"Urgh-"
For Szayelaporro, time felt agonizingly slow.
Countless tentacles, as if alive, pierced her skin, burrowed into her muscles, and surged into her body, violating her form relentlessly.
The sensations, amplified three thousand times, flooded her mind.
Three thousand times sensitivity!
In the Taimanin work, female ninjas often endure such torment and remain vibrant, but in reality, this was a terrifying concept.
A fingertip's light touch felt like a hammer smashing the finger; blood flowing through veins seemed like brushes scraping inside; breathing felt like a rolling pin shoved down the throat… every perception was distorted.
Worse still, the monstrous tentacles, designed for Taimanin, filled every cavity of her body, bursting her from within.
Such excruciating sensations were unimaginable to those who hadn't experienced them.
Revived after "death," even a strong-willed figure like Szayelaporro collapsed like the weakest creature, retching with gut-wrenching agony.
Her body felt limp, as if drained of strength.
Makoto knew well that, compared to temporary failure or physical blows, this mental anguish left a deeper mark.
"Is this all it takes to immobilize you?"
"If you don't attack, I'll come for you."
"The weak will suffer."
"Don't you, of all people, agree with that?"
He applied psychological pressure bit by bit.
Yet, even Makoto didn't expect what happened next.
The moment he uttered "suffer," Szayelaporro's body tensed. Her collapsed form arched like a beast on all fours, blood-red eyes glaring at Makoto.
I can't suffer!
I won't suffer!
I absolutely cannot and will not suffer again!
That horrific torment…
Just recalling the "ultimate death" under three thousand times sensitivity sent a visceral fear surging through Szayelaporro.
Kill him!!!
Then escape this dreadful place.
In that moment, the two consciousnesses within her body united in a single resolve.
Noticing her beast-like glare, Makoto's eyes narrowed.
"I won't suffer!!!"
Szayelaporro roared like a rabid dog, her figure shooting along the ground with a piercing sonic boom.
Makoto's pupils contracted.
Despite losing a third of her Reiatsu, how was she still so fast?!
Boom!
Their blades clashed with a deafening explosion.
Makoto's feet slid back ten meters along the ground, Szayelaporro's body pressing against his blade.
Bang!
Makoto flipped his blade, sending her flying. Szayelaporro crashed to the ground, tumbling.
Such immense strength!
What was going on?!
Puzzled but alert, Makoto held his blade across his chest, scanning Szayelaporro's body.
Then he noticed something odd.
Her petite, feminized frame, specifically her limbs, swelled unnaturally, ballooning several times thicker, her skin faintly purple.
Had she forcibly altered her body to boost strength and speed?
How did she do it?
"Die, you freak!"
Szayelaporro's voice was hoarse.
Being called a freak by a freak stirred complex feelings.
Before Makoto could respond, Szayelaporro spat out a small cloth doll, pink-haired, resembling herself.
But now, the doll's limbs and spine bore new "pendants" not originally part of it.
On her arms, legs, and spine hung small ornaments labeled with muscles and bones.
Makoto's pupils narrowed.
Was this…
Something she attached while collapsed on the ground?
"Ha… haha…"
Szayelaporro's throat rasped like a leaking bellows, laughing maniacally as she propped herself up, looking deranged.
"Not enough?"
"This isn't enough to kill you?"
"Then… more!"
As her words fell, more "muscle" structures appeared on the doll.
Simultaneously, Szayelaporro's body warped unnaturally, her chest inflating like a balloon.
Makoto instinctively reached out,
"Hado #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
"Cero!"
The two beams collided.
Makoto's superior Reiatsu crushed the Cero almost instantly upon contact.
But after the dust settled, Szayelaporro was gone.
Splat!
A dark pink figure burst from the smoke, streaking along the ground.
Her body, now nearly doubled in size, lunged at Makoto, massive beast-like fangs protruding from her mouth.
Makoto spun his blade, its edge grinding against her fangs with a piercing screech.
He calmly slashed, then crouched low, his foot stomping the ground with a "bang," leaving a deep mark. Power surged from the ground, his calf tensing, channeling strength through his shoulder in a sudden strike.
Boom!
Despite her massive form, Szayelaporro was no match for the vast Reiatsu gap, tumbling and crashing like a bouncing tennis ball.
Makoto's speed outpaced hers, a brutal bone beat unleashed with his fist, embedding her massive body into the wall.
"Damn you… damn…"
Blood gushed from Szayelaporro's mouth, her chest bearing deep marks, caving in,
"You dare… humiliate me like this!"
"No."
Makoto's voice was calm. "This is simply the true gap in our strength, even with equal Reiatsu."
At that, Szayelaporro fell silent.
Her mind seemed to clear slightly amid the barrage.
This couldn't continue.
She could clearly feel her Reiatsu had plummeted after her "death."
Clearly, in his domain, this advantaged foe would exploit every edge to beat her to death.
If not beaten to death, then likely…
A chill ran through Szayelaporro's heart.
At that moment, Szayelaporro's mind raced faster than ever.
Researchers, monsters, test subjects, drugs…
Despite the tangled web of clues, a seasoned Vasto Lorde like Szayelaporro knew well, every seemingly one-sided, overpowering rule-based ability always had a subtle path to survival.
That, too, was part of the "rules."
If so…
A sudden realization struck Szayelaporro.
Though the rules didn't specify, as a "test subject," could she, under certain conditions, command the "monsters"?
But under what circumstances…
Her thoughts paused abruptly.
Despite the near-mind-shattering torment when overwhelmed by tentacles, Szayelaporro clearly recalled a moment just before her "death" when the so-called monsters inexplicably halted for a few seconds.
Moreover… that drug had its merits.
Three thousand times sensitivity.
