Yun Che turned his head at the sound of a familiar voice. Retsu stood there, her fox form still shimmering faintly though her Bankai had already receded into Shikai. Beside her, Little Fairy hovered silently, her expression tight with concern. Both of them were clearly unsettled by how long he'd gone quiet.
"Haha… it's you two." Yun Che managed a small smile, though inwardly he whispered to Jasmine, "Sorry, we'll finish this later."
Little Fairy frowned, her sharp gaze never leaving him. "You alright, rascal? You've been quiet for too long."
"It's nothing, really." He brushed it off with a casual shrug, then flicked a quick wink at Retsu. She caught it instantly and said nothing—understanding more than she let on.
Before the silence could stretch, a streak of light tore across the sky and descended beside them. It shimmered, then solidified into Kon, dangling poor Cang Yue by the scruff of her robes. "Everyone!! Thank goodness you're still alive! I was worried sick!" He promptly dropped her to the ground and reverted into his plushy form, panting heavily. The strain from his earlier clash with the dragon still clung to him, leaving his small body twitching.
Cang Yue smoothed her robes, a little flustered, but Kon quickly puffed out his chest. "What are you all worried about? Just look at this place. The ones who should be trembling are those enemies, not us."
As his button eyes swept over the battlefield, his bravado faltered. The land bore scars of devastation—craters, scorched earth, shattered mountains. The air itself still hummed with lingering energy, as if the land remembered the violence that had just been unleashed.
Yun Che exhaled slowly, pushing himself up to his feet and brushing the dust from what remained of his clothes. "Well… you're not wrong," he said, his voice wry. His gaze drifted to the ruin around them. "One day, experts might come here just to study what happened. Not that they'll find much… the battlefield won't be giving away its secrets so easily."
Cang Yue clasped her hands together, her expression softening into relief. "Still… we did pull it off, didn't we?"
Her words brought a fleeting smile to the group, though Kon quickly spoiled the mood by swiveling his head toward Yun Che. "Yeah, but seriously—what did those things even do to deserve all this? You guys looked like you were trying to erase the whole continent."
Yun Che stroked his chin theatrically, staring off into the distance as though pondering some great philosophy. "Do? Oh… nothing, really. We just felt like trying out some bizarre techniques."
Kon let out a long, exaggerated groan, collapsing onto the ground in his plushy form. "Figures… You lunatics are going to end up shattering this world someday, all because you think it's fun."
The levity didn't last. Little Fairy's voice cut through the air, cool and steady, but with a weight that drew everyone's attention—Retsu's fox form stiffened, Yun Che's playful grin faltered.
"Now that the battle is over… you owe us an explanation."
Kon blinked, confused. "Explanation for what?"
Little Fairy stepped closer, her sharp eyes flicking between Yun Che and Retsu. She brushed her fingers against Retsu's fox ears, then gestured toward the faint cracks still lingering on Yun Che's hollow mask. "This. And that. How do the two of you wield… powers like these?"
Her tone grew more pointed, her curiosity no longer hidden. "First there was your so-called Bankai. Then those destructive arts you call Kido. And now… this hollow power." She folded her arms, her voice low but demanding. "Just who exactly are the two of you?"
The weight of her question hung in the air. Cang Yue, who had been quietly observing, leaned in as well—her eyes full of wonder rather than suspicion. She too had wanted to ask ever since the first time she saw them unleash those strange abilities, but until now hadn't dared.
Little Fairy's gaze sharpened. She had tolerated the mystery long enough. This was no longer idle curiosity—it was the right to know who she was truly fighting alongside.
Yun Che's gaze swept over Retsu and Kon. After a moment of silent agreement, he gave a subtle nod. The truth will come out one day… but for now, it can be dressed in sugar.
He straightened, his eyes calm yet convincing as he spoke.
"You know of our origin world. As for its people, we're not ordinary profound cultivators. We're… soul cultivators."
The words caught both Little Fairy and Cang Yue off guard. Their voices overlapped in surprise:
"Soul cultivators?"
Yun Che inclined his head. "Yes. Unlike profound practitioners, we don't cultivate Profound Energy. Our path is different—we cultivate spirit energy. We temper our very souls until they become powerful enough to manifest their own spirits. The weapons you've seen us wield—those aren't forged steel. They are born from our spirits."
He rested a hand over Tensa Zangetsu on his lap, his tone solemn.
"When you saw our 'Bankai,' that was the full release of our spirits' true power."
The weight of his explanation hung in the air. Little Fairy and Cang Yue exchanged a glance, their skepticism tempered by the sincerity in his voice.
