Chapter: 45
The air inside Takeda's apartment grew heavier.
Renji sat frozen, his fingers gripping the glass of water, but he wasn't drinking. Choji stayed quiet, almost as if he knew what Takeda was about to say was important too important to interrupt.
Takeda leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His sharp eyes locked on Renji, the same way they did when he judged an opponent in battle.
"There's something you need to know," Takeda said quietly. "Something I didn't tell the others at the Bureau."
Takeda stood and walked toward the shelf in the corner of the room. He picked up a black, leather-bound book, old and cracked, as if it had survived centuries.
"This," Takeda said, holding it up, "is from the deepest archive in the Bureau. A forbidden record. I read it years ago. It was about a man or rather, a being called Januza."
Renji answered saying yes I know you've told me already the god-slayer
Takeda nodded slowly. "A god-slayer. A being who chose when and where he would be reborn. They say he could erase himself from existence entirely… and then return whenever he decided. No prison, no death, no fate could hold him."
Renji's breath grew shallow. His dream flashed again in his mind — the fire, the corpses, the version of himself fighting gods.
Takeda's voice deepened. "What bothers me, Renji, is this — if that soul is inside you, why hasn't it taken over? Why hasn't Januza simply claimed your body and erased you?"
Renji's eyes widened. "Claimed… my body?"
"Yes," Takeda said without hesitation. "Someone like him — someone who could choose his own reincarnation — wouldn't hesitate. And yet, instead of taking control, he is only showing you pieces. Fragments. He is letting you see, little by little, who he was."
Renji felt cold. He shook his head. "Why me? Why would someone like that… choose me?"
Takeda walked back, standing in front of Renji now, towering over him. His voice softened, but it carried a weight that made Renji's chest tighten.
"There's power in you, Renji," Takeda said. "Power that far surpasses any being I have ever encountered even myself."
Renji's breath caught. Takeda was one of the Eight Pillars one of the strongest hunters alive. Hearing him say that felt unreal.
Takeda crouched down so his eyes were level with Renji's. "I have fought monsters, gods, and men who thought themselves immortal. And still… whatever is inside you frightens me more than any of them."
Renji's heart pounded so loudly he could hear it in his ears.
Takeda placed a hand on his shoulder. "You must be careful, Renji. The world doesn't know what you carry inside. And if it wakes up completely… even I might not be able to stop it."
Renji felt like the room was closing in on him. The image of himself standing over the mountain of bodies burned again in his mind.
"I don't want to hurt anyone," Renji whispered, almost to himself.
Takeda's gaze softened again. "Then hold on to that. Because one day, you may have to fight that other part of you the part that remembers being Januza."
Renji looked down at his hands. They were still shaking. Choji finally spoke up, his voice calm but firm.
"Whatever he was, whatever power is inside you you're still Renji. And as long as I'm here, you won't face it alone."
Renji glanced at him, then at Takeda, who was still crouched in front of him. For a moment, there was silence but the kind that carried weight, like a promise.
The room felt quiet after Choji's words. Renji sat there, staring at his trembling hands. The silence was broken by Takeda's voice calm, but sharp enough to cut through Renji's fear.
"You said you don't want to hurt anyone," Takeda said. "Then you must learn to control this power before it controls you."
Renji looked up, confused. "Control it? How?"
Takeda stood, his presence filling the room. "I will train you myself."
Renji blinked. "You? But… you're—"
"One of the Eight Pillars," Takeda finished for him with a faint smile. "Yes, I am. And because of that, I'm the only one who can prepare you for what's coming. The only one who can push you to the edge without killing you."
Renji's chest tightened. "But… I'm just a normal guy. I don't know how to fight like you do. I don't even have mana."
Takeda shook his head. "That's not true. You have mana — more than any living being I've ever encountered. You just haven't learned to call it out yet. Right now, it leaks out in fragments. When that dam finally breaks, the flood will drown you if you aren't ready."
Renji clenched his fists. His mind replayed the dream — the fire, the bodies, the version of himself fighting gods. The thought of losing control terrified him.
Takeda's tone softened, but it was still commanding. "Meet me here tomorrow at dawn. From that moment forward, I will teach you how to fight — not as a hunter, not as a soldier — but as someone who carries the power of a god-slayer inside him."
Choji smirked faintly. "Guess we're waking up early then."
Renji hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Okay… I'll do it."
Takeda smiled for the first time that night, faint but approving. "Good. Then be ready because I will not hold back."
But with Renji's new determination came something much darker
Far away farther than the stars, beyond any hunter's reach ,there existed a place that no mortal had ever seen.
An endless void stretched out in every direction, black and cold, swallowing light itself. There was no sound, no wind, no ground just a vast, eternal darkness.
And then… two golden eyes opened.
They glowed faintly, cutting through the darkness like lanterns. Slowly, a smile formed on the figure's face.
A voice, deep and resonant, echoed through the void — though there was no one else there to hear it.
"…So," the voice said with a faint chuckle, "you've awakened… Januza."
The figure sat upon what looked like a throne made of obsidian, his form cloaked in shadows so thick they almost seemed alive. His fingers tapped idly against the armrest, sending ripples of dark energy across the void.
"I can feel it… your mana." His golden eyes narrowed, glowing brighter. "After all this time, you choose to return now? In a mortal shell, no less…"
The figure laughed softly, but it wasn't warm.. it was cold, almost amused.
"Good," he whispered to the empty darkness. "I was beginning to get bored."
Then the throne room itself began to shift, as if the darkness obeyed his will. Dozens ..no, hundreds of glowing, inhuman eyes appeared in the distance, bowing in reverence toward the throne.
"Prepare," the entity commanded, his smile widening. "We are going hunting"