The silence of the night was shattered by a blue beam streaking across the sky.
The Shinigami of the Patrol Guard quickly noticed the disturbance and reported it immediately, converging toward the scene.
That was exactly Nanatsuki's goal.
He wanted to blow things up—otherwise, this classified file might get buried by Central 46.
Too many cases were linked to that file. Most of the souls used to forge the Zanpakutō had been taken from Rukongai.
The Kasumioji Clan was part of Central 46, and if this ever went public, it could stir discontent among Shinigami born in Rukongai.
For the sake of the bigger picture, Central 46 might choose to protect the Kasumioji Clan at all costs.
But if the incident caused a public stir right from the start, it would be harder to cover it up. Most likely, they'd be forced to abandon the Kasumioji Clan.
—
Inside the classified records room—
The Kidō released by Nanatsuki was like a battle horn blaring into the air, signaling the start of an assault.
As the Kidō tore through the building, the guards could no longer stand by. They rushed in all at once and charged toward Nanatsuki.
At first, the guards pretended not to see Kyōraku Shunsui, trying to bypass him—only to be intercepted.
"Hey now, am I really that easy to ignore?" Kyōraku Shunsui blocked six of them alone, still having enough room to playfully tease his opponents.
Seeing that Nanatsuki had caused a major ruckus, he decided to buy time and wait for the Patrol Shinigami to arrive.
The guards, facing a captain-level opponent, weren't all that motivated. They were acting more out of obligation than conviction.
The clash intensified—blades rang endlessly—but neither side released their Zanpakutō.
Nanatsuki's opponent was just one person, but he was the squad leader of the guards and no pushover.
[Kasumioji Tora]
[Talent: B+]
[Reiatsu: Lv79]
[Reputation Level: Hostile]
This squad leader's Reiatsu was already approaching lieutenant-class level!
And he immediately released his Zanpakutō, putting tremendous pressure on Nanatsuki.
Kasumioji Tora swung his blade.
"Sleep... Yumemaku!"
Black mist flowed from the blade and quickly filled the records room.
Nanatsuki instantly held his breath to avoid inhaling it.
Even so, the mist still seeped into his skin.
The next moment, the world spun—his consciousness felt as if it had been yanked away.
When he came to, he was no longer in the records room.
Based on the release command and the Zanpakutō's name, Nanatsuki deduced, "This is... a dream?"
He pinched his arm. His sense of touch and pain were intact, and his mind was still sharp.
"A lucid dream. First layer," Kasumioji Tora emerged slowly from the mist.
"You'll drown in the dream I created... until you sleep forever."
Die in the dream, and your mind collapses. Once back in the real world, you'd be a husk.
Nanatsuki raised his index finger with his hand on the hilt.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai."
Bzzzt—
A bolt of lightning flashed and pierced straight through Kasumioji Tora's chest.
But no blood flowed from the wound. Through it, he could see the man's body was made of mist.
Nanatsuki frowned and tried pulling up Kasumioji Tora's status interface again—only to find he wasn't a viewable target.
Just an illusion, not the real Kasumioji Tora.
'Not the kind of opponent I'm good at dealing with…' Nanatsuki thought grimly.
He tried to sense Reiatsu around him, but the black mist heavily distorted perception. He couldn't sense anything clearly.
He could tell that Kasumioji Tora was stalling for time. If this dragged on, there might be more to the dream than he thought.
Nanatsuki flipped his Zanpakutō and stabbed it into the ground. The shadow beneath him surged outward, extending into the mist.
"Oh? Shadow manipulation, is it?"
Kasumioji Tora had been observing Katori Nanatsuki from the shadows.
"But this is a dream—I can create a world without light. Without shadows, what can you control?"
As he spoke, the already dim sky darkened further.
In an instant, everything fell into pitch-black darkness. Not a trace of light remained.
Suddenly—crackle—Nanatsuki's blade and body lit up with arcs of lightning.
In this lightless world, brightness returned.
Lightning is light.
The shadow reappeared and spread swiftly into the mist.
Found you.
When the shadow touched Kasumioji Tora, Nanatsuki's Reiatsu consumption surged—meaning he'd located his target.
He gripped the hilt and drew his blade from the ground like unsheathing a katana—activating Flowlight.
The ground was his scabbard.
As the blade left the ground, a blinding arc of lightning-infused sword light burst forward.
Raikiri: Flowlight!
The lightning-wrapped slash was upon him in an instant—Kasumioji Tora couldn't dodge!
Shhk—!
The blade of thunder pierced his chest. Lightning exploded inside him, bursting a hole out his back.
Kasumioji Tora collapsed to his knees as if all his strength had drained away.
Yet he smiled weakly.
"Koff— You're strong... But it's already too late..."
He fell forward.
Nanatsuki frowned sharply—another Kasumioji Tora emerged from the mist.
And this one... was also real.
"Second-layer dream: Repetition," Kasumioji Tora said with a chuckle.
His Zanpakutō's ability released in stages.
In the first dream layer, he could only manipulate the environment.
Once it entered the second layer, the dream began to repeat.
Until his Reiatsu ran dry, he couldn't truly be killed.
"I can die a hundred times—but you've only got one life!" Kasumioji Tora sneered and slashed toward Nanatsuki.
Clang!
Nanatsuki blocked the blow calmly, blade held horizontally.
Of course he didn't believe that nonsense. There had to be a limit to this power—Kasumioji Tora couldn't resurrect forever.
Nanatsuki's body temperature dropped sharply. Frost began forming on his eyebrows and hair.
His lips parted. A breath laced with ice crystals escaped slowly.
At the same time, a delicate snowflake-shaped frost bloomed on Kasumioji Tora's blade.
Then, the frost spread from his Zanpakutō—up his hands, arms, and across his entire body.
Frostfang Wild Dance!
A storm wind howled—then Kasumioji Tora's body exploded in a burst of icy shards!
His blood froze the instant it left his body.
Blood-colored and white shards twirled through the air—forming countless crimson ice blades flying in every direction.
Kasumioji Tora's body was torn apart, covered in thousands of tiny cuts, but not a single drop of blood flowed.
His blood had already frozen solid inside him.