Chapter 311
2-in-1 chapter:
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*Clap!*
Accompanied by the distinctive sound of a sonído slicing the air, Ulquiorra appeared. He looked at the courtyard in surprise.
There, two figures were locked in fierce combat.
He wasn’t alone; Harribel, Nelliel, Grimmjow, and others had also sensed Kaelith’s fighting Reiatsu and rushed over to see what was happening.
As they caught sight of the figure crossing blades with Kaelith, the group blinked in astonishnt, then quickly pieced it together.
“That’s… Lilynette?”
Nelliel asked in surprise.
Harribel nodded. “Seems she swapped roles with Starrk, taking the lead in battle this ti.”
Many Hollow had a sowhat resentful attitude toward Starrk because of his monstrous talent and their perception that he was wasting it. However, while his innate talent was terrifying—he’d beco an Arrancar just by napping—yet the Hōgyoku had basically leveled the playing field. Now everyone was an Arrancar; the difference wasn’t as big as before.
The only disparities left were each person’s Resurrección abilities and their battle experience. And frankly, Starrk’s ability was basically throwing out Cero blasts, plus his fighting experience was…childlike.
How had a “pretty ornant” like that remained among the top “Three Generals”?
At first, Harribel was unacknowledged too, but she’d reversed her reputation through actual battles. anwhile, Starrk did nothing but sleep, so more and more Arrancar were itching to challenge him.
Today, with Kaelith involved, they could finally see how formidable Starrk truly was…
Grimmjow was staring intently at the courtyard, not wanting to miss a thing. Yet the scene before them was quite startling:
Lilynette’s fighting style was the polar opposite of Starrk’s.
Starrk usually maintained distance, dual-wielded pistols, and rained down Cero from afar—a strategy that, with endless ammo and massive Reiatsu, never failed to trample weaker foes.
But Lilynette? She’d literally thrown the guns aside.
Now gripping two blades of condensed Reishi, she charged right at Kaelith, dancing with swords up close. The two discarded pistols didn’t just lie idle; containing Starrk’s soul, they had so degree of autonomous movent. Eager to retire early so Lilynette could handle future battles on her own, Starrk cooperated by allowing the guns to float behind her as remote turrets, continually firing off Ceros.
A pair of floating guns plus a swordswoman with laser swords. Opposite them, Kaelith had blue flas erupting from his shoulders as he sped about mid-air, lunging and dodging. It all had a certain familiar vibe.
Watching the flickering, multi-angled attacks, Nelliel was surprised:
“Who’d have guessed that the sa powers, used by a different person, could be so drastically different?”
One was a classic ranged fighter, but Lilynette was turning it into a close-quarters frenzy—and quite effectively. It was a refreshing new approach.
Of everyone, Kaelith felt her assault the most. If he’d been the sa Kaelith who originally subdued Las Noches, encountering Lilynette in this form might have been troubleso—he might’ve had to call in Aizen for help.
Starrk’s raw paraters were exceptionally high, likely on par with Kaelith’s senior brother, maybe higher. Starrk just had lousy “controls,” making him look incompetent. Lilynette, on the other hand, wasn’t especially refined at controlling these moves, but at least she was aggressive and unreserved with everything she had.
Take right now, for example—Kaelith’s Zanpakutō, Rixiang Jimie, normally left opponents flustered. Yet Lilynette hadn’t been broken down by it. Not because she understood it, but simply because she never defended, always attacking, hacking, slashing—like a female Kenpachi.
Kaelith shook his head slightly.
He considered himself a refined swordsman, yet around him sprouted so many reckless fighters…
With so exasperation, he continued exchanging blows, matching Lilynette’s assault one move at a ti.
Harribel, watching Kaelith, looked puzzled. For Kaelith, beating a “Three Generals”-level opponent was child’s play. Why hadn’t he ended this yet?
She focused on Kaelith and noticed that, even while he maintained a fighting stance, he seed ntally distracted by sothing.