If it could be harnessed for combat…
Gulp.
Szayelaporro swallowed hard.
The memory of her body falling apart sent chills through her.
But…
If it meant defeating the man before her…
Do it!
Szayelaporro's expression twisted fiercely.
Her figure flickered.
The petite, exaggerated female form vanished and reappeared with Sonido, darting around Makoto, swiftly weaving and dodging, seeking an opening while keeping her distance.
Makoto stood calmly, observing her performance.
Is she… trying to use my body tissue to create a "domination doll"?
Or perhaps…?
He pondered, a smile creeping across his face.
In that fleeting moment of distraction, Szayelaporro's petite form abruptly appeared behind Makoto, lunging for his hair.
The next moment.
A large hand firmly grasped her slender wrist.
Szayelaporro's face froze.
Before she could struggle, a pink syringe appeared in Makoto's other hand.
"You never learn, do you?"
"Szayelaporro-san."
Makoto's voice was low and measured.
Szayelaporro's eyes widened, her beautiful face paling in horror,
"No! Don't!"
But as her words fell, the drug was already injected into her body.
The familiar three thousand times sensitivity took effect once more.
Yet, the moment the drug fully entered her system, Szayelaporro suddenly pulled away from Makoto.
A faint smile spread across her face.
"Fool… fool…"
"I tricked you."
Her voice struggled to speak, as if suppressing the drug's horrific effects, but a strained smile emerged.
"With this level of sensitivity, I just need to sever the sensory nerves to my brain to mostly block it."
"Did you really think I'd fall to the same trick twice?"
"Really?"
Makoto stood leisurely, smiling at her. "Why don't you look in a mirror and see what you look like now?"
Szayelaporro froze.
She instinctively glanced at the silvery-white wall beside her.
There, she saw a cherry-haired beauty, face flushed like a peach blossom.
"Three thousand times sensitivity affects the entire body."
"If severing nerves could solve it…"
"Taimanin wouldn't always end up in such states against monsters."
Makoto exhaled deeply, as if sighing for the pitiful fate of the Taimanin ladies.
Then, his figure vanished abruptly.
'Left.'
The extreme sensitivity allowed Szayelaporro to sense Makoto's reappearance direction the moment he disappeared.
But her body couldn't keep up.
"Bang-"
A powerful kick sent Szayelaporro's body flying, followed by a blade that instantly severed one of her arms.
Her wings unfurled at maximum speed, but as they began spewing black poisonous mist, Makoto's hand grabbed her collar, slamming her into the wall with a "boom."
The two tore through the battlefield at breakneck speed, outpacing even the toxic mist from her wings.
Finally, Szayelaporro's head was smashed into the ground.
Splat!
She coughed up torrents of blood.
No good.
Though she could sense his movements, her body couldn't match them.
But…
Szayelaporro's eyes locked onto the corridor's mouth nearby.
The black tentacles, just as she'd seen when fleeing to the path's end, blocked their way forward.
This was the way out!
Before she could act, Makoto's blade reversed, thrusting toward her heart.
But…
"Bang-"
Szayelaporro's lower half exploded, blood surging like flames, propelling her upper body into the wall of monstrous tentacles with a muffled thud.
Makoto's blade, at the critical moment, stabbed into the ground.
Noticing her action, he froze.
Then, puzzled, he turned to the tentacle-woven wall.
Has she... lost the will to live?
Splat! Splat!
As Makoto expected, the black tentacles, sensing living flesh, activated instantly, surging toward Szayelaporro's broken body.
In a fleeting moment, her half-body was completely engulfed.
Yet, even in this dire state, Szayelaporro's face bore a near-maniacal smile.
"Come on! All of you!"
It was as she thought!
As sensed during her last "death," these tentacles, upon connecting with her, could indeed be influenced by her will.
But that influence…
Came at the cost of her flesh.
Szayelaporro could clearly feel the tentacles transforming her into another kind of being through this process!
Monsters, experiments, Taimanin, transformation…
Was this a form of lifeform evolution?
She seemed to forget all sensations, this thought rising instinctively.
What would she become if she accepted this transformation?
The moment the thought emerged, the tentacles devouring her flesh halted.
But then, black smoke poured into her body, twisting her into a distorted form.
Makoto, seeing this sudden change, paused.
As the smoke cleared, Szayelaporro's figure reappeared in his view.
Her once fair, delicate skin turned ashen black.
Her pupils glowed scarlet.
Szayelaporro looked at her body, murmuring softly,
"So that's how it is?"
"Two different lifeforms, fused into one… creating a more perfect lifeform…"
"Is this the true path?"
Her voice grew increasingly excited, as if lost in a trance.
As for suffering?
Suffering, so what?!
If it meant finding the path to a perfect lifeform, she'd embrace suffering gladly!!
The next moment, Szayelaporro whipped her head toward Makoto, grinning hoarsely, "With this power, killing someone like you will be child's pl-"
Before she could finish, Makoto scoffed, muttering,
"Self-inflicted trap."
Szayelaporro froze.
Then, Makoto made a gesture.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The monstrous components within Szayelaporro's body twisted violently, wringing her from head to toe in a 720-degree spin.
Blood sprayed, corroding the silver ground.
Szayelaporro collapsed, eyes blank.
Makoto sighed, "The monsters you fused with obey my commands."
[Character: Taimanin Szayelaporro-san]
[Death Once]
[2] → [1]
A surge of Reiatsu flooded into Makoto.
But seeing Szayelaporro's state, he knew the mental blow he intended had lost its effect.
A resilient mind like hers could only be dealt with head-on.
Makoto thought as much.
So, the moment Szayelaporro reformed her body, reviving, Makoto lunged forward with a single strike.
Decapitation.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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