Yusuke couldn't dodge in time and had to block forcefully with his arms.
With a bang, he was knocked back several steps, a new bruise appearing on his arm.
"These guys have such strong power and defense!" he exclaimed, shaking his numb hand.
"Mr. Detective! Don't fight them head-on, their strength comes from constantly replenishing Blanks!" Shinobu Kocho shouted a reminder from behind.
Shinobu drew Yoriitomusume from her waist. Relying on her exquisite swordsmanship and Hoho, she nimbly wove through the samurai's siege.
"Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!!"
Utilizing her high-speed movement, she found an opening in these heavily armored samurai and pierced one's right eye with her sword.
Unfortunately, although the samurai let out a heart-wrenching scream, he immediately opened his mouth wide and violently inhaled two Blanks floating nearby.
In a mere instant, the bloody hole pierced by Shinobu had completely healed.
"Hahahaha! It's useless! In this domain where the Valley of Screams overlaps with the World of the Living, our Ryudoji clan is invincible!"
Ganryu Ryudoji laughed arrogantly.
He didn't even plan to strike personally, merely watching coldly as his subordinates pushed these uninvited guests into a corner.
"Dogs of the Seireitei! And that wild brat who popped out of nowhere, just obediently become the stepping stones for our revenge!"
The enemies had the advantage in numbers, and they could continuously absorb Blanks to recover their injuries and stamina.
Without being able to use Kido and Zanpakuto, relying solely on sword techniques effective against ordinary enemies yielded very little result.
"Damn it! How are we supposed to fight this?!" Yusuke continuously dodged the enemies' staff strikes, his heart filled with shock. 'Are these guys immortal?'
If this war of attrition continued, they would eventually be dragged down.
Clang—!
"Roar, Kakudatsu."
Ganryu, who had been mocking Yusuke, suddenly heard a whisper full of malice from his side.
He whipped his head around, as if seeing the most unbelievable and terrifying sight in the world.
A violent, ferocious black-and-red Spiritual Pressure slash, brimming with endless malice, was howling toward him!
Boom!!!
This Spiritual Pressure was so tyrannical that it even formed a small Spiritual Pressure storm in the air.
That black-and-red Spiritual Pressure tore through the sky. The Blanks floating in the air were instantly burned into nothingness by that pure tyranny the moment they touched the black-and-red flames!
At the same time, it forced back the Ryudoji samurai who were constantly pressuring Yusuke and Shinobu.
The one who swung this blade was none other than Asuka, standing not far away, his entire body radiating a fierce fighting spirit.
"Releasing a Zanpakuto?! Are you crazy!" Ganryu found it inconceivable, subconsciously taking a half-step back. "In this space, a Soul Reaper's Spiritual Pressure should be completely sealed! How could you perform a Shikai without any hindrance?"
Asuka ignored Ganryu's shock.
Swish!
His figure left a black-and-red afterimage in place, and the sound of tearing air echoed from all directions.
"Watch out!"
The Ryudoji samurai who had just been besieging Yusuke only heard Ganryu's exclamation by his ear.
Before he could react, a fatal chill enveloped his entire body.
Slash—!
Kakudatsu, burning with black-and-red Spiritual Pressure, effortlessly tore through the heavy armor the samurai was so proud of, like a hot knife through butter.
Cleaving in from the left shoulder and out through the right waist.
The samurai didn't even feel any pain before seeing the world before his eyes suddenly tilt.
Then, he watched helplessly as his lower half remained standing in place, while his upper half slid to the ground.
"What... happened..."
Seeing this, another samurai raised the long staff in his hands in horror, wanting to counterattack.
But Asuka merely flicked his wrist in a backhand upward slash, the black-and-red blade light carving a ferocious arc in midair.
Crack!
That samurai, along with his staff, was instantly split in two!
In just a single encounter, two Ryudoji samurai with incredibly strong defense were casually crushed like a pair of ants.
"S-So strong..." Yusuke stared blankly at the two corpses with cuts as smooth as mirrors, nervously swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "Who exactly... is this guy?"
Botan in the sky was even more frightened, her voice trembling. "I told you! He has a terrifying aura! It's a good thing you didn't anger him earlier, Yusuke!"
"Bastard! You damn Soul Reaper! How dare you kill the elites of my Ryudoji clan!"
Seeing this scene, Ganryu's heart bled.
These samurai were retainers who had wandered the Dangai with their clan for a millennium. Even putting aside the lord-retainer relationship, they shared deep bonds. Yet, they were slaughtered as effortlessly as cutting weeds by this unknown man.
But he hadn't completely lost his mind. He knew very well that as long as the mechanics of the Valley of Screams space remained, his subordinates were immortal.
"Quick! Absorb the Blanks! Heal your wounds!" Ganryu pointed at the two bisected corpses and urged loudly.
Hearing their leader's command, the surrounding mutated Blanks immediately surged toward the two corpses like a tide, attempting to merge into their wounds and reconstruct their flesh and souls.
Sizzle—!
Just when Ganryu thought a miracle would happen again, the Blanks attempting to approach the corpses' wounds began to burn the moment they touched the blood on the cuts.
"It's useless."
Asuka held Kakudatsu in a reverse grip with one hand, casually flicking the tainted blood off the blade.
"Anything cut by this blade loses even the right to enter reincarnation."
Only then did Ganryu realize that an ominous layer of black-and-red Spiritual Pressure clung to the edges of the corpses' cuts.
In just a few short seconds, not only were the Blanks attempting to heal them burned into nothingness.
Even the broken corpses of the two samurai rapidly turned into black ash under the erosion of this overbearing power.
"T-This is impossible!!"
This time, Ganryu truly panicked.
His plan was simple: as long as this mutated space covered the entire Three Realms, they, possessing the power of immortality, could easily defeat the Soul Reapers who had lost their Spiritual Energy supply.
But now, this plan had been completely shattered by the man before him in such a brutal manner!
"This isn't a Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto at all! What the hell are you?!"
Asuka's gaze bypassed the samurai guarding Ganryu. "Didn't you say you were invincible?"
"It seems you're nothing more than this."
"Stop him! Everyone attack together! Stall this monster!"
Locked onto by this terrifying killing intent, Ganryu felt a chill down his spine and immediately issued the order for a decisive battle to the remaining dozens of samurai.
Meanwhile, he turned around without hesitation and grabbed the unconscious Senna from the ground.
'As long as I have the Shinenju in hand, I can return to the deepest part of the Valley of Screams! As long as I can control the process of the worlds merging, I can still win!'
Ganryu frantically comforted himself in his mind.
He raised his longsword with one hand and slashed violently at the empty space in front of him.
Riiip—!
A portal shimmering with a gloomy gray light rapidly opened in front of Ganryu.
Behind that door connected the most heavily guarded alternate dimension at the very core of the Valley of Screams.