The fall of Perception upon unleashing Sento's Shikai was absolute.
Which meant, when Shura Yukihanabi released himself, his Perception had already been cut in half.
Despite that, it was Kai and Mang Jian whose senses were distorted.
Black liquid, turning white with every ripple before resuming its blackness, oozed out from Akaza, instantly drowning all and everything.
The moment this black liquid touched the blood under and around Kai's feet, it… made it sizzle. That blood was nothing but a limited release of Limitless Blood Firmament, holding all the beasts. With one thought, he could call them out for a surprise attack or use their abilities to get an edge over his enemies.
But the moment the black liquid, turning white now and then, made the blood boil, a painful growl deafened Kai's ears as all his devoured beasts experienced disintegration.
To his utter surprise, it wasn't only the beasts who were growling.
For the first time in Kai's life, after years… well over a thousand… he experienced Ayin's pain.
—Ugh…— the yellow-haired, faceless Zanpakuto hissed, holding her head within the Reality Marble. —What… is this?!—
Kai was stunned.
As if Ayin's pain and confusion weren't enough, the entire pool of blood around his feet compressed so much that his feet barely rested in it.
If it had compressed by one more inch, then he would have lost all his Buffs instantly.
That seemed bad, but not worse.
It was worse, though.
Because losing his Buffs at such a time would make Kai implode, disintegrating on the spot.
Currently, he was using the entire might of Selfless Breathing to not explode because of the piled-up Buffs. Simultaneously, the Buffs exerted pressure against Selfless Breathing, maintaining a delicate balance.
Once that balance was gone…
"Arghhhhhhh…" Kai let out a demonic growl and planted his foot deeper into the pool of blood.
Every time!
Every fucking time he created something phenomenal, the world kept finding ways to make him learn that it wasn't that phenomenal. That there existed powers that could instantly turn his trump cards against him. That if he didn't improve continuously, the world would find a way to push him back, one way or another.
Against the likes of Inquisitors, Kai could understand falling short.
He only needed time, and he would surpass them eventually.
What about this?
What about Akaza?
What about the Storyline Character who wouldn't exist if it weren't for him?
CRACK!
"Calm—" Kai growled, crouching, letting his Haki run amok. "Fuck off!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
From the other side, Mang Jian wielded the Blade of Null, using Path Severance.
It was the same move that he had used to mutilate Kai despite the latter's Advanced Observation Haki.
Path Severance allowed Mang Jian to occupy Spiritual Paths that were generated with the target's every intent. As long as an intent remained, he could either sever it or occupy the Path generated by it, teleporting right next to the target.
Kai and Mang Jian appeared on either side of Shura Yukihanabi almost simultaneously.
One was like an avalanche that could devour a world, bringing with it raw power. The other was like a blade that could make the Source itself bleed. Together, there was nothing that the two couldn't cut.
Then, time stilled.
Intents were there, but Mang Jian couldn't read them anymore.
Forget about reading intents, the Spiritual Path he occupied… broke, all his Spiritual Power experiencing a severe backlash.
On the other side, Kai, who was about to cut right through Akaza and Mang Jian like an unbiased force of nature, paused as well.
If it were a literal stopping of time, then he could have done something about it.
The Ad Infinitum and Lucky Intuitions would have continued to function, activating the safety guards he had placed for such particular scenarios. Mang Jian's Bankai had given him no small trauma, forcing him to prepare for similar battles in the future.
But this?
This wasn't a mere stoppage of time.
Because time still flowed at the same rate for Kai and Mang Jian.
It was all Akaza, moving so fast that it defied logic; defied everything.
Akaza's movements were so fast, in fact, that the intents he generated went right over Mang Jian's head, giving the impression that they weren't there. He was so fast that not even Ad Infinitum with its current processing power could pick up on the anomaly. He was so fast that not even a single Lucky Intuition was generated to warn of something like this happening.
And, with that speed, the demon who had claimed himself to be a Zanpakuto made fists.
Soryu Breathing Style: Air Type —
Black and white Reiatsu gathered around Akaza's fists.
Then, in that stilled time, he punched, his fists barely stopping a millimeter away from Kai and Mang Jian's torsos.
— Bala!
Crack…
The world regained its colors.
The black liquid, which had overwhelmed everyone's Perception, receded.
The blackness and whiteness in the surroundings persisted, but looked gentler than before.
Near Akaza, Kai fell, holding his stomach. With a poof, his transformation vanished, the Reality Marble beneath his feet cracking apart. Every Skill and Ability that he owned seemed to shake, like experiencing a glitch. His eyes had rolled back into his head, Crest Worms spilling out from his mouth as he coughed up blood and vomit.
With a loud tink, Kanshou and Bakuya Overedge fell upon each other, losing their Shikai.
Akaza bent and effortlessly picked them up, flicked them around, and nodded to himself before dropping them back like sticks.
Then, he turned around and looked at Sento lying next to Mang Jian, who was staring right back at him… with a hole in his stomach.
"You are wounded," Akaza commented, the Snowflake patterns swirling on his face. "Kai's doing?"
Mang Jian opened his mouth, and only blood came out.
Standing between the two Contestants, Akaza rotated his wrists, jumped on the balls of his feet, and cracked his neck… stretching.
"Come on, now. Get up," the Zanpakuto said, crouching and holding Kai and Mang Jian by their heads. "Let's go for round two. Let's…
"… have some fun!"