After Las Noches was rebuilt, Cole set up a massive barrier around it.
Of course, it could not compare to the barrier of Seireitei.
That formation had not been created by a single person,
but by the combined efforts of countless people.
Besides, the area of Las Noches was nowhere near as large as Seireitei—
not even one ten-thousandth of its size.
Within this more modest scope, vast amounts of spiritual power were absorbed into Las Noches and gathered at its center, forming a spirit pool.
The spiritual density there…
Was even greater than that of the Soul King Palace.
The only problem was that there was too little of it.
Every night, all the spiritual power accumulated during the day would be completely drained by Cole.
Thinking this, Cole licked his lips and pressed his hand to the surface of the blue spirit pool.
In an instant, the pool began to boil.
Large quantities of tangible blue spirit energy surged madly into his body.
A dozen seconds later,
The blue pool had vanished.
Yet the spiritual power he'd absorbed in those few seconds surpassed the energy contained in ten Seireitei buildings.
"Not bad… but this barrier still needs to be expanded. At the very least, I want it to cover half of Seireitei's range. I need to get that done within a month…"
Cole muttered as he lifted his hand away.
He still was not satisfied with the amount of spiritual power.
But he also knew this was not something that could be solved in a short time.
Seireitei had taken thousands of years to draw together the Soul Society's power into a single point.
If Las Noches wanted to reach that level, it would take at least several years even at the fastest pace.
With that thought, Cole lightly tapped his foot.
Sonido (Sound Step) activated, black-red reiatsu flared out, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
Las Noches.
Inside a certain palace.
Harribel, dressed in a white maid outfit and holding a broom, stood there with a dark expression, staring at Unohana lying on the bed.
"Why am I the one doing this kind of thing!?"
A few days ago, that infuriating human had dragged her into this palace without so much as asking.
He had announced that she would be Unohana's maid.
Naturally, she refused.
So that human had made a bet with her:
If she could defeat Unohana, she would not have to be a maid.
Under Cole's oppressive "persuasion," she had had no choice but to agree.
Even so—
She had never believed she would lose to Unohana.
A woman whose legs trembled just from walking…
How could someone like that defeat a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow like her?
So she'd fought Unohana.
The result—
Even after releasing Resurrección and conjuring a torrent almost like an ocean,
She had still nearly been hacked to death by a shame-and-anger-fueled Unohana.
In the end, Cole had had to step in and pull her back from the brink.
The more she thought about it, the angrier Harribel became.
She practically ground her silver teeth to powder as she glared at Unohana on the bed—
Pale skin covered in bruises, cheeks flushed, body completely bare.
"Why did I lose to a woman like this!?"
For the past few days, Harribel had been staying in the neighboring palace.
Almost every night, she could hear Unohana begging for mercy.
So strong—
Yet not a shred of a strong person's dignity.
"And they call her his 'mama'… How could human relationships be that outrageous?"
Harribel cursed silently, but still picked up a wet towel, cheeks faintly reddened, and began to wipe Unohana's body.
Before long, Cole's figure flashed into the room.
He took in the spring-like scene before him and couldn't help raising an eyebrow with a smile.
"Harribel, looks like you're adapting pretty well. Keep it up and maybe you'll become Las Noches' head maid."
Harribel clenched her teeth in fury and gave him a cold glare.
But instead of responding to that line, she forced out,
"Lord Cole!"
"Why won't you let me join the sparring!?"
What bothered her even more than serving Unohana—
Was how Cole had been training Grimmjow and Nnoitra.
Over these days, she had watched their growth with her own eyes.
And felt nothing but envy, jealousy, and hatred.
They had already evolved to the highest form, Vasto Lorde.
At that level, every bit of growth was painfully difficult.
A strong person like Cole personally offering to be a sparring partner—
Not just in Hueco Mundo.
It was something you would never see even if you searched all three worlds.
If Grimmjow and Nnoitra were allowed to keep growing like this, then her position as the Tres Espada would be in danger.
When that happened, Nnoitra would replace her as the new Tres Espada.
And that man despised female Hollows more than anyone.
Just imagining that outcome, Harribel could in no way accept it.
Cole raised an eyebrow, amused, as he looked at her.
"So what you're saying is… you also want to spar with me?"
Harribel's face flushed bright red.
Part of her wanted to deny it,
But in the end, her hunger for power won out.
The aloof expression she usually wore vanished.
