NOVEL NEXT Chapter 55: Sweet Revenge
Baraggan was shrouded in a time-dilation field which sapped the speed from anything within its range. Confronting him in hand-to-hand combat was akin to suicide.
Kazuya frowned. ‘Is it just there to protect him from attacks or does it have hidden functions?’
He pondered, a maelstrom of theories whirling in his mind's depths as he prepared to unleash another onslaught. Propelling himself forward with the supersonic speed of Sonído, he paused at the brink of Baraggan's time-twisted field, a vibrant Cero crackling ominously in his palm.
The Cero Ray and Baraggan collided in a gargantuan eruption of searing light and churning energy, the force of the explosion sending shockwaves careening into the distance.
As the chaotic display settled, Baraggan re-emerged, covered in a shroud of inky purple-black energy — his immense Reiatsu and his Senescence had weathered the brunt of Cero's impact.
Baraggan pointed his ax at Kazuya. “These pathetic attacks won’t affect me. I am the God of Death. Everything ages and decays under my command. My power is the only absolute law in this world.”
Yoruichi let out a snort of derision at Baraggan’s arrogant declaration. “General Yamamoto will wipe the floor with you.”
Baraggan redirected his attention towards Yoruichi. “He and his captain entourage barely sealed Ikomikidomoe, the only Hollow who came close to rivaling my divinity. If your Captain is as powerful as you say, bring him to my kingdom. I’ll slaughter him.”
Yoruichi had no idea about the fight between General Yamamoto and Ikomikidomoe. Then again, she was barely three hundred years old — a large number for mortals but an insignificant number compared to the Seireitei’s long history.
“Still, you will be burned to ashes in the General's flames. Kazuya, you won’t beat this guy by standing there!”
Kazuya thrust his arm at Baraggan, who stood there, awaiting his attack. The King of Hueco Mundo was unwaveringly certain of his Senescence's defensive capabilities.
A surge of blue Reiatsu suddenly engulfed Baraggan, threatening to overpower the dark purple aura that cloaked him.
However, Baraggan merely waved his hand. “Suffer the dying breath… Respira.”
A shroud of black-purple energy exploded outward from Baraggan, expanding ominously around him.
Kazuya darted to Yoruichi, seized her, and raced a safe distance away from the deadly reach of Baraggan’s Respira. The spreading breath gnawed at everything it touched. Luckily, the barren landscape of Hueco Mundo remained untouched — the white sands of Hueco Mundo were the dust of fallen Menos, and the skeletal trees were mere surface twigs of underground forests.
“Let go of me!” Yoruichi wriggled out of his grasp, snarling. “Is that ability dangerous?”
“Extremely.”
The self proclaimed God King locked his gaze on Kazuya. “Even Reishi can’t resist the decaying of time. Reishi-based abilities are useless against me.”
“You really love flexing your powers, don’t you?” Kazuya smirked. “Many kings died because of their foolish arrogance. Do you want to end up like them?”
“I am above all the kings. I’m the God King of Hueco Mundo. You are an ant against me—”
Baraggan's sentence hung unfinished as a sudden, immense pressure bore down on him. His robust Reiatsu strained under the weight, his temporal distortion field unable to slow down the Reishi-filled atmospheric air of Hueco Mundo. It was as if the world itself wanted to squeeze him. This was the same technique which had reduced Gillians to a gory pulp — he simply manipulated Baraggan’s internal air pressure to an almost nonexistent value.
The result — a massive impact that may have injured Baraggan.
Kazuya could have done the same to Baraggan’s time dilation field if he understood its inner workings. With Baraggan’s immense Reiryoku, he knew he couldn’t brute force through the time field.
Baraggan waved his hand, releasing more Reiryoku to strengthen his Hierro. “Hmph. Impressive technique. Is this all you have? I’m starting to feel… bored.”
As his words fell, a dense layer of Respira surrounded him. Ax clenched tightly in his hand, he vanished, materializing behind Kazuya in the blink of an eye. A single sweep of his weapon unleashed enough Respira to wipe out an army of Hollows.
The logical course of action would have been to use Sonído and flee.
But Kazuya was not a creature of logic.
He reached out through the fog of death and gripped the blade of Baraggan’s ax-scythe. His arm withered and disintegrated until only skeletal remains were visible. His regeneration spurred into action, reassembling flesh over bone, sparking a horrific cycle of decomposition and renewal that made Yoruichi's skin crawl.
Yet, a calm resolve flickered in Kazuya's eyes, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. Baraggan’s senses warned him of danger, but he was unable to pinpoint its cause. Overly prideful, he dismissed the very notion of Kazuya possessing an ability superior to Senescence.
“Hahahahaha. I underestimated your lunacy, insect. What do you hope to achieve by clutching my Zanpakutō?”
As Baraggan attempted to wrench his weapon free, Kazuya's skeletal fingers held firm. A surge of blue Reiatsu poured from his decaying hand, enveloping the ax-scythe.
“Say goodbye to your Zanpakutō, Baraggan.”
At the echo of Kazuya's words, he clamped his skeletal fingers tighter. The force he exerted was barely enough to harm a low-ranking Hollow, yet the Zanpakutō in his grasp shuddered before splintering into shards.
The large Zanpakutō of Baraggan was outside of the time field, allowing Kazuya to catch the arrogant king off-guard and break it with his Oppression.
A chill breezed past Kazuya’s neck, and he retreated hastily using Sonído.
Baraggan unleashed a gigantic wave of Respira, covering almost five hundred meters in death. It truly seemed as if someone incurred the wrath of a god.
“Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable!” Baraggan's voice echoed through the barren landscape, seething with rage. “You won’t get away with this. Repent for your insolence against the God of Hueco Mundo and turn to dust.”
Kazuya couldn’t have been happier to see Baraggan suffer. He had to stay away from his precious companions because of Baraggan’s threats, even taking the massive risk of confronting Kisuke Urahara. How could he not relish this sweet sweet revenge?
Furious, Baraggan chased Kazuya, frenziedly swinging massive amounts of Respira at him. Baraggan couldn't match Kazuya’s speed under normal circumstances. He could forget about catching Kazuya’s combination of Sonído and wings in his furious state.
Kazuya’s movements were simply unpredictable in Baraggan’s state of madness.
“Hey, that stuff is dangerous. Stop chasing me like a yandere chases her love interest with a knife.”
“Perish. Perish. Perish. You worthless ant.”
…
Yoruichi observed the unfolding spectacle, a spark of amusement flickering in her golden eyes. “This guy, hahaha.”
Baraggan Louisenbairn, the most formidable Hollow recorded in the Seireitei database, was being toyed with like a puppet on strings. No Shinigami would believe her tale, unless she dragged them to this godforsaken wasteland to witness the spectacle.
All her concerns about Kazuya dying were completely unfounded. He had dismantled Baraggan’s Zanpakutō with negligible effort, stripping the King of Hollows of a significant portion of his power.
‘Popcorn would be perfect right now.’
She wasn’t any less mischievous than her childhood friend.