"As soul cultivators," Yun Che continued, "we also cultivate spirit pressure. That pressure allows us to use those strange techniques you've seen—the towers of light, the chains, the explosions. We call them Kido… or, in your tongue, Demon Arts."
"Demon… arts?" Cang Yue's lips parted in shock. The memory of the dark tower and the crimson smoke from before sent a shiver down her spine. To think such terrifying arts had a name.
Retsu finally stepped in, her gentle yet steady voice smoothing over their doubts. "Yes, Sister Yue. Demon Arts are exclusive to soul cultivators like us. Ordinary cultivators could train for a hundred lifetimes and never touch them. It is the gift—and burden—of our path."
Little Fairy's frown softened slightly, though her sharp eyes remained fixed on Yun Che and Retsu. The explanation was elegant, believable, yet full of gaps. Still, for now, she chose not to press further. Cang Yue, on the other hand, looked at them with awe.
At least now… they had a name for the mysteries standing before them.
"Demon—or Kido—arts grow far stronger when infused with incantations." Yun Che explained slowly, his tone calm but steady. "The ones you saw back in the village and at the banquet… those were without incantations. The technique I used just now, though, was infused. That's why the sky darkened… and the air felt so heavy."
"Incantation?" Cang Yue tilted her head, her brows knitting in confusion. In her world, profound arts were unleashed with profound energy or special items, never with words. The concept felt completely foreign.
Yun Che sighed, scratching his cheek. "Incantations are spells we recite before releasing an art. They focus the energy, refine the effect, and control the damage. Without them, the raw power is unstable—too destructive. Think of them as reins on a wild beast. Without incantations… this world would've been torn apart long ago by a single Hado spell."
Both Little Fairy and Cang Yue leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Can you show us?" Little Fairy pressed."Yes," Cang Yue chimed in quickly, her voice almost childlike in excitement.
Yun Che gave a resigned chuckle. "Sigh… fine. Don't blame me if it's too much for your eyes."
He rose to his feet, turning toward a jagged boulder in the distance. Extending his palm, he let his spirit pressure condense, the air around his hand glowing faintly. His voice then rang out, deliberate and commanding:
"Way of Destruction—Number Thirty-Three: Blue Fire, Crash Down!"
In an instant, a roaring comet of blue fire erupted from his hand, streaking across the air like a burning star. It slammed into the boulder with a thunderous crash, shattering the stone into countless shards and gouging a crater deep into the earth.
Dust settled. The faint hum of energy lingered in the air.
Yun Che lowered his hand casually, as if nothing had happened. "That was only a fraction of its true power. I didn't want to flatten the whole area."
But to Little Fairy and Cang Yue, the sight was anything but casual. Their eyes widened, stunned speechless. That single spell—casually restrained—was already enough to obliterate experts far above their realm.
If this is what he can do with an incantation… just what kind of monsters are these two really?
"So, what do you think?" He said with a relaxed expression.
Both Little Fairy and Cang Yue widened their eyes at the devastation Yun Che's spell had left behind. The crater still smoked, the shattered stone scattered like brittle sand.
Little Fairy was the first to find her voice. "That spell… was it incantation-infused?"
Yun Che brushed the dust off his sleeve and replied with a relaxed tone, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "No. That was just a normal one."
His answer left both women dumbfounded. Normal? If such destruction was "ordinary," then what would an incantation do?
Before they could ask further, Yun Che turned his head toward Retsu and gave her a small nod.
Retsu stepped forward gracefully, her fox ears twitching as her arm lifted. Her voice rang out, calm yet reverent, each word weaving power into the air:
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!"
At once, azure energy began to swirl around her arm, crackling like an oncoming storm. The pressure thickened, forcing Little Fairy and Cang Yue to instinctively hold their breath.
"Truth and temperance… upon this sinless wall of dreams, unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws."
Her arm leveled at a distant boulder. The blue aura condensed into a sphere, humming with restrained destruction.
"Way of Destruction #33—Blue Fire, Crash Down!"
The world flashed. A torrent of searing azure fire, laced with lightning-like arcs, roared forth and engulfed the landscape. The spell's brilliance was so blinding that both women had to shield their eyes, bracing for the explosion.
BOOM!!!
When the light and thunder faded, silence fell. Slowly, they opened their eyes—only to see a massive trench gouged deep into the earth, stretching far beyond where the boulder once stood. The air was scorched, the very ground warped from the heat.
Little Fairy's lips parted soundlessly. Cang Yue clutched her robes, trembling in disbelief. This was no mere "art." It was as though heaven's wrath itself had been unleashed.
Yun Che, however, only stared at the devastation with a faint, knowing smirk. He remembered this spell—it was the same version Byakuya once cast on Renji during Rukia's execution. And now, Retsu had reproduced it flawlessly.
