Crimson light bathed the earth, a blood-marsh vista enveloping a kilometer radius around the two combatants.
Saito's tachi transformed into a blade entirely forged of blood.
It appeared even more delicate and fragile than its Shikai form.
Faintly, one could trace the flow of blood within it.
Yhwach maintained his composed demeanor, his cold gaze fixed on Saito's blade, a trace of disdain in his tone. "Such a small thing is a Bankai...?"
"And not only its form, but your Reiatsu hasn't even increased much?"
Though still unfamiliar with the Shinigami's ultimate weapon called Bankai, Yhwach, having defeated the combined Bankai of three captains, understood it as a sublimation of a Shinigami's soul.
The stronger the Shinigami, the more powerful their Bankai.
Judging by the others, each captain's Reiatsu had surged five to ten times upon activating Bankai.
But this child...
Yhwach's brow furrowed.
Something was amiss.
"That's because you lack vision, you bastard," Saito said with a low chuckle, unusually calm.
She leveled her blood blade forward, her tone teasing. "But you're not the first to say that."
"Hm?" Yhwach's gaze grew more puzzled.
Strange.
Though he sensed no significant spike in Reiatsu, he distinctly felt a subtle yet real threat to his life.
What was happening?
Saito stepped forward, her small feet in tabi socks and geta sandals treading the increasingly muddy crimson marsh, advancing toward Yhwach with a hint of glee in her voice.
"Shukyakukyōgi Ketsurasai is a very dangerous Bankai."
"Anyone within its range, marked as my 'prey,' is targeted."
"To kill that prey, I offer 'sacrifices' to the Ketsurasai... to gain power."
"The stronger the opponent, the greater the power gained through sacrifice."
"Until I either kill the prey and reclaim the 'sacrifice,' or die at their hands."
As she spoke, Saito reached out, touching the hollow socket beneath her black eyepatch.
That eye was lost in a failed Bankai battle long ago.
But this time, she wouldn't lose.
Victory or death.
Those were the only options.
Saito raised her delicate face, a manic grin spreading across it.
Yhwach froze, his brow knitting as he studied the petite yet ferocious girl.
"First, I offer a finger."
Before he could process her words, Saito's calm voice fell.
"Splurt!"
A gust swept through, a thin stream of blood coiling around her slender left pinky, shredding it like a whirlwind, obliterating flesh and bone in an instant.
As the limb vanished, the blood that destroyed her finger reformed, solidifying into a vivid red replica.
Saito's manic grin widened, her gaze locked on Yhwach.
In that moment, the dim Reiatsu glow around her erupted into a dazzling brilliance, twisting like smoke before snapping taut, swelling several times over in a single second.
"This...?!" Yhwach's eyes widened, sensing the shift.
Before he could react, Saito stepped forward.
"Swish-"
Her body moved like a gale, swift as lightning.
Her blade's icy light outpaced the eye, slashing at his neck from the side.
Yhwach's pupils darted, a beat too slow, his body reacting on instinct to swing his reishi sword.
So fast.
The Ketsurasai and the cross blade clashed briefly, their fleeting collision leaving a swelling white void in the air, rumbling like muffled thunder.
"It's not over!" Saito declared, as if returning all the pressure Yhwach had inflicted on her. The explosive speed from sacrificing a finger seemed boundless, her petite frame amplifying her agility. She circled Yhwach like a phantom, her blade strikes accelerating, dozens of clashes blending into a single sound.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But speed alone was useless.
The longer the exchange dragged on, the more composed Yhwach became against Saito's lightning-fast strikes.
After parrying dozens of blows, he was certain.
Her blade was merely 'fast.'
If its strength was only this, even a direct hit would likely do no real damage.
But this was just the beginning.
"Next, an entire arm!"
As Saito's voice fell, her empty left arm was engulfed by a crimson blood stream, shattering into fragments like dust, exploding in a burst.
Her expression remained steely, teeth clenched, not a sound escaping.
The moment the 'sacrifice' was offered, her blood blade swung with a heavy, whistling roar, like a boulder plummeting from the sky.
Yhwach, caught off guard, merely raised his cross blade to block as before.
Saito's lips curled.
The next moment, the blood blade crashed against his weapon with unrelenting force, emitting a deep, muffled thud.
Splurt!
The blade sliced through, its power piercing.
A white shockwave surged along the reishi sword. Yhwach, ever composed, was hurled like a stone, tumbling through the air in an arc.
He struggled to control his body, his eyes widening.
This strength...?!
Saito gave him no pause.
Her body shot forward, faster still, her purple twin tails stretched into parallel lines. Her blood-formed left arm reached out, seizing his collar. Her seemingly small frame spun, unleashing terrifying force, hurling Yhwach's much taller body toward the ground with a piercing whistle.
Boom!
In a deafening explosion, massive chunks of earth upheaved as the black meteor crashed, shockwaves rippling outward, carrying dust and air in their wake.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Is this all you've got, Yhwach?!"
Saito's voice roared as her feet stomped the air, as if striking an invisible platform, propelling her toward the chasm with the recoil. Her blood-forged blade seemed to stretch longer.
But as she charged toward the ground, a brilliant blue glow erupted from the dust, bursting with dazzling light.
"Sankt Bogen!"
A massive bow, fit for a giant, formed in the blink of an eye within the smog. Arrows as large as siege bolts wove together, their tips locked on Saito.
"Twang!"
The string vibrated, and the arrows flew.
Saito's single eye flashed with grim focus, her petite frame darting like lightning through the empty sky.
Yet, the giant bolts tracked her soul with uncanny precision, drifting at a speed just beyond hers, never losing their mark.