She nodded, somewhat ashamed.
"…Mm."
The corner of Cole's mouth curved upward.
"In that case, you'd better follow the maid rules properly. First of all, what do you call me when you see me?"
Thinking of those so-called maid rules, Harribel's face turned as red as a ripe apple.
She glared at Cole in humiliation, then finally bit down on her lower lip and whispered,
"Ma…ster…"
"Right here."
Cole cheerfully answered, clearly in high spirits.
He had finally found Harribel's weak point.
Or rather, the weak point of all Hollows.
Because Hollows had almost no human ethics or morals,
They did whatever they pleased without restraint.
But there was one thing they all longed for.
Strength.
Take Nnoitra, for example.
The reason he despised female Hollows was simply because they were generally weaker.
Being weak—
Was the original sin in Hueco Mundo.
Any Hollow's thirst for power was beyond words.
They would even willingly die for it.
Thinking this, Cole stretched lazily, then glanced over at Unohana on the bed with a smile.
"Hana-nee, you're not getting up?"
Unohana had already woken up.
Hearing that, she propped herself up on her stomach, resting her chin on her hands so that her curves pressed down into the sheets.
"What, are we going to fight?"
Though "doing it" with Cole was plenty enjoyable,
She still longed for those blood-soaked battles.
Only pain and blood could truly bring her joy.
Over the last few days, Cole had been busy every day,
So their battles had been put off for a while.
"Yeah. I happen to have some time today."
Cole nodded, stretching again.
"Get dressed. Let's go outside Las Noches and have a good, proper fight."
To Unohana, a bloody battle was like a drug.
Once she started, it was hard to stop.
Cole did not mind sparring with her every now and then.
After all, any injuries they suffered could be healed in a short time.
Heat flickered in Unohana's eyes as she licked her lips.
"I understand."
She turned to look at Harribel.
The latter looked annoyed, but still did what a maid was supposed to do, obediently going to the wardrobe to fetch clothes for Unohana.
Once Unohana was dressed, she left the palace with her cheeks still faintly flushed.
"Let's go, Cole."
Just thinking about the long-awaited battle to come made it hard for her to control her own body.
This body was craving pain and blood.
Cole did not rush out after her.
Instead, he looked over at Harribel.
"Harribel, you're coming too. Didn't you say you wanted to fight with me? Then you definitely can't miss this fight."
Harribel immediately tensed up.
"Go for what!? I'm not doing that kind of thing with you."
After serving as their maid for a few days now,
She naturally knew what those two meant by "fighting" half the time.
It was basically just the human method of reproduction.
And she had no desire to use her body to seduce or please humans and Shinigami.
Cole was left speechless.
"What are you imagining? I mean a pure battle. If you don't want to come, then forget it."
His sparring with Starrk, Grimmjow, and Nnoitra had all been pulled punches.
He never inflicted truly fatal wounds on them.
But fighting Unohana was different.
Inside her bankai domain, even a casual slash was a fatal wound.
And in that domain, those wounds would rapidly regenerate.
Fighting there for a single day had more effect than an entire month's battle outside.
Harribel hesitated, but eventually nodded.
She had figured it out.
If Cole really wanted to force something on her,
She simply did not have the power to resist.
So maybe, this time, when he said "battle," he really did mean a pure fight.
And so—
The three left Las Noches behind.
They came to the endless white sands.
There, Unohana drew her zanpakuto, unleashing her reiatsu without restraint as she swung and shouted:
"Bankai!!!"
"Minazuki (All Things End)!!!"
In an instant, crimson light burst outward.
A pool of blood expanded, along with a vast red domain, forming a world of blood.
The moment Harribel was enveloped by it,
She was assaulted by the overpowering stench of blood.
Even the very space itself made her uneasy.
She could not help but look around,
And finally her gaze locked onto Unohana, whose bloodlust was laid bare, now like some demon king of slaughter.
"Seriously… is this really the same woman as before?"
Harribel's pupils contracted.
Her eyes lost focus.
Even when Unohana had fought her before, she had never shown this kind of form.
Now, Unohana placed her hand on her blade.
No one could tell whether the blood flowing down the steel came from her hand or from the blade itself.
It ran down like a spring, forming a whip of blood that stretched out—
And linked the tip of the blade to the blood pool underfoot.
Seeing this, Harribel's unease only deepened.
The woman before her—
Had become a demon of blood in an instant.
