In the cold and damp underground tunnel, a hoarse voice like branches scraping together echoed:
"Heh... this really is a nice place. Must've taken you quite a while to set it up, huh, Yamano Yirō?"
The voice wasn't loud, but in the silence of the tunnel, it rang out piercingly. Asano Kiyoshi looked in the direction of the voice, spiritual pressure gently rippling off him. In the next instant, his entire figure vanished.
Just as he disappeared, a massive Zanpakutō came crashing down on the spot where he had just been.
The force of the slash was immense—so powerful that it shattered even the spirit particle-reinforced structures, which were as tough as rock!
Only after the sword fell did the hoarse Shikai incantation follow:
"Bleed upon the stone—Dan Oni!"
The enormous Zanpakutō didn't slow the attacker down. Seeing his first strike miss, he used Shunpo to blink again, following up with another heavy slash aimed at Asano from the rear flank.
Asano reacted in time, drawing his Zanpakutō to block. But the moment the two blades clashed, his hands went numb from the impact. His opponent's strength far exceeded what he could withstand—if this clash continued, he would surely lose!
In that instant of realization, Asano lifted his left hand subtly under the cover of his sleeve. A flash of white lightning burst forth with a roar, charging straight at the attacker.
The lightning blazed brilliantly, lighting up the entire dim tunnel with its crackling arcs. Only then did Asano finally get a good look at his attacker's face.
Beneath disheveled blue hair, a horrific burn stretched from the left eye all the way down the neck. The gruesome wound made the figure look like a demon risen from the depths of hell.
And with that striking feature, Asano instantly recognized him—Yingkou Hui!
Once the 13th Seat of Squad 11!
The searing lightning bolt streaked toward Yingkou Hui's head. But he just let out a cold snort and immediately retreated, dodging the terrifying attack.
The bolt didn't strike Yingkou Hui, but it did blast through the tunnel ceiling, revealing the dimly lit space above.
Unfortunately, thanks to the damned spirit-particle reinforcements, the hole created by Byakurai was still too small for Asano to pass through.
Worse yet, the attack had clearly given away Asano's intentions. With his vast combat experience, Yingkou Hui instantly deduced what Asano was trying to do.
He stood his ground, long sword held horizontally before him, and a twisted grin spread across his monstrous face.
"Tear him apart—Dan Oni!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Asano instantly realized that Yingkou Hui's Zanpakutō had another form!
Without hesitation, he also released his own Zanpakutō.
"Fade away like heavenly light—Yomi!"
In an instant, blue and black spiritual pressures collided in the cramped underground space, biting into each other, causing fractures to spread across the tunnel walls!
Yingkou Hui glanced at the floating scroll forming around Asano and then at the now-vanished blade in his hand, sneering.
Like a hunting leopard, his body launched forward with unnatural agility, diving at Asano!
And now that his Zanpakutō was released, Yingkou Hui's speed and strength had clearly surged!
His blows came heavier and heavier with each strike, and Asano was gradually pushed back, his defense beginning to falter.
Seeing this, Yingkou Hui mocked him:
"Your Zanpakutō's a Kido type, huh? In a narrow space like this, fighting against a melee-type Zanpakutō, a Kido blade can't even get its spells off—you're basically digging your own grave! Didn't your teacher teach you that?"
Asano said nothing. He just raised his hand slightly. A blazing red fireball screamed toward Yingkou Hui.
"Hadō #31—Shakkahō!"
Feeling the spiritual pressure within the fireball, Yingkou Hui sneered.
He raised his sword and shouted:
"Decent casting speed! But that's nowhere near enough! Let me crush your hopes completely—let me show you the gap between us! Slash—Dan Oni!"
As he spoke, his Zanpakutō shrank to nearly half its size—but Asano could feel its lethality had increased.
Muscles tensed on his back, Yingkou Hui raised the blade and hacked down hard at the fireball!
A streak of silver light flashed like a snake's fang, aiming to crush everything before it.
The moment it struck the fireball, the Shakkahō split in two!
The halves flew past Yingkou Hui harmlessly, doing no damage at all.
But despite that, Yingkou Hui wasn't smiling anymore—because Asano was.
As confusion flickered in his eyes, Asano's voice rang out again:
"O sovereign! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, fluttering wings, bearer of the name of Man—"
The instant Asano began chanting, Yingkou Hui knew what he was doing. Though he couldn't believe this rookie could actually perform a post-cast incantation, the danger screaming from his instincts forced him to act.
His figure vanished on the spot, leaving two deep craters behind where he had stood.
"You've gotta be kidding me! You think I'll let you finish that incantation?! Die!"
His long blade slashed toward Asano's neck. Just as it was about to pierce that pale skin, a yellow rope suddenly bound his arm—and Asano's voice followed:
"Bakudō #9—Geki!"
Impossible!
He's using another spell while reciting Hadō?!
What kind of brain does this guy have?! Doesn't he fear spiritual backlash frying his soul?!
But regardless of Yingkou Hui's questions, Asano's chant was already complete:
"Scorching heat and chaos, surging southward across the sea, press forward step by step—"
"Hadō #31—Shakkahō!"
With that final word, the previously halved and flickering fireball suddenly swelled with power!
Burning with searing heat, it rocketed upward toward the dark, oppressive ceiling!
With a deafening crash, the fireball burst through—revealing the faint iron-colored sky above.
T/N: For up to 20 chapters ahead on all my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle
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