Astonishing speed, but after using such a method, it seemed the opponent couldn't launch an attack immediately?
Yukio didn't know if this was Hiroe's deliberate action or a flaw in the technique itself. He didn't want to delve into the reasons; he only needed to understand that this was an exploitable boss mechanic.
His fingers skillfully pressed the buttons on his handheld console, and black pixels surged up from his feet. In his mind, Yukio had already pictured Hiroe's exasperated expression as he watched him leave. He wouldn't even skimp on a temporary farewell, letting the imagined scene become reality.
However, he found that he couldn't speak at all. Even the surging pixels might have just been a habitual hallucination. Because, at some unknown point, several strips of white cloth had tightly bound him, leaving him unable to move even a finger.
"Hadō focuses on offense, sacrificing oneself to kill the enemy. Bakudō serves as support, protecting oneself and trapping the enemy. Ninety-nine Hadō, ninety-nine Bakudō—mastering either path makes one no inferior to a Captain who has achieved Bankai. However, there are very few who have even seen them all, and those who can use all of them can be counted on one hand."
"You are very lucky..."
Despite his words, probably no one could hear any trace of luck in Hiroe's voice.
"Remember this, kid. This is Bakudō #99, Part Two, Bankin!" Hiroe said, opening and clenching his right hand. "First Song, Halting Fabric!"
The white cloth strips on Yukio's body suddenly tightened, causing his breath to hitch.
"No, wait! You're joking, right!"
Yukio was truly terrified. In his eyes, this man named Chōzuka Hiroe hadn't shown a single shred of killing intent from beginning to end, which should have meant there was no need to panic.
But the reality was the exact opposite. Yukio knew that this kind of person was the most terrifying, because you never knew if he was just joking around with a sword in hand, or if he was genuinely going to kill you!
Apologize? In that brief moment, he had already said 'I'm sorry' countless times in his heart, even mixing in a few curses, condemning this old bastard for bullying the weak! He hoped the other party would stop.
Unfortunately, this voice that echoed loudly in his own world couldn't reach Hiroe at all. The emotionless voice rang out once again: "Second Song, Hundred Linked Bolts."
Each of these iron bolts was about the same length as Yukio's height. Dozens of them piercing through his body at the same time made for a truly shocking sight.
Riruka subconsciously covered her mouth. No matter how much she looked down on Yukio, watching him suffer right in front of her was hard to accept.
"Yukio!"
Jackie cried out in alarm, her terrified gaze turning fierce. A group of vicious thugs had once taken away her life, her family, and everything she had, but the man before her was even worse.
Even so, she didn't attack Hiroe. Instead, she charged straight toward Yukio to save him.
"It's not your turn yet, ma'am." Hiroe's figure blurred as he blocked Jackie's path. "Don't be impatient, there's still one last step."
"Get out of my way!"
Though she told him to get out of the way, Jackie had no intention of waiting for Hiroe to move. She raised her leg and brought it down toward him in a vicious axe kick, looking as if she wanted to stomp him into the dirt.
"Bakudō #15, Deep Swamp Entrapment."
Jackie only felt the ground beneath her feet give way. With a light backhand motion from Hiroe, an astonishing gravitational pull dragged her down. Her foot hadn't even touched him before she was buried into the earth.
"Bakudō #7, Pull!"
"It's not just the immensely powerful high-level Kidō. Combining two or even three suitable Kidō can create infinite possibilities."
Hiroe nodded as he spoke, his gaze slowly shifting toward Giriko and Riruka not far away. "This is the enemy you are facing. Though, of course, this isn't all of it."
A sudden chill ran down Giriko's spine. It felt like watching an antelope being targeted by a male lion—imminent disaster!
He didn't even dare to turn his head. The man in his field of vision gave him fear, but ironically, also a sense of security, proving that this was not yet the time for a desperate last stand.
Shifting backward with trembling knees, Giriko's mind was filled with the words Hiroe had just spoken: Hadō, Bakudō, ninety-nine... Heaven knew how many more terrifying methods this man possessed.
"Shunpo, the step of teleportation, the step of a fleeting instant?"
He vanished? When!
Giriko swore he hadn't even blinked. That male lion hadn't pounced with a roar, nor did he carry the momentum of sweeping winds and rolling grass. He had simply arrived, silently and without a trace, right behind him?
He whipped around, only to be met with Ginjō's deeply furrowed brow...
"I, however, believe that the 'step of instant killing' is the best explanation for Shunpo. Even someone who only knows how to hack and slash wildly can kill in an instant with such footwork."
*Schwing*—the snow-white blade was slowly sheathed. Bizarrely, a spot of blood appeared on Giriko's chest, rapidly stretching outward to form a line of blood.
The gushing waterfall of blood drained away most of his strength. Giriko's eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the ground. The reeking pool of blood acted like a soft, warm bed; after his fingers twitched a couple of times, he sank into it, never to leave again.
Yukio, wrapped entirely in white cloth and pinned to the ground by iron bolts; Jackie, suddenly dragged underground with only a single hand exposed, her fate unknown; and Giriko, instantly dyed into a bloody mess...
Looking at the hellish scene before her, Riruka's heart was devoid of any thoughts other than pure terror. Yet, for some unknown reason, she still shakily raised the toy gun in her hand.
Self-preservation? Or revenge?
Perhaps there was no reason at all, just the most basic survival instinct of a living creature. When facing an incoming blade, even knowing that raising a hand would still result in bleeding, one would subconsciously raise it to block.
"Hakuda is bare-handed combat—fists, elbows, knees, legs, and so on. Though there are no weapons in hand, the body itself is a weapon..."
Hiroe's voice this time was unexpectedly gentle, his left hand brushing lightly like a feather skimming across the surface of a lake.
Riruka was like a puppet in his hands. Her right arm twisted uncontrollably, and the muzzle of the seemingly harmless pistol in her hand turned toward herself.
"Most Shinigami don't invest too much energy into Hakuda, but they must invest some. Hakuda is a key, a lethal key that turns flesh and blood into a weapon."
Hiroe's hand pressed down on the trigger over Riruka's cold index finger. "With such a key in hand, is life cheap or precious? It all comes down to a single thought."
A single thought? Riruka stared blankly at Hiroe, only to see him smile faintly. Those fingers, devoid of warmth or cold, suddenly pressed down heavily, pulling the trigger all the way to the end.
"Bang!"
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