"Is it just an awful appearance… or has she truly changed…"
As Harribel muttered to herself, a flash of blood-red light streaked across Unohana's eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, she charged forward in a frenzy.
"Cole-kun!!!"
Her voice was almost pathological in its fervor.
With the blood-drenched blade in her hands, she brought it down hard on Cole.
Cole did not bully her by using superior reiatsu.
He deliberately suppressed his spiritual pressure to match hers, then swung his golden staff.
Boom!!!
A massive shockwave exploded outward.
The blood pool beneath their feet surged into towering waves,
Jets of blood leaping into the air before crashing back down around the edges.
Harribel had nowhere to dodge.
Her maid outfit was drenched red in an instant.
But she barely noticed.
She could only stare in shock at the two combatants.
"These two are… insane!?"
Each sword stroke and staff swing followed exquisite trajectories,
Crashing mercilessly into the other's body.
No one looking on would ever mistake them for companions.
They looked more like mortal enemies locked in a death struggle.
In only a few seconds of fighting,
Both of them had already accumulated numerous wounds.
Blood sprayed everywhere, adding yet more crimson to the blood pool.
One of Cole's swings sent Unohana flying with a thunderous crash.
She slammed into the edge of the blood pool.
Her slender, pale arm twisted out of shape, white bone protruding through the torn flesh.
But in the instant before she was sent flying, she had willingly traded injury for injury,
Carving a new gash across Cole's face.
Cole wiped the blood from his cheek and laughed.
"Hana-nee, your swordsmanship's improved. As expected of a once-notorious villain—your progress is terrifying."
He had used every cheat at his disposal to catch up to Unohana.
But by fighting him, she had gone even further,
Her swordsmanship reaching the level of true godlike mastery.
A look of pure joy spread across Unohana's face.
She let out a soft moan of pleasure, as if reveling in the pain,
Her cheeks flushed as she gazed at Cole.
"Cole-kun, this is nothing. You can go even harder, right?"
"Give me wounds that hurt even more."
With that crazed, feverish declaration,
She charged again without regard for her twisted arm, blade in hand.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
The ringing of clashing steel was painfully sharp,
Like the tumult of armor and blades on a battlefield.
With every impact, fresh blood burst from their bodies.
It was as if they had become human-shaped blood machines.
Yet neither of them uttered a single complaint.
On the contrary, both wore frenzied smiles.
It was Harribel, watching from the side, who showed fear,
Unconsciously backing away as she cried out,
"Are you two out of your minds!? What's the point of fighting like this? Aren't you afraid you'll both die!?"
Even as a Hollow born from human malice,
Even with all her experience in Hueco Mundo's brutal law of the jungle,
She could not help but feel fear at their madness.
What was the point of this flesh-and-blood slaughter?
It was nothing but torture.
Yet those two looked like they were enjoying every second of it.
Pain was nothing more than a seasoning for their battle.
Broken arms, severed limbs, shattered shoulders—
Were treated like trivial scratches.
In that moment, Harribel even had the urge to run.
This was no "sparring" or "training."
It was two lunatics going berserk.
Hearing her voice, Cole glanced her way and called out with a smile,
"Harribel, it's too late to run now. In this space, if you don't get hurt, your body will be over-healed into bare bone and you'll end up as a pile of skulls. Killing and getting hurt is the main theme here."
As he spoke, Unohana's blade carved another line across his chest, blood spraying out.
He ignored it completely, casually swinging his staff in response.
Harribel's heart pounded.
She hurriedly lowered her gaze to look at her own body—
And instantly sucked in a sharp breath.
"T-This is my body…?"
Her originally tan, full curves had turned chalk white without her even noticing.
Her ribs were clearly visible beneath the skin.
It was like she was turning into a skeleton.
Thinking of what Cole had said about "over-healing," Harribel swallowed hard.
She immediately swung her sword and slashed her own arm.
Blood sprayed.
The skeletal transformation slowed down.
But the pain was all too real.
Little by little, a terrifying thought rose in Harribel's mind.
We're… going to keep fighting like this?
How far does this go?
Does someone have to die?
A few minutes later, Harribel's body had been over-healed again.
Her entire arm had turned to exposed white bone.
After cursing Cole and Unohana in her heart countless times,
She finally gritted her teeth, grabbed her sword, and charged into the fray.
"Damn human!!!"
"Damn Shinigami!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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