At the last moment, Saito's pupils contracted, and she flung her captain's haori toward the arrows.
Boom!
An explosion roared, blue mist engulfing the sky where Saito had been.
Yhwach stood still, watching her land, now at a distance.
After a few seconds of silence, he spoke slowly: "As expected."
"Huh?" Saito wiped a faint blood streak from her cheek, squinting at him and spitting blood onto the ground. "What's 'as expected'?"
Yhwach said calmly, "You're being very careful not to get injured again, aren't you?"
"..."
"What's that supposed to mean? I don't get it."
Saito's voice grew colder, a dull pressure tightening in her chest.
Yhwach continued, "I've been thinking since earlier. Your Bankai is far too powerful."
"Sacrificing just a finger made your strength rival your comrades' full Shikai."
"Sacrificing an arm pushed your Reiatsu to a level infinitely close to tier-1 reiatsu."
"By normal logic, the blood loss from losing an arm should have you dizzy, on the verge of collapse, or at least off-balance."
"But you show none of that."
"It's as if the sacrifices haven't harmed you at all."
"And your Shikai ability... it's blood manipulation, correct?"
Saito realized her ruse had been seen through.
Without hesitation, her petite form shot forward, slashing her blade toward Yhwach.
"Heilig Pfeil!"
An blue holy chant domain blanketed her vision, unleashing a curtain of arrow rain, its blinding glow nearly unapproachable.
Saito's blood blade danced into an impenetrable ring, clashing with the light arrows in a rapid series of metallic clinks. She charged straight into Yhwach's domain, desperate to land a single strike.
But her speed was noticeably slower.
Yhwach's voice pressed on: "Everything happening to you proves one thing. Great power comes with a cost beyond imagination."
"You're not free of that cost."
"You've merely used the blood that should've spilled to mask it."
"To make me think you're still at your peak."
"To maintain this illusion, you can't afford even a single new wound, lest the facade crumbles."
"In truth, you're already gravely wounded, aren't you?"
As his words fell, the clash of metal abruptly ceased.
Saito broke through, reaching Yhwach.
Her blood blade swung.
"So what?!"
The glow in her single eye blazed, terrifyingly bright, without a shred of hesitation.
Her blade, brimming with immense force, carved a crimson arc, ringing through the air.
Yhwach merely raised his reishi sword, gazing at her calmly.
"Heilig Pfeil."
Their blades clashed, the brief pause slowing Saito's movements by a fraction.
In that fleeting gap, dozens of glowing arrows embedded in the ground shattered, twisting into clusters that stabbed toward Saito.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!
Sharp Reishi chains pierced her limbs in her stunned gaze.
The sudden wounds caused her solidified left arm to waver, flowing as if about to dissolve.
As Yhwach had said, Shukyakukyōgi Ketsurasai was a Bankai that traded grievous self-harm for power.
But, as Saito herself had declared...
Blood poured from her wounds, her tongue sliding over her lips as she grinned again.
So what?
"Left leg."
With absolute resolve, she made her all-in choice. Her slender left leg exploded into fragments.
Her surging Reiatsu shattered the tier-1 barrier, claiming power among the Soul Society's elite.
The Heilig Pfeil, like a shackle, held for only a moment before bursting into Reishi dust.
Yhwach's eyes widened.
Saito's speed surpassed her previous peak, faster than ever.
"Clang!"
Her blade sliced through the air, its crimson trail beyond vision's capture, striking Yhwach's shoulder before his cross blade could defend, leaving a dark red gash.
Saito's blood-formed arm and leg powered forward, her roar piercing. "I swore long ago-"
"Even if I die, it'll be in the grandest battle this world has seen!"
Her blade pressed forward with terrifying force, pushing Yhwach back, its tip lodged in his shoulder, the metal's sting vivid.
Yhwach's eyes widened, his pupils reflecting Saito's face for the first time.
It was the first wound he'd ever received.
"Right leg!"
At the brink of life's limit, her other leg disintegrated, becoming pure power.
Her blade, embedded in Yhwach's shoulder, tore downward, ripping a gruesome wound, continuing its descent.
"Splurt!"
An arm was severed at the shoulder, falling to the ground.
The searing pain twisted Yhwach's face.
Such... humiliation?!
In this moment, Saito's Reiatsu rivaled even Yamamoto.
But the cost...
The 'sacrifice' left her unable to maintain even basic blood manipulation.
Her blood-formed right leg stepped forward, Saito swinging her blade with all her might, aiming for Yhwach's neck.
But Yhwach stood still.
Her right leg collapsed.
Then her left leg, her left arm.
Saito's pupils, in the moment of her final swing, turned a hollow white, her consciousness fading.
"Thud." She crumpled to the ground.
Yhwach gazed at her silently.
After a long pause, he spoke coldly: "Shinigami. What did you pour everything into?"
At his voice, perhaps a final spark of life, Saito's mind flashed with a carousel of endless, dull battles.
Killing, killing, killing...
Thrilling battles, tedious ones.
After countless years, her memory froze on a blurry figure's back.
She struggled to speak, blood surging from her mouth, her lips still smiling, for reasons unknown.
Her voice was faint, barely audible: "...Who knows."
Yhwach loomed over her, raising his blade calmly. "You were indeed the strongest of them."
But before his blade could fall, a lighthearted voice rang out behind him.
Both Yhwach and Saito turned toward the sound.
A lean young man stood atop a roof, waving at the fallen girl, a smile on his face.
At his feet lay three Quincy corpses.
Makoto's tone was as flippant as ever: "Hey, Saito. I'm here to save you."
***
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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