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Aizen's laughter echoed through the great chamber, sharp and deliberate, slicing through the heavy air like his blade through flesh. The sages and judges of Central 46, normally steeped in arrogance and ceremony, were frozen in place, their faces contorted with disbelief at the audacity unfolding before them.
"You insolent fool! Do you have any idea where you are?" one of the elders bellowed, voice quivering between outrage and fear.
Another rose, slamming his palm on the desk. "Aizen SÅsuke, your actions are tantamount to high treason! Leave at once, or be condemned as a criminal of the highest order!"
The scorn spilled from every corner of the hall, their righteous fury clashing with the palpable tension Aizen had woven into the atmosphere, yet none of their voices drew even a flicker of reaction from outside. Not a single guard stirred. Not a single reiatsu wavered. Because long before setting foot inside, Aizen had already enshrouded the guards in an unbreakable illusion through KyÅka Suigetsu, severing their senses from reality and rendering them deaf, blind, and dumb to what was about to unfold.
Within the chamber, the shouting escalated.
"You there! Did you not hear the orders of this Court? Sheathe your blade and stand down immediately!"
"Withdraw now, before this foolishness brands you a traitor beyond redemption!"
One of the judges stepped forward and jabbed an accusatory finger toward Aizen, his voice shrill with indignation. "Have you lost your mind?!"
Aizen's gaze shifted toward the man, and with a soft inflection, his voice drifted upward. "Oh? You were speaking to me?"
The sudden calm that followed his words swallowed the entire chamber, silencing the frantic voices in an instant. For a breath, