Chapter 12: Time is Short, Let’s Move Quickly
Outside the Seireitei, the Sixth Division garrison area.
The entire Seireitei could be divided into over a dozen districts, with the Thirteen Court Guard Squads stationed in most of them, excluding special areas like the Repentance Palace and the Central Underground Conference Hall.
Currently, Rukia Kuchiki was imprisoned in the Repentance Palace, awaiting judgment from the Central Forty-Six Chamber. Her crime was granting an ordinary human the power of a Soul Reaper—a serious offense that could lead to life or death.
Given the relationship between Byakuya Kuchiki, a high-ranking noble, and Rukia Kuchiki, the Central Forty-Six Chamber would not sentence Rukia to death unless they had lost their minds. That was only natural. At most, she would be imprisoned for decades or centuries—a harsh punishment for a Soul Reaper, but considering their long lifespans, it was hardly severe.
Byakuya Kuchiki was waiting for Rukia’s verdict. Despite his cold exterior, he was actually someone with a warm heart. He cared deeply about his adopted sister’s imprisonment and had been secretly observing the situation over the past few days.
Su Xiao walked along the street, gazing into the distance at the towering structure—the Repentance Palace. If he remembered correctly, Rukia Kuchiki would be sentenced to death, as the entire affair had been orchestrated by Aizen.
The sequence of events was simple: the female Soul Reaper Rukia went to the living world to purify a Hollow, where she encountered an ordinary human named Ichigo Kurosaki—the protagonist—who could see her. What followed was somewhat clichéd. During a battle with a Hollow, an accident occurred, forcing Rukia to use her spiritual power to transform Ichigo Kurosaki into a Soul Reaper. Soon after, Soul Society sent agents, and Rukia was arrested.
As a morally upright protagonist, young Kurosaki naturally came to rescue her. At that moment, he was training with a mysterious shopkeeper to master his Soul Reaper powers.
Su Xiao tossed the Fate Redemption in his hand, his steps growing slower. The ornament hanging from the hem of his clothes radiated scorching heat.
[Warning! Warning! The Violator has approached within 900 meters.]
[Warning! The Violator has approached within 450 meters.]
[Warning! The Violator has approached within 30 meters!]
Almost instantly, three crimson warnings appeared. Yet Su Xiao remained unusually calm. He grabbed the wooden ornament at his hem and crushed it with a crack.
Swoosh…
A sharp sound of wind came from above.
Boom!
Rubble flew, smoke rose, and large amounts of black carbon dust scattered.
“Yo, first time meeting. I’m Violator No. 10073.”
A pale hand emerged from the smoke, as if greeting Su Xiao.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, a short-haired girl in a leather jacket appeared. Her black leather jacket was completely open, revealing her flat stomach and chest wrapped in bandages that were stretched tight.
“Huh? What’s with that reaction? And your aura is really strange. Are you really a Hunter?”
The girl tilted her head, looking at Su Xiao. His languid expression struck her as odd. She had met many Hunters before, and in her experience, they should be brimming with killing intent.
Just as the girl was sizing up Su Xiao, a terrifying spiritual pressure erupted from afar. It was Yamamoto Genryusai, the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, along with the captains. Any one of them was a formidable opponent.
“Not good. That old man Yamamoto and the captains are coming. And you—are you a noble’s attendant? What’s going on here? Damn it!”
The girl’s mouth twitched as she flexed her fingers. Her ever-changing expressions and incessant chatter revealed that she was different from most Violators.
“World… Blockade.”
The girl slapped her hand forward. With a bang, a ripple of spatial distortion spread, and the surrounding scenery drastically changed. The buildings became dilapidated, carbonizing at a visible rate.
Su Xiao scanned his surroundings. He had been about to activate his “Basic Spatial Imprisonment” but realized this wasn’t true spatial ability.
The world around them turned black and white, gradually decaying. Only Su Xiao and the girl retained their color.
Crack, crack…
A massive clock appeared overhead, counting down. The time was 20 minutes.
“Time is short, let’s move quickly.”
The girl rubbed her hands together. Her words sounded like she had rented a love hotel room with Su Xiao, preparing to do something unspeakable.
Su Xiao took off his jacket and tossed it aside. From start to finish, he remained silent, and the lazy expression on his face vanished.
“Hey, hey, that’s not what I meant. Why are you taking off your clothes… Oh, I see!”
The girl stared at Su Xiao with fiery eyes. She finally understood why his aura had felt so strange earlier.
Click, clack…
The sound of metal mechanisms opening came. Su Xiao was wearing at least a dozen metal rings. These rings were not meant to suppress his strength—he wouldn’t do something that stupid. They were used to block the blood energy around him.
With a clang, one of the opened metal rings fell to the ground. A faint red mist floated around Su Xiao. As each ring was unlocked, the blood energy around him grew heavier. Releasing blood energy facilitated the use of his Aura Release ability.
“This doesn’t seem like someone easy to mess with.”
The girl’s smile faded. She lowered her body, and faint abdominal muscles appeared on her flat stomach.
With a boom, rubble flew from beneath her feet. She shot toward Su Xiao like a cannonball. This girl was the Violator, Death Omen.
Su Xiao unlocked the last metal ring on his left shoulder. He tossed the ring forward. The rapidly approaching Death Omen tilted her head, easily dodging it.
Boom!
The metal ring exploded. Death Omen instinctively turned her head and closed her eyes. She hadn’t expected Su Xiao to plant a bomb in his personal belongings.
A burning sensation came from the left side of her cheek. Before the flames could erode her skin, her face had already turned pitch black.
With a bang, Death Omen was pushed back by the shockwave.
The Dragon-Slaying Flash was drawn. Su Xiao was about to charge at Death Omen when he suddenly stopped, slashing his blade in front of him.
Clang, clang, clang…
Sparks flew as a few black arrows were deflected. Looking at Death Omen, the girl was now holding a black longbow, the entire bow crafted like obsidian.
Death Omen pulled the bowstring with one hand, and a black arrow quickly formed.
“Assimilation.”
With a twang, Death Omen released her fingers. The black arrow, glowing with dark light, shot out. The bowstring vibrated violently as the arrow flew straight toward Su Xiao’s head.
Su Xiao’s pupils slightly contracted. He was about to slash at the arrow but suddenly stopped. The arrow entered his Instinct range, giving him a very strange feeling.
Do not cut it directly with the blade!
It was almost an instinctive judgment. A layer of pale blue crystal armor enveloped the Dragon-Slashing Flash.
This pale blue crystal layer was transformed by the branch ability of Azure Steel Shadow, “Proud Song.” Proud Song had two defensive forms: the energy shield and the crystal layer. The energy shield was its innate ability, while the crystal layer was developed later by Su Xiao. Its mechanism was similar to the energy shield: the more Azure Steel Shadow energy consumed, the tougher the crystal layer. The crystal layer was usually used for close-range defense, coating the user’s body.
Previously, the crystal layer wasn’t very strong, but as the Azure Steel Shadow ability grew stronger, the crystal layer became increasingly formidable.
Clang!
The blade struck the black arrow. The crystal layer on the Dragon-Slashing Flash rapidly carbonized, eventually turning into black dust. This was why Su Xiao hadn’t directly cut the “black arrow” with his blade—it had been imbued with some kind of corrosive effect.
“Smart guy.”
Death Omen grinned, revealing her teeth. Holding the longbow, she actually charged at Su Xiao. After a few steps, the longbow in her hand quickly transformed into a gleaming black spear.