Retsu lowered her hand, the last sparks of azure fire fading into the night, and turned toward the still-gawking Little Fairy and Cang Yue. Her lips curved into a calm, almost playful smile.
"So, what do you think?"
Kon crossed his arms, unimpressed. He'd seen Yun Che fling kido spells around during training more times than he could count. But for the two women, it was a different story.
They were speechless to the core. If this was what these two had been hiding all along, then why hadn't they used it sooner? Was it too weak to matter… or so powerful it was dangerous even for them?
Monsters… absolute monsters.
Cang Yue's voice trembled as she finally broke the silence. "Th-this was… the Way of Destruction #33? Then… does that mean there are… more?"
Little Fairy remained quiet, her face pale. She suddenly realized that the kido Retsu had used on her back when they first fought wasn't even close to this level. The gap between them had been far wider than she imagined—even when she'd thought herself two entire realms above.
Yun Che nodded casually, resting Tensa Zangetsu across his lap. "Yeah. Kido arts are split into three main paths: Destruction, Binding, and Barrier. Retsu and I don't know nearly all of them yet. The most common ones you've seen: the simple thrust Retsu used during the banquet? That's Way of Destruction #1—Thrust. The red smoke we used to escape? Way of Binding #21—Red Smoke Escape."
He raised a finger, his tone calm but heavy with meaning. "Each path contains one hundred spells. #1 is the weakest, #100 is the strongest. Barrier arts are the only exception—they stop at twenty-seven. We'll… show you more, when the time is right."
Both women stiffened. One hundred spells in each path? The sheer scope of it dwarfed anything they had ever heard in their world of profound cultivation.
Yun Che's gaze shifted to Little Fairy, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Remember when we first met? The binding spell I used to stop your snowball? That was Way of Binding #63—Locking Bondage Stripes."
Her breath caught. Something so overwhelming, used so casually on her back then…
Cang Yue swallowed hard. "O-one hundred… And only soul cultivators can learn them?"
"Correct." Yun Che's voice carried a quiet weight. "But don't mistake quantity for mastery. Not every soul cultivator can wield them. Some… have died just trying to learn."
The implication sank in like a stone. If that was the case, then Yun Che and Retsu weren't just soul cultivators. They were prodigies—monsters in human skin—able to wield spells that others couldn't even survive learning.
Cang Yue's eyes dimmed as disappointment settled in her chest. A part of her had hoped—even if it was foolish—that she might one day learn these Kido arts. But Yun Che's words made it clear: only soul cultivators could wield them. Unless she turned into whatever these "Shinigami" or "Quincy" truly were—something impossible in this world—her dream would remain just that.
Little Fairy, however, pressed further. Her voice was steady but carried a quiet edge of longing. "Then… how did you two become soul cultivators?"
From her perspective, neither Yun Che nor Retsu cultivated profound energy the way every other being in this world did. Their power seemed to exist outside the usual laws of cultivation, yet they still measured themselves against profound realms as though crossing two paths at once.
Yun Che's eyes flickered, but he answered without hesitation. "Truthfully, we don't know the full process. Our souls… were already empowered from the moment we were born."
It was a clean, convincing lie. The reality—that a human soul had to be torn from its body, remade through pain, and balanced against an inner hollow—was something he would never reveal. Not to them. Not when the system had done the impossible for him already, and not when he already had Retsu, Nemu, and perhaps more Shinigami yet to come. Turning these girls into Shinigami would mean annihilating their cultivation, their very humanity. That… he would never allow.
Little Fairy's expression softened, though disappointment flickered in her eyes. So, it was simply fate? They had been born this way, chosen by heaven—or perhaps cursed.
Her next question came quieter, tinged with curiosity. "Then… are there others like you? Soul cultivators outside the two of you?"
Yun Che lifted his shoulders in a casual shrug, masking his caution with ease. "Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?"
He kept his voice light, but inside his mind, his thoughts were sharp. Nemu, others who may come through the cubes… I'll need a cover story ready when the time comes. They can never know the truth.
Little Fairy's shoulders relaxed with acceptance. She understood there was nothing she could do to learn those arts now; she would have to be content with the strength Yun Che had already given her — the haki, the training, the small slices of power he'd shared. Still, curiosity burned at her. "Alright, but… how did the two of you gain these powers? How do you cultivate them?"
Yun Che had suspected the question was coming. Hollowfication was a forbidden, exclusive path — not something he could hand out like advice. But he wouldn't leave them guessing. He met Little Fairy's earnest gaze and answered carefully.
"This method is called hollowfication."
"Hollowfication?" Cang Yue echoed, eyes narrowing.
