As I was warming up, watching the Great Hollow plummet into Hell, someone grabbed my ankle.
Since there was only one person left in this place to begin with, I knew exactly who it was.
"Let go. I need to crush that bastard before he wreaks havoc in Hell."
"Who... just who... are you...?"
"That's what you're curious about?"
Of all the things to wonder.
I scratched my head, thinking for a moment before offering the most appropriate answer.
"You'll find out naturally later on."
I let out a smirk as I spoke. Genryusai... Ah, he doesn't go by that yet. Anyway, Yamamoto stared at me with his mouth tightly shut.
No matter how he looks at me with that expression, I have no intention of telling him. He'll find out anyway once he dies, and knowing now wouldn't do him any good.
This isn't hypocrisy; I mean it.
Yamamoto is destined to die at the hands of Yhwach during the Thousand-Year Blood War. And then, he will fall into Hell.
Living a long life and committing various sins might be a cause, but the primary reason is that his Spiritual Rank is too high.
Just like Hozuki from the old days.
Though things have improved since the creation of the Six Realms of Reincarnation, this is a fundamental issue with the world itself that the cycle cannot fix.
Of course, I could solve it by inspecting everyone at birth and killing off anyone whose Spiritual Rank is above a certain level to force them back into reincarnation.
But f*ck, then what was the point of making the world a decent place to live in?
That's just an instant fast-track to a dystopia.
If I pulled that kind of shit in the name of 'management,' even the Soul King would lose his patience, break his seal, and come charging out.
While I was sighing and scratching my head, Yamamoto looked at me with a stunned face.
"What do you mean by that...?"
"It's just how it is. Don't try to know the truth now; ignorance is bliss."
Yamamoto is the guy who will eventually establish the Gotei 13 and spend a thousand years playing SimCity with the Soul Society.
I can't have the future Captain-Commander of the 1st Division falling into a criminal spiral because of one word from me.
I mean, who would be happy to hear 'I looked at your face and realized you're going to Hell when you die'?
Especially if it isn't coming from some fake cult leader, but the actual Nether King who crawled up from Hell itself.
If I were him, I'd think 'I'm going to Hell anyway, might as well live however the f*ck I want,' and go on a total rampage before kicking the bucket.
Then I'd have to clean up that mess too. There's no way I'm crazy enough to tell him that.
With those thoughts in mind, I glanced toward the Hell Gate. It was flickering as if protesting, demanding I come back inside before it shut.
If I stayed here any longer, I'd have to go through the trouble of opening that cool door all over again. I hurriedly wrapped up the conversation.
"Anyway, I'm off. Oh, and a guy with a weird fringe is going to show up here soon. Tell him the guy he's looking for is doing fine and not to worry. He'll understand if you just say that."
Without waiting for a response, I stepped through the Hell Gate just before it slammed shut.
Whew, almost got locked out of my own house.
I brushed the dust off my clothes and smirked at the massive Hollow looking up at me from below.
"What are you staring at, you bastard? Acting like you did nothing wrong."
The Soul Society might be different, but this is my territory.
It's a place filled with those who deserve to die and those who don't die easily—just like you.
"So, let's go all out."
Grinning, I kicked off the air, accelerating through the void to drive my fist into the Hollow's head.
The Hollow, caught off guard by the sudden situation, had its head caved in and died instantly.
And not long after, it came back to life.
"Ah, for your information, dying here doesn't mean you're actually dead. So don't expect a quick end."
Welcome. First time in Hell?
Smiling brightly, I raised my fist once more.
* * *
How do you kill an immortal monster that revives no matter how many times you slay it?
Cast a curse that prevents recovery? Surround it with hundreds of barriers to seal it forever?
No, wrong.
The answer is to keep killing it until it stays dead.
"Right, this makes exactly one thousand."
■■――….
"Where do you think you're going? Come here. I'll send you off comfortably."
I grabbed the Hollow as it tried to crawl away and delivered a 'Serious Flick' to its head.
Naturally, the Hollow's skull burst like a watermelon, and its physical size shrank compared to before.
It wasn't that its body was physically breaking down into smaller parts. I'm not some psychopathic freak who categorizes living beings like that.
It was simply that its accumulated Spiritual Power decreased every time it died, causing its physical mass to naturally diminish.
When I first saw it, it moved like a living mountain range, but after dying a thousand times, it was barely the size of a local hill.
"Disappointing."
I thought I'd have some fun since it was quite large at first, but after a few hits, it just kept keeling over.
Weak... No, it's not that he's weak; it's that I'm too strong.
"Sigh..."
I had forgotten about it while playing SimCity and preparing Hell Season 1 and 2, but the moment I had to start throwing punches again, *that guy* came looking for me without an invitation.
Yes—emptiness and futility.
As that agonizing sensation suddenly washed over me, I sprawled out on the corpse of the dead Hollow.
My sense of reality drifted away.
It felt as if the 'me' standing here wasn't actually me.
Everything felt like a staged play. This Hollow, Hell, the Soul Society—all of it.
"Ah... here we go again..."
Because I was too strong, everything was boring. No matter how difficult the problem, a bit of strength usually solved most of it.
And if strength didn't solve a problem, it was probably just because there wasn't enough strength involved.
In that sense, I was always right. Because I was stronger than anyone.
God damn the solitude of the powerful.
I let out a long sigh and went limp, overwhelmed by the random thoughts and the sudden drain of motivation.
"This is exactly why I don't fight..."
I should have just left it to the Ten Kings and rested at the Nether King Palace...
"Esh."
...No. If I had stayed at the palace, Gozu would have treated me like trash again.
It's strange. I'm pretty sure I left out the 'ego' part when I made them, so how can they treat a perfectly fine living person like garbage?
Bah, fine. They must be broken.
I decided to think of it that way.
Because if they weren't broken, it would mean I really was living like human trash.
Anyway...
"It should be reviving soon."
Stretching and yawning atop the Hollow's head, I smacked my lips and lightly tapped the creature's limp skull.
But whether it was actually dead or not, there was no reaction even after several taps.
"Is it really dead?"
I lifted its arm and dropped it, pushed the body with my foot, but still, no reaction.
"Guess it finally died."
I let out a deep sigh, stepped off the Hollow, and pretended to head back toward the Nether King Palace.
Then, *whoosh*—I spun around instantly.
The distance between the Hollow and me felt like it had widened slightly.
"Hmm."
Turning my back again, I pretended to walk away and then suddenly looked back once more.
The distance was definitely greater than before. And I hadn't moved a single step.
I walked back to the Hollow and began tapping its head with my hand. Gradually increasing the force—from light taps to heavy thuds, and then until a loud *CRACK* echoed. Finally unable to bear it, the Hollow twisted its body to dodge my hand.
"I knew you were alive."
The Hollow tried to scramble to its feet in sheer terror, but my fist was faster, shattering its head once again.
"Good grief..."
At this point, I was just bullying a kid. Realizing how pathetic this was, I dragged the dead Hollow out of Hell.
When I ascended back to the Soul Society, Ichibe and Nimaiya found me as if they had sensed me immediately.
Actually, it wasn't my presence they sensed, but...
"Are you here for this guy?"
I tossed the limp Hollow in front of them, and Nimaiya's complexion instantly paled.
"Oh... sheeet... how many times did you kill him-go...?"
"About a thousand. I tenderized him enough so that you can drop him anywhere in the Soul Society or Hueco Mundo without an issue."
The whole point of dragging him into Hell was for the balance of the Three Worlds. To make him spit out the souls he'd devoured over 900,000 years, the only way was to kill him repeatedly in Hell.
"It should be fine to kill him for good here now. Do whatever you want. I'm having an existential crisis, I can't do this anymore."
People could call me irresponsible, and I wouldn't have an excuse.
But isn't it better to be a little irresponsible than to hit a wall and quit everything saying it's all futile?
As I tossed the Hollow to them, Nimaiya scratched his cheek with a grimace while Ichibe stared at me with that same unchanging expression.
"Do you feel empty?"
"If you're going to start talking nonsense like the Soul King, just don't."
I had become too strong.
I had lived too long.
Like I said before, it would have been better if I had been sealed back then and woken up after a million years had passed.
At least then I wouldn't be feeling this sense of déjà vu about everything, struggling with this void and boredom.
"No need to lecture me. I know it all even if you don't say a word."
"Hmm... I am merely speaking out of concern. If, by any one-in-a-million chance, you were to lose your mind... the Three Worlds would reach their end that very day."
"You're basically saying 'be mindful of your position and power.' I told you, I know."
"Ho-ho, I told you, it's not advice or a warning—it's concern!"
This monk is playing word games with me.
Annoyed, I smacked his head once more, making his lump even bigger.
"What are you looking at, you bastard?"
"Ha, haha! ME didn't say anything-gu..."
"You, brat. Just your way of speaking pisses me off."
This son of a bitch, I taught him English and he uses it however the f*ck he wants. No satisfaction in teaching him at all.
"Oh Noooo!!"
Wait.
"O...oo?"
"Satisfaction in teaching?"
Ah.
Right, this is it.
A sudden idea struck me, and as a grin spread across my face, Nimaiya—who had been reading my mood—gave an awkward laugh.
"What are you laughing at, you joke of a man?"
"Ouch!!?"
'Ouch' my ass.
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