Lilynette soon noticed, too. It annoyed her to no end. She was the highest-ranked of the Three Generals, after all; how dare he show such nonchalance?
Snarling, she sped up her sword swings and poured in more power, determined to force Kaelith to get serious. Yet even in his half-absent state, he was automatically exploiting every gap in her defense.
Finally, Lilynette maneuvered for an opening, using Starrk’s gun to land a direct Cero on Kaelith.
She brightened. Yes, got him!
But when the smoke cleared, she realized with dismay that aside from a scorched patch of Kaelith’s Shihakushō, his body was unscathed.
Wait, wasn’t she the Hollow here?
Lilynette was getting thoroughly exasperated by Kaelith.
Right then, Kaelith abruptly spoke:
“So that’s it… I get it now—I’ve figured it out!”
“?”
Kaelith let out a hearty laugh.
“Ah, that’s how it is… No wonder I couldn’t grasp how that guy pulled it off, even though our powers are similar. Turns out it’s just this little trick!”
Seeing Lilynette’s baffled expression, Kaelith turned to her.
“Lilynette, I’m giving you a reward! It’s thanks to you that I’ve finally seen how to follow this path!”
“Eh?” She blinked, having no clue what he ant.
Before she could ask, Kaelith laughed and charged toward her.
If he’d simply dashed at her, she’d have resud the fight. But it looked like he wasn’t even defending. From her vantage, he was practically throwing himself into her blade.
Puzzled, Lilynette eased up her strength, swinging at Kaelith’s shoulder. Then, re ters away, Kaelith’s body abruptly shattered into tiny particles of light.
“?!”
Lilynette’s eyes went wide. Did she just discover so new ability that disintegrated him from a distance?
At that mont, Starrk’s voice rang inside her mind:
“Look out, Lilynette!!”
Everyone else, watching from the sidelines, took a collective sharp breath:
Kaelith dashed forward, then his form dissolved into shimring fragnts, continuing straight through Lilynette’s body to re-form behind her.
He tossed aside his two Zanpakutō, grabbed the pair of pistols that housed Starrk’s essence—
*Bang!!!*
As soon as he gripped them, he released a strike that rattled Starrk’s consciousness within the guns, leaving him hazy and dazed. By the ti Lilynette spun around, Kaelith had the guns pointed at her head. Even though Starrk’s mind was offline and the guns couldn’t fire, the gesture alone decided the outco.
If Kaelith had chosen to attack Lilynette’s body first… or neutralized the guns, then stabbed Lilynette with a blade…
She pursed her lips.
“I lose.”
“Oho! So that ans I win!” Kaelith crowed, looking triumphantly pleased.
Despite being annoyed, Lilynette couldn’t help smiling at his cheer. This weirdo—soone of Kaelith’s caliber beating the Three Generals was nothing special, yet he seed genuinely delighted, and his delight was infectious.
Hmph, guess I am pretty good if winning against puts him in such a good mood, she thought.
Suddenly, she rembered sothing and asked:
“By the way, Kaelith, what was that move you just used?”
He glanced at his hand.
“It’s a new technique I developed, inspired by you and Starrk. Earlier, I was researching a way to handle high-density reishi. I spent a lot of energy on it, but success eluded . I suspected Azashiro Sōya had so unique ability no one else could copy.
“Then today, seeing the way you and Starrk broke up and reconstituted your bodies… Well, it all clicked.”
During the mont Lilynette dissolved, Kaelith felt a Shinigami-like presence in her Hollow Reiatsu. Recalling the ti he encountered Azashiro Sōya in the underground prison, Kaelith rembered that when that man dissolved himself, there was also a trace of Hollow aura. Back then, Kaelith dismissed it. But now, seeing Lilynette’s approach, he had an epiphany:
By implanting spiritual particles of the opposing type throughout your body, in combat you could suddenly activate them and disassemble yourself into reishi form. A Hollow uses Shinigami-type energy to break themselves; Kaelith had set up Hollow-type energy throughout his body.