"It's the process of fusing a hollow's soul with the soul of a soul-cultivator," Yun Che explained. "Our souls are tempered enough to resist and bind a hollow, but not every soul cultivator could do it. We were… fortunate. We succeeded where many fail."
Retsu stepped forward, calm and precise. "The hollow's essence is subdued and bound to our will. It becomes a part of our power—hence the mask, the change in aura and voice. If the process fails, the hollow consumes the host; the human becomes a hollow. When we wear the mask, we can channel hollow power while keeping our minds. But using it too long exposes us to the hollow's instincts. Stay in it too much, and the hollow will devour the last of your humanity."
"That's why we don't keep the masks on all the time," Yun Che added. "Overuse means losing yourself and wrecking everything you care about."
Little Fairy and Cang Yue absorbed the warning, the horror and wonder mixing on their faces. Then Yun Che dropped the part he had to. "If either of you thinks you can learn hollowfication — forget it. It only works on souls that have already been altered or empowered like ours. Even then, many soul cultivators fail and become hollows. Try it with an ordinary human soul and you don't get power—you get eaten. In short: it's like throwing yourself into the maw of a hollow."
He let the words hang, then offered a quieter, half-confession: "I didn't tell you everything earlier—Zangetsu is a hollowfied Zanpakutō. Retsu's mask… she has Yachiru. That's part of why we can use it at all." He left the rest unsaid; some truths were safer kept behind locked doors.
Cang Yue's disappointment was immediate and sharp. "Sigh. I wish I could learn it like you two."
"Better if you don't," Yun Che said, voice steady. "I won't let a hollow eat you for my sake. And even if we wanted to extract a hollow's soul, we can't—most hollows die the moment their mask is broken. It's not something you experiment with. Not ever."
Little Fairy looked away for a long moment, then nodded. The dream was gone, but the awe remained — and with it, a new, sober respect for the cost of such power.
"Well, you're right about that… rascal." Little Fairy exhaled, shaking her head. It was still a miracle that she'd leapt seven levels in three months, now standing as the strongest in the Empire. She and Cang Yue knew better than to chase hollowfication—power without humanity wasn't power worth having.
"But," Cang Yue added softly, "despite carrying hollow power… you don't feel unsettling at all. I can trust you both." Her lips curved into a small smile as she stepped closer to Retsu. "Though there is one thing I've been curious about."
Before Retsu could react, Cang Yue brushed her fingers along the woman's ears. Retsu stiffened, then gave a helpless little purr.
"I knew it," Cang Yue whispered delightedly. "So soft."
"S-Sister Yue, stop… that tickles." Retsu tried to hide her fluster, but the sound only grew louder, making her cheeks pink.
Yun Che sweat-dropped. That same habit of hers surfaced whenever she was teased—it was exactly like when Jasmine used to toy with him. He should have warned Retsu sooner.
Cang Yue, emboldened, reached for Retsu's tails. "Oh heavens… they're even softer than I imagined! Sister Yuechan, come here—you have to feel this."
Little Fairy hesitated, then joined in, stroking Retsu's ears and tails. The silky texture shocked her. "It's like… softer than any wool I've ever touched. And yet these tails held up that enormous energy sphere?"
Cang Yue giggled as she wrapped one around her neck like a scarf, nuzzling into it with open delight.
Kon, of course, began creeping closer—until Yun Che caught his shoulder.
"Eh? What's your deal, man? I just want to touch it too!"
Yun Che deadpanned, "Her ears and tails are like touching her chest and rear. Imagine what happens if you try it."
Kon froze. A mental image of his funeral flashed across his mind. He shivered. "On second thought—nope. I value my life."
"You suuuure? They're really soft," Yun Che prodded with a smirk.
"Hell no!" Kon leapt onto Yun Che's shoulder and socked his cheek. "You're just trying to bait me into an early grave!"
"Tsk." Yun Che clicked his tongue, looking away.
"You don't get to tsk at me!" Kon shouted, but Yun Che ignored him.
At last, the teasing stopped. Retsu sagged, exhausted, though a faint smile lingered on her lips. She only allowed people she trusted to touch her ears and tails… and today she had indulged two new hands.
Little Fairy straightened her robes and cleared her throat. "Alright, that's enough nonsense. Where are we heading next?"
But Yun Che and Retsu didn't answer. They exchanged a glance, something heavy passing silently between them.
"What is it?" Cang Yue asked, frowning at their sudden seriousness.
Yun Che drew in a long breath before meeting Little Fairy's eyes. His voice was calm, yet weighty.
"Little Fairy… don't you realize? Today marks the last day of your three-month agreement with us."