"Mr. Abarai!"
"The blood hasn't dried yet. It looks like the other person couldn't have run far. Should we pursue, Lieutenant Kira?"
The chaotic scene before him worsened Kira Izuru's mood. Just moments ago, it was reported that the squads had suffered no casualties, yet now Renji was lying here covered in blood. The situation had deteriorated in the blink of an eye; he truly didn't know what to say.
"No need, take Abarai back first..." Before Kira could finish, his expression drastically changed as he turned toward another direction. "...for treatment."
A Reiatsu he had never felt before—was it a Ryoka? And the one facing him was Teacher Chōzuka. To think the two were actually evenly matched...
The Sanrei Glove. Once put on, it could not be taken off; otherwise, all of one's Quincy powers would be completely lost. In exchange for this heavy price, one gained a power that surpassed Quincy limits for a short period of time.
But there was always that one unavoidable battle you had to face, one that couldn't be won with your own strength alone, requiring you to put your life on the line.
Ishida looked at Kōe, who had turned around to face him again. The man before him, this very battle, was that unavoidable peril—a crisis that could only be overcome by sacrificing something.
"Finally, things are getting a little interesting."
The surrounding buildings were slowly dissipating, turning into tiny specks of light that surged toward Ishida Uryū in the distance, converging into a massive wing of light on his right side.
Quincies could collect Reishi from the air, but absorbing the buildings of the Seireitei like this—forcibly destroying the stable bonds between Reishi to make it his own power—could no longer be described with a gentle word like 'collecting'. It was the absolute subjugation of Reishi; the Reishi had become his private property.
"Why don't you try and see if you can absorb me too?" Kōe reached out a hand, approaching Ishida step by step, looking extremely cautious.
At this moment, he wasn't faking it; he had genuinely become cautious. Although pushing Ishida to this point was his goal, truth be told, the resulting consequences were not one hundred percent under his control.
Aside from techniques like Hirenkyaku, spirit bows, and Ransō Tengai, he had yet to witness any higher-level Quincy abilities. Or rather, he had never seen them before. Reishi subjugation could barely be considered one of them.
In theory, this ability could be an enhancement of Reishi collection, or it could be the usurpation of Reishi ownership. The two causes had similar effects but entirely different meanings.
If it was Reishi collection, its limits would be confined to inanimate spirit bodies; an increase in ability would merely allow the dismantling of spirit bodies with more stable Reishi structures.
But if it was Reishi subjugation, then Shinigami—who were also composed of Reishi—should theoretically be absorbable as well. As for why they couldn't be absorbed, it might be due to an insufficient ability level, or perhaps because Shinigami inherently bound their own Reishi in some unknown manner.
Kōe stepped closer to Ishida, feeling no abnormalities, nor did his body show any signs of decomposing. Relying on this alone couldn't resolve the doubts in his mind. If Yoruichi, whose body's Reishi was highly vitalized, were here, perhaps she would have some insight.
However, in Ishida's eyes, these actions were just like everything Kōe had done before—a blatant display of contempt for Quincy abilities.
Several thin threads composed of Reishi shot out from the wing of light, condensing in his left hand into a white arrow that looked almost tangible. Nocking the bow and firing took less than the blink of an eye.
The speed had increased significantly. Kōe held his left palm horizontally across his chest. The moment he touched the fletching of the arrow, he immediately deflected it outward. The exploding Reiryoku instantly blasted the wall to his left into rubble.
"I finally see how you do it!" Perhaps faster than that arrow, or at least not much slower, Ishida's voice came from above. The second arrow was already almost touching Kōe's tied-up hair.
"[Hadō #63・Raikōhō]!"
Golden lightning had barely wrapped around the arrow overhead before both detonated simultaneously. Ishida tapped his toes, seemingly stepping on the explosive shockwave, spun in the air, and safely disengaged, leaving Kōe alone in the center of the explosion, his fate unknown.
"What did you see?"
Kōe reached out a hand as if lifting a curtain, parting the kicked-up dust in two.
"So you aren't flawless after all. You never were from the very beginning. You bleed, and you can die too."
Previously, he had always thought that Kōe could block all his attacks without relying on Reiryoku, but that was actually wrong.
It wasn't that the other party didn't rely on Reiryoku, but rather that the timing of his Reiryoku's manifestation was perfect every single time, exactly canceling out his attacks without a single shred of waste.
But as Ishida removed the Sanrei Glove, the strength and speed of his techniques increased significantly. Kōe could no longer control his power as precisely as before. Whether it was the clearly palpable Reiatsu or the way he deflected the arrow, it was enough to prove that he had lost his previous composure.
"This?" Kōe looked at his slightly bleeding palm, seemingly not caring at all. "If one has blood, naturally they will bleed. You seem to understand me a little better now, though I'd consider this mere common sense."
"Of course, where there is life, there is death. It's just that these minor scratches won't kill me. And how long can you maintain that state of yours? Ten minutes? Or maybe, five minutes?"
Kōe shook his hand, as if telling Ishida that he wasn't affected at all, and continued, "Accidents don't last very long. Is not taking the opportunity to kill me just now also part of your Quincy pride?"
Ishida didn't respond. He simply raised his hand and fired an arrow. However, Kōe didn't panic; he merely tilted his head and dodged it, looking incredibly relaxed.
"I told you, accidents won't..."
Another arrow struck. Kōe twisted his body just in time, but the fluttering hem of his robes was merely grazed and instantly vanished by more than half, leaving it looking bizarre and comical.
Twice as much? Just about. Ishida's second arrow was nearly twice as strong as his first, and its speed was just about twice as fast.
Kōe had nothing to say this time. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but rather that Ishida had already appeared right in front of him, an arrow pressed directly against his forehead.
"This isn't Quincy pride, but rather..." Ishida's shoulder twitched as he fired the arrow into the sky, "...the process of reclaiming that pride."
"I will shatter your ego, arrow by arrow. From now on, whenever you see a Quincy, you will tremble in fear, not daring to utter a single word!"
"Or you can continue to hold out. My next arrow will be even faster and stronger than this one. I let you off for free this time, but next time, you'll have to beg for mercy with one sentence, and the time after that, with two. You should really enjoy this method of proving yourself, shouldn't you?"
'The brat finally got his blood boiling. I guess I have to taste the bitter fruit I planted myself,' Kōe couldn't help but sigh internally. 'What goes around comes around—at least on the surface.'
"You understand me a little better now, but still not enough," Kōe said with a smile, quietly retracting the index finger hidden inside his sleeve that had been pointing directly at Ishida.
"An accident might happen twice, but never a third time. If it does, then I truly deserve to die."