The main challenge was getting the precise amount correct. Too little wouldn’t fully sever every binding between his own particles. Too much and he’d degrade himself entirely, with no way to re-form, unless he had a Zanpakutō like Azashiro Sōya’s. Without that, he’d basically be committing spiritual suicide.
Most anyone—like Aizen, say—would never attempt sothing so dangerous. Even if curiosity prodded him to try, he’d do extensive calculations and preparations first. But Kaelith trusted his intuition, believing it told him how much and where to place the Hollow Reiatsu. And sure enough, first try—success.
Another day survived—Kaelith felt satisfied.
He glanced at the spectators.
“Where’s Sōsuke?”
“In the research building.” Nelliel pointed in a certain direction.
Kaelith thanked her and vanished. Ulquiorra raised a hand as if to speak but, seeing Kaelith disappear, let it drop.
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*Bang!*
“Hey, Sōsuke!!”
A voice rang out, originally hundreds of ters away but already at the door by the ti the prolonged shout ended. The mont it finished, the lab doors slamd open.
Aizen took a deep breath, feeling a dayum Komamura mont.
Setting aside his work, he turned to face Kaelith with a frown.
“What is it?”
He’d co to Hueco Mundo hoping for so quiet, free from Kaelith’s pestering, only for the man to hunt him down even here… Is he treating like I’m Kisuke Urahara?
Kaelith stepped in with a smug grin.
“I found the solution to our high-density reishi problem!”
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
“Kisuke got results before , did he? So aggravating.”
“Explain.”
He opened a nearby screen, ready to leech whatever Kaelith had presumably leached from Urahara.
Kaelith recounted the events just now. Aizen scribbled notes initially, but soon his pen stopped. He turned slowly, shooting Kaelith a rather frightening look.
Sensing the shift in Aizen’s Reiatsu, Kaelith paused, returning Aizen’s stare with an innocent look.
Aizen drew a slow, angry breath, speaking in a tone of rare agitation:
“You… The mont you realized this thod might work, you tested it on yourself?!”
“Er, yes, but don’t worry. I’d already run through the calculations in my head—odds of success were super high, practically impossible to fail.”
“Super high? Practically impossible?”
Aizen’s lips twitched.
Kaelith had the uneasy sense that black smoke might be rising behind Aizen.
“Kaelith… I’ve obviously been too lenient with you lately,” Aizen said coldly. “Starting now, you’ll stay at my side to study the fundantals. We’ll start with Reishi Science.”
Kaelith’s face went pale.
“Why is it coming to this?!”
Aizen’s eyes were glacier-cold, as if looking at a bug from the muck.
“For soone like you, only a punishnt this cruel can hamr a shred of caution into that empty head.”
Kaelith tried to defend himself: “W-wait, Sōsuke, let explain. I told you, I’d ntally simulated it first. Even if sothing did go wrong, I could use the Enrakyōten artifact to replicate Azashiro Sōya’s Zanpakutō and haul myself back, right? I had a double safety net!”
Aizen nodded slowly.
“Understood.”
Kaelith brightened, hoping for reprieve.
“You can study Reishi Science plus the entire basic human-physiology curriculum you skipped at the Shin’ō Academy.”
“Why?!”
.......
...
.
It’s said Kaelith’s wails echoed in that lab for days afterward. Sensing the deep, near-tangible despair, the Arrancar dared not approach.
At last, after five days of forcibly cramming him with theory and giving him a short exam, Aizen gave Kaelith a brief reprieve.
Seeing Kaelith’s near-lifeless form draped over a table, Aizen spoke mildly:
“Kaelith, get yourself together. I have work for you.”
“…Huh?”
Kaelith, sprawled on the desk, turned his hollow gaze on Aizen.
The man sipped his tea.
“I’m about to perform my own Hollowfication procedure. I need you there to keep things under control, ensure no chaos breaks out.”
Kaelith’s eyes lit up instantly.
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