Kaelith Yurei retreated several dozen meters in midair, kicking up a cloud of drifting spirit particle dust beneath his feet.
He glanced at his right hand.
Just now, using the new power he had gained, he had delivered a fierce blow to Muramasa.
Although he took Muramasa down instantly, rendering him unable to continue, he also ended up breaking several finger bones.
A fracture meant little to him; he was long accustomed to such injuries.
But continuing to fight after a fracture would only worsen the secondary damage.
Two of his fingers were already swollen, showing a purplish bruise.
That was the result of broken finger bones churning the soft tissue inside, causing massive internal bleeding.
Seeing the state of Kaelith’s hand, Kōga couldn’t help but laugh.
The shadow killer’s Spirit Pressure had inexplicably plummeted.
Sensing this, Kōga confirmed that the Shadow Killer’s Spirit Pressure had likely fallen to a Lieutenant’s level.
No surprise—he must have used some secret art earlier to temporarily boost his Spirit Pressure.
Now that the time on that secret art had run out, he was no longer a threat.
And Kaelith’s hand was in that condition. How could he still fight?
Just as Kuchiki Kōga was about to mock him, Kaelith suddenly stretched out his hand.
Those swollen fingers all spurted blood!
Then the twisted, misshapen fingers drew back and returned to their normal shape.
Kaelith clenched and unclenched his fist a few times and then smiled with satisfaction.
“Though it was a sudden idea, it worked pretty well.”
Having recovered, he looked at Kuchiki Kōga.
“Come on, Kōga, let’s start the second round!”
Gazing at Kaelith’s fully restored hands, he felt as if he’d seen a ghost.
Could this guy be a Hollow disguised as a Shinigami?
How could anyone heal fractures this quickly?
With a loud shout, Kaelith Yurei charged at Kōga.
In truth, his healing method was simple.
First, he inserted shadows into his fingers.
Using the shadows’ delicate control, he drained out all the congealed blood inside.
Then he wrapped the broken ends of the finger bones with shadows and forcibly pulled them together, realigning the fracture.
Finally, by layering the shadows around the break, he fixed the bone in place.
Just like that, he could instantly regain combat readiness!
Under Kōga’s annoyed glare, Kaelith’s figure flickered rapidly. Each time he appeared, he unleashed a heavy punch.
Throughout his long life as a Shinigami, Kuchiki Kōga had always relied on Muramasa’s invincible ability to crush his opponents effortlessly.
This kind of contest—relying on reaction, technique, and skill—was not his style.
Although his overwhelming Spirit Pressure shielded him from real harm, taking repeated hits still hurt.
And it was embarrassing.
He wanted to kill Kaelith Yurei quickly, but now was not the time to rush.
If he dragged things out, his total Spirit Pressure far exceeded Kaelith’s. Eventually, Kaelith would run out of strength, and that would be his moment to strike back.
Kaelith kept up his barrage of attacks, but in his mind, he made a judgment similar to Kuchiki Kōga’s.
If this dragged on, he would be the one worn down.
His advantages were speed, technique, and combat experience.
Kōga’s advantage was the crushing intensity of his Spirit Pressure.
How could he break through that Spirit Pressure defense?
Right now, his strongest attack was fusing with the shadow and unleashing a Sōkotsu, a twofold strike that greatly exceeded the strength of a normal Sōkotsu.
But against a fully guarded Kuchiki Kōga, who condensed his Spirit Pressure into a near-impenetrable shell, there was no guarantee of victory.
If he couldn’t win in one strike and gave Kōga a chance to prepare, winning would become even harder. And if he delayed too long, once Tsunayashiro Takatori arrived, Kaelith would be outnumbered and doomed.
After a few seconds of thought, Kaelith made up his mind.
His eyes showed unwavering resolve.
He suddenly stopped attacking and backed off a bit.
Under Kuchiki Kōga’s wary gaze, Kaelith grinned:
“Why don’t we just call it a day, Kōga?”
“Look, I can’t break through your defense, and you can’t land a hit on me. Why not just go back to where we came from?”
“If we keep fighting, we’ll both end up hurt. Then I won’t achieve my plan to turn the Soul Society into a paradise, and you won’t succeed in your scheme to peek into everyone’s hearts. In the end, it’ll just benefit Tsunayashiro Takatori, right?”
Kuchiki Kōga was surprised by Kaelith’s words.
He had thought this guy wanted a fight to the death.
Who would have guessed he’d propose a truce?
For a moment, Kōga considered agreeing with Kaelith.
But then he remembered Yoruichi Shihōin.
Before coming to Hueco Mundo, Tsunayashiro Takatori had repeatedly emphasized that Yoruichi Shihōin must die.
If he let her go and she returned to the Seireitei, changing the Central 46’s vote, the Tsunayashiro family would never let him off.
He’d be a stray dog with nowhere to turn.
After a few seconds of silence, Kōga said, “I can let you leave, but Yoruichi Shihōin must die.”
Hearing this, Kaelith scratched his head.
“Yoruichi, she’s like a sister to me, my beloved kin.”
“Killing her…that comes with a price.”
Kōga frowned. “What price?”
Kaelith took a deep breath.
He had used this little conversation to finish his preparations.
Under Kōga’s watchful gaze, Kaelith suddenly widened his eyes, stomping down hard. In a flash too fast for the naked eye, he charged straight at Kuchiki Kōga!
Kōga wasn’t surprised by Kaelith’s move.
While talking, he had always been ready for a sudden assault.
After all, this was Kaelith Yurei, shameless as ever!
But for some reason, even though he expected this attack, watching Kaelith swing his fist, he felt an eerie sense of danger.
To be safe, Kōga unleashed all the Spirit Pressure he had stored.
Surging Spirit Pressure made his body and Zanpakutō glow with blinding light.
Facing the now fully powered Kuchiki Kōga, Kaelith Yurei showed no fear.
At this moment, his posture resembled Ichigo Kurosaki’s flight stance in the opening theme “Change,” body parallel to the ground.
As he entered Kōga’s attack range, he moved.
Both fists clenched, thrusting forward together.
Simultaneously, the shadows fused with his body, perfectly synchronized with his hands.
Then, like a fighter jet’s afterburners, his feet erupted with terrifying Spirit Pressure as well.
The shadows fused into his body and worked with his legs, too.
Using both legs, he unleashed a second Sōkotsu!
His forward-thrusting fists and backward-thrusting feet combined for a synchronized acceleration and power boost.
A pseudo quadruple Sōkotsu!
Looking at Kuchiki Kōga before him, Kaelith burst into wild laughter.
“Magnetic Field Rotation!!”
“Nine hundred ninety thousand horsepower!!”
“Kaelith’s Explosive Punch!!!”