Chapter 32: Closing the Act |
The Crimson Plateau.
The landscape on either side of the yawning abyss had plunged into a state of absolute, chilling silence.
Whether it was the countless members of the Panther Clan or the Soul Reapers of the Second Division and the Onmitsukido, they all stood paralyzed, staring in confusion at the motionless figures of the Panther King and the Rinnegan wielder.
They could clearly feel the staggering Reiatsu that had been radiating from Great Org only moments ago, but now it was entirely dormant—placid and serene, devoid of any intent, control, or concentration.
What...
What on earth had just happened?!
The witnesses hadn't just been caught in the influence of the time loop; they had watched its effects unfold upon Great Org and the Rinnegan wielder. While they couldn't fully grasp the underlying mechanics, they understood the sheer unnaturalness of the event. But what now? Yeruashi's final move had left them in a state of utter bewilderment...
Silence.
Thud.
Great Org and the Rinnegan wielder collapsed lifelessly to the scorched earth.
Yoruichi watched the scene for a long moment, her mouth agape in shock, before finally turning a dazed gaze toward Yeruashi, who stood nearby with an aura of unshakable calm.
Even she—the Captain of the Second Division of the Gotei 13 and the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido—was profoundly shaken by Yeruashi's capabilities.
"I never imagined the day would come when I'd be saved by my own lieutenant," Yoruichi murmured under her breath.
Until today, she had harbored deep doubts regarding Yeruashi's true identity and motives, but now she felt she had been excessively suspicious of him. If Yeruashi truly had some dark, hidden agenda, he never would have revealed his true strength just to save her and slay Great Org.
He could have easily abandoned them all and returned to the Seireitei, continuing to hide his massive Reiatsu and the terrifying nature of his Bankai. While he might have faced questioning from the Gotei 13 afterward, it wouldn't have been an insurmountable problem, as the mission would have simply ended in a crushing defeat for the Soul Reapers.
He even...
Could have stood to inherit her position as Captain of the Second Division.
But.
To save her, Yeruashi had not only unleashed his vast Reiatsu but had also demonstrated, without hesitation, what was likely the most dangerous and frightening Bankai ability she had ever encountered.
Such selflessness was a clear and undeniable testament that Yeruashi had no ulterior motives or sinister plans.
"..."
Yeruashi merely offered a faint, knowing smile, choosing not to respond to Yoruichi's remark.
Soi Fon, standing just behind them, wiped away her tears before looking at their figures with an expression of pure admiration.
She had originally tried to keep her distance from Yeruashi, having sworn to dedicate her entire life to Yoruichi-sama, but Yeruashi's actions today had completely shattered the emotional walls she had spent years building.
Setting aside Yoruichi-sama's safety, this was the second time Yeruashi had personally saved her from certain death...
Such a debt could never be repaid.
Such kindness could never be forgotten.
'I am firmly determined to keep my vow to fight and die for Yoruichi-sama, so I can never truly give my heart to Yeruashi, even if he were to pursue me... but as payment for his kindness... I could...'
Soi Fon was prepared to give Yeruashi anything he desired, save for the faith and loyalty that belonged solely to Yoruichi-sama!
Of course.
A man as kind, friendly, and irresistible as Yeruashi surely couldn't be bothered by such sordid or base desires...
Under the collective gaze of the Soul Reapers and the surviving Panther Clan, Yoruichi composed herself and walked toward Great Org's motionless body.
"..."
The large, feline pupils of the once-mighty and ferocious Panther King held no trace of his former warrior spirit, nor any sign of the despair or helplessness brought on by his current predicament.
There was nothing there at all.
Only an endless, barren void.
It was as if his consciousness had reached its end—the way the universe might end when all its stars have flickered out and every spark of life has vanished.
She understood perfectly that such a death was far more terrifying than even the most gruesome torture.
Fwoosh!
Yoruichi stared into Great Org's empty eyes for another moment before slowly straightening her elegant fingers. With a calm, practiced motion, she swung her hand—cloaked in concentrated Reiatsu—toward his massive neck.
Great Org's body offered no resistance throughout the process, and his wide eyes never showed a single flicker of emotion.
Thud!
The Panther King's head rolled across the ground, trailing a spray of dark blood.
"...The King!"
In that instant, the numerous members of the Panther Clan who had been standing in a dazed, detached stupor finally snapped back to reality, letting out cries of horror and disbelief.
Most of them still didn't understand what had happened, but they could clearly see the severed head and feel Great Org's rapidly fading Reiatsu.
The King had fallen!
Yoruichi cast a cold glance toward the Panther Clan member who possessed the Rinnegan, then sharply swung the same hand she had used to decapitate Great Org in his direction.
A surge of concentrated Reiatsu erupted from her palm, taking the form of a sharp, crescent blade that resembled the attack of a master swordsman.
Slash!
The concentrated Reiatsu sliced through the air with terrifying speed, cleaving the Rinnegan wielder's body in two amidst a fountain of blood.
"Aaaahhhh!"
By this point, the numerous Panther Clan members on the other side of the deep chasm could no longer maintain even a semblance of composure.
Fear began to gnaw at their minds, and their legs moved instinctively, slowly retreating step by step.
Torashi Shinta, who had stopped fighting Lilith after being caught in the time loop, watched the scene unfold with staggering disbelief.
His mind, like those of his clansmen, was consumed by a terror that eventually coalesced into a single, desperate thought.
Run!
Run right now!!!
Torashi spun around and bolted, casting aside all thoughts of continuing the war against the Soul Reapers.
The moment Torashi turned tail and fled with all his might, the fighting spirit of his remaining kinsmen collapsed entirely.
One, five, twenty, a hundred... gradually, more and more members of the Panther Clan turned and fled in a desperate, disorganized rout.
Yoruichi watched the retreat from across the chasm and said indifferently, "Eliminate them."
"Yes, Ma'am!!!"
The majority of the Second Division and the Onmitsukido had already recovered their senses. Upon receiving the calm, confident command from their Captain and Commander-in-Chief, their morale soared to its peak almost instantly.
The figures of two hundred black-clad Soul Reapers blurred as they leaped across the deep abyss, launching a relentless pursuit of the Panther Clan members who had completely lost their will to fight after the death of their king.
Yeruashi briefly scanned the fleeing Panther Clan and the pursuing Soul Reapers before calmly looking up at Lilith and the retreating Torashi.
"..."
Lilith lowered her massive bow, gazing indifferently at her fleeing opponent.
She understood perfectly that this battle had been a test and a training exercise from the start; therefore, she was obligated to crush Torashi so as not to disappoint her father.
In truth, by fleeing, Torashi had handed her a perfect opportunity for a lethal strike.
Was it not logical that her Bankai, which took the form of a bow, would be most effective against a distant target? Not to mention that Torashi had voluntarily exposed his back...
Now she could concentrate her energy to its absolute limit for a finishing blow!
Phew...
Lilith exhaled and focused, her expression turning dead serious as she made a somewhat unusual movement.
She gripped the bowstring with her delicate hands and braced her small feet against the massive riser, stretching her miniature frame into a straight line to pull the string to its absolute maximum capacity.
The dimensions of the bow were so vast that even in this posture, Lilith could only partially draw the string, but that did nothing to diminish the fact that the resulting arrow was far more powerful than any that had come before it.
The volume of Reishi gathering before the bowstring hadn't changed much, but its density had ascended to an entirely different level!
The massive crimson arrow, resembling a bolt of divine lightning, began to shrink in size as the string was drawn back. As the arrow grew smaller, the blood-red radiance it emitted became increasingly blinding.
Yoruichi felt a heavy pressure as her silhouette was bathed in the piercing crimson glow of the slender arrow.
Lilith's attack was dangerous...
Mortally dangerous!
Even she would be killed instantly by that arrow if she failed to dodge in time!
Soon, when the arrow had compressed to the thickness of a silk thread and its crimson light rivaled the sun itself, Lilith finally released the string.
The gossamer thread of blinding crimson light instantly pierced the sky, streaking directly toward Torashi's retreating back.
After firing the shot, Lilith was propelled upward, flipping several times in the air to absorb the momentum of the recoil before hanging motionless in the sky next to her Bankai, looking as though she felt not a shred of embarrassment about her earlier pose.
Whish!!!
The crimson light streaked across the heavens, overtaking the fleeing Torashi in the blink of an eye.
Torashi naturally felt the impending doom approaching, so he jerked his head back and let out a thunderous roar, snapping his fanged jaws open.
A massive amount of concentrated black Reiatsu gathered in the fierce tiger's maw and erupted toward the incoming arrow with a deafening howl.
But.
It was entirely futile.
The power of a hurried attack launched while fleeing could never compare to the power of a strike unleashed after maximum concentration.
The thin crimson thread flickered through the massive black beam and entered Torashi's mouth with pinpoint precision!
Silence.
Torashi, still in his beast form, froze in place with his jaws wide open.
A few seconds passed.
Pop!
The massive beast's head vanished in an explosion of gore!
Torashi's headless body collapsed to the ground, accompanied by a spray of blood and gray matter that scattered in every direction.
"Tch, even one of your younger sisters is this powerful."
Yoruichi shook her head, staring at Torashi's headless corpse in the distance. "Even I'm not entirely certain I could dodge that attack, let alone face it head-on."
Yeruashi said calmly, "There's no need for such modesty, Captain. Given your exceptional speed and reflexes, you should have at least a ninety percent chance of dodging if you're prepared, and no less than thirty percent in the event of a surprise attack—which is unlikely given the long charge time... but Lilith's Bankai has one very interesting feature: it can be used by someone other than its mistress."
Yeruashi paused and added nonchalantly, "I don't think you'd be able to dodge if that bow was fired by me, Captain."
"Yes, yes, I already realized you're stronger than me..."
Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "My esteemed Lieu-ten-ant Hatake."
She put a playful emphasis on the word 'lieutenant'.
Yeruashi couldn't help but chuckle.
Yoruichi watched the smiling Yeruashi for a moment before her expression suddenly turned grave. "Thank you for saving me... Lieutenant Hatake."
Yeruashi smiled back casually. "Why such formalities? It was simply my duty as the Lieutenant of the Second Division."
"You're right, formalities are unnecessary."
Yoruichi smirked and stretched lazily like a cat, instantly discarding her serious demeanor. "Ah, that battle was so exhausting. I wouldn't say no to a massage, Lieutenant Hatake."
"Not a chance."
Yeruashi grinned. "Let your personal guard handle that."
Soi Fon, standing nearby, couldn't help but smile as she watched Yeruashi and Yoruichi banter.
She was genuinely happy to see that Lieutenant Hatake and Yoruichi-sama could continue to talk and joke as they always had, despite everything that had happened today.
In the past, when she witnessed such interactions, Soi Fon always thought that Yoruichi-sama should pay more attention to her status and that Lieutenant Hatake should be more respectful to the esteemed Yoruichi-sama.
But now, that sense of discomfort had vanished, leaving only a feeling of perfect harmony.
"Alright, enough standing around."
"Let's finish this mission quickly."
Yeruashi looked into the distance, following the fleeing remnants of the Panther Clan.
Yoruichi turned with Yeruashi and took a leisurely step forward, vanishing instantly alongside Soi Fon.
The Panther Clan had completely lost their spirit and will to fight after losing their king and their strongest warriors. With Yoruichi, Soi Fon, and the others joining the pursuit, the barren plains were washed in rivers of blood and littered with the lifeless bodies of the feline clan.
Yeruashi, standing in the middle of the sky, slowly scanned the bloody scene.
The Crimson Plateau.
Perhaps it was the blood of countless generations of the Panther Clan, soaking this land for tens of thousands of years, that had given it this ominous, dark-red hue...
"It's coming to an end over there as well."
Yeruashi looked away from the dark-red earth and whispered softly, gazing in the direction of Rukongai.