wound on the sturdy abdomen beneath the fabric, he had undeniably been grabbed by Baraggan just a second ago.
If not for [Static Recording], he would have painfully lost a kidney by now, and likely wouldn't have kept his life for much longer either...
"But whether you have it or not is irrelevant. You insect who dared to offend me, everything about you shall be utterly erased!" Loosening his fingers, the heavily rotted black cloth completely dissipated before it even hit the ground.
A pair of sharply pointed boots stepped forward in alternating rhythm. Baraggan approached Kōe with a leisurely stride, the grayish-black fog rippling outward like a special carpet rolled out just for him.
"I, Baraggan Louisenbairn! I am the one and only king of this Hueco Mundo, and indeed, of this entire world!"
*Crunch... crunch...* The ground, already reduced to stone and sand, played a relaxed melody in time with Baraggan's footsteps. Yet, in this moment, the sound was incredibly grating and out of place.
"Unlike an insect like you, who is clearly weak yet calls himself a god, I am an existence beyond your comprehension. The place where I stand is the true stairway of the gods!" Baraggan monologued, his tone suddenly growing impassioned. "You spout incomprehensible boasts, provoke my fury, and yet present me with such a boring farce!"
"How could a foolish thing like you ever escape the ending I have decreed!"
"Are you ready to appease my wrath and turn into a pile of dust?!" Spreading from his toes, a massive shadow gradually swallowed Kōe, finally washing over his head as a cold, ancient voice completely enveloped him. "I will crush you to pieces, bit by bit!"
"Seeping crest of turbidity, arrogant vessel of lunacy..." Facing Baraggan, who was now standing right in front of him, Kōe didn't dodge. He simply lowered his head and began chanting a Kidō incantation.
But could he finish the incantation at this distance?
Baraggan suddenly burst into laughter. The opponent's action, which looked like resistance but was actually more akin to giving up in despair, was truly laughable.
Seeking death? No, this foolish insect would pay a far heavier price for his disrespect! Only by experiencing the utmost physical agony, walking step by step toward death in helpless despair, could the deepest remorse be carved into his insignificant existence!
Baraggan extended his index finger and thrust it straight toward Kōe's throat. That chattering voice was far too noisy; he didn't want to hear it anymore.
The incantation came to an abrupt halt, but Baraggan's finger pierced empty air. It did not puncture Kōe's throat.
Behind him! Baraggan spun around violently, sweeping his double-bladed battle axe behind him. Kōe, who had dodged just in time, was now standing right at his back!
Four walls radiating an eerie black-purple light rapidly rose up. The giant axe struck them, ringing out with the crisp sound of clashing iron. The Shinigami with his back turned to him slowly vanished. Following that calm, completely unflustered voice, Baraggan was greeted by an expanse of endless darkness.
"[Hadō #90・Kurohitsugi!]"
Possessing the confidence of a king, yet also exercising careful caution, this Emperor of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, was far smarter than the one from Kōe's past life memories.
If he wasn't so reluctant to part with Szayelaporro, Kōe absolutely would not have wanted to tangle with Baraggan any further at this moment.
Fleeing right in front of Baraggan while simultaneously taking a sealed Szayelaporro with him—Kōe didn't have the confidence for that. Even Yoruichi would probably struggle to leave Baraggan in the dust with Shunpo while carrying a Vasto Lorde-class Menos of that size.
There were only two solutions. The first was to take out Baraggan as well; with no pursuer, there would naturally be no need to run.
The other was for him to stall Baraggan while taking the sealed Szayelaporro away. After all, he wasn't alone right now.
And precisely because he wasn't alone, even if he couldn't defeat Baraggan, escaping by himself wouldn't be difficult. But what would happen to Roca, Ashido, and Seth who were left behind, as well as the already captured Resen?
Kōe didn't think they had the ability to escape from Baraggan's clutches. Roca's importance to him went without saying, Resen's abilities were worth researching, Ashido was a fellow Shinigami, and Seth was useful for his research into the Arrancarification of Menos...
There were many reasons he couldn't abandon them, but in that moment, Kōe had almost subconsciously chosen the second method. It was partly to take Szayelaporro away, but perhaps even more so to ensure the safety of those behind him.
In that moment, in his heart, these existences—who were born because of him or were here because of him—were no longer tools that could be discarded at any time.
But rather, lives...
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