The exposed white and red fibrous tissue glistened under Mayuri Kurotsuchi's surgical gaze. His single golden eye flared behind his black-and-white mask with pure, unadulterated mania.
"It's different!" Mayuri cackled, his voice rising in psychotic delight. "Completely, utterly different! Whether compared to mundane humans or low-tier demons... your physical composition is unlike anything in my database!"
Four seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
The cacophonous vibration emitted by Ashisogi Jizō vanished, and Abaddon felt the suffocating paralysis in her limbs dissolve. She immediately executed a violent backward leap, putting significant distance between herself and the masked Captain.
"You absolute pervert!" Abaddon spat, her hands trembling as she clutched her weapon.
Previously, she had merely felt that Mayuri Kurotsuchi's eyes were unhinged and unsettling. But now, after experiencing those four agonizing seconds of helpless anatomical examination, she realized the masked man before her was far more terrifying than any demon hailing from the depths of Hell.
What Mayuri brought to the battlefield was not mere pressure on a power level, but pure psychological terror. Even a Knight of Hell refused to be targeted by a mad scientist, especially while manifesting in her true physical form.
"Just a little more!" Mayuri bent over, his entire body trembling with scientific frustration, before suddenly snapping his head back up. "Just a little more, and I would have fully mapped the boundary between your divine physiology and standard demonic tissue! Come! Let me cut you once more!"
Abaddon, the Angel of Destruction, was a entity forged by divine decree; whenever Judgment Day arrived, her mandate was to unleash an army of locusts using poisonous stingers to pierce those marked for ruin, forcing them to endure five months of torment without the mercy of death. Because her physical form was forged by celestial hands, her bone density, muscle fibers, and internal organs naturally exceeded the upper limits of both demons and Gods of Death.
'If I can thoroughly research her divine-demonic anatomy,' Mayuri thought, his eyes wide with unhinged ambition, 'the upper limit of every Shinigami in the Seireitei might be raised accordingly!'
"What absolute nonsense are you blabbering about, madman?!"
In the distance, hearing Mayuri's hysterical ramblings, a wave of cold goosebumps broke out across Abaddon's skin. Disgust, revulsion, and sheer resistance surged into her heart.
She violently gestured with her arm.
ZZZZZZZZ!
A massive, dark army of specialized locust warriors abruptly materialized in mid-air. Adorned with golden crowns, possessing human faces, lion-like fangs, scorpion tails, and iron armor, the deafening vibration of their wings echoed like the thunderous roar of ten thousand war chariots. Rather than a simple swarm of insects, they were elite, armored legionnaires in locust form.
Under Abaddon's vengeful command, the swarm charged together toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi, filling the entire sky like an apocalyptic black cloud pressing down on a doomed city.
"They seem to be fighting quite intensely over there," Asmodeus remarked with a polished smile. Dressed in an immaculate, pure white suit where even the interior silk lining was pure white, he spoke pleasantly to Jūshirō Ukitake. "Is it really appropriate for us to just stand here like this, Captain?"
Until now, the two of them had merely been standing in mid-air, confronting each other without exchanging a single blow.
"I can see that your physical body is not very well," Asmodeus continued smoothly, looking every bit the high-society human gentleman. "Otherwise, why don't we just stay right here and quietly enjoy this stage play? For such a grand performance, if the only audience member is Lucifer, it would be far too disrespectful to these actors."
Graceful and exuding effortless nobility, Asmodeus was the first demon to express that he held zero desire to fight.
This gentle attitude did indeed allow Ukitake's tense posture to relax a fraction. However, it did not cause the veteran Captain to completely let down his guard. The territory being fought over in this battle was far too vital to the Soul Society. How could Jūshirō Ukitake lower his defenses based solely on a demon's charming words?
Yet, as the minutes ticked by, Asmodeus really did seem to be as good as his word, completely abandoning the idea of launching an attack.
At the same time, a smooth, lulling voice began to echo soft thoughts within Ukitake's heart:
'Since your opponent doesn't want to fight... why not just take a good rest? You've been so exhausted for so many centuries. Every single day is consumed by endless stacks of paperwork, political burdens, or bloody battles. It's time to finally indulge yourself.'
Ukitake's body gradually relaxed. The hand tightly gripping his Zanpakutō's hilt unknowingly loosened its strain.
'Yes... relax a bit,' Ukitake thought, his eyes growing strangely hazy. 'It's the opponent who doesn't want to fight. It's not that I'm neglecting my duty.'
As the minutes and seconds ticked by and the surrounding battlefields grew increasingly violent, Asmodeus and Ukitake found themselves standing side by side in mid-air, commenting on the explosions with shared interest.
"Your Gotei 13... what is it that you truly protect?" Asmodeus asked casually. "A distant King? Or do you simply guard that stagnant fortress you call the Seireitei?"
"Protect..." Ukitake answered in a daze, his gaze floating. "The Gotei 13, of course, guards the Seireitei... The Soul King... is guarded by the Zero Division..."
'Wait... NO!!!'
An explosive alarm bell suddenly rang directly inside Ukitake's soul—a violent, divine warning from the Kamikake residing within his shadow.
Ukitake's eyes instantly cleared, snapping back into sharp focus. He executed a rapid succession of Shunpo flash-steps, retreating several hundred yards backward through the air to put massive distance between himself and the demon.
"Your power!" Ukitake gasped, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. "It manipulates the heart! I actually fell into your trap without realizing it!"
"A trap?" Asmodeus chuckled softly, remaining entirely motionless in his victory-assured posture. "No, Captain. That was your own heart's genuine desire! I merely beckoned slightly, and the deep exhaustion hidden at the bottom of your soul surfaced accordingly. Though, I didn't expect that your ultimate, deepest desire was actually just to have a good rest. Truly, simple to the extreme."
Jūshirō Ukitake's violent reaction did not cause Asmodeus any agitation.
Now fully on guard, Ukitake no longer dared to believe a single word from the demon. Just by speaking, Asmodeus could make an elite Captain fall into a mental trap unknowingly—this ability was far too insidious.
He held his Zanpakutō horizontally before his chest, drawing upon his spiritual pressure.
"All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield; All Lightning, Rise now and Become my Blade!"
"[Sōgyo no Kotowari]!"
A blinding burst of spiritual light erupted as his single sword split into twin blades, with fish-fin-like spurs growing from the backs of the swords. The ends of the pommels were connected by a heavy red cord bearing five rectangular metal amulets designed to absorb and redirect energy.
Ukitake knew he was not proficient in mental-type techniques to counter Asmodeus's charm.
'In that case...' Ukitake thought, his white haori snapping in the wind as his gaze turned fierce, '...I must defeat him before being controlled by him again!'
SHUUN!
Ukitake vanished from the spot with Shunpo, reappearing directly beside Asmodeus. Sōgyo no Kotowari swung incessantly, drawing silver arcs of light in the air.
Asmodeus merely kept dodging with effortless grace, making zero counterattacks.
"I wasn't lying to you before, Captain," Asmodeus murmured softly, swaying away from a lethal slash. "I really don't like fighting. That is simply far too inelegant. Pleasure... that is my true objective."
Ukitake remained strictly silent, focusing every ounce of his concentration solely on his offensive, refusing to let another word penetrate his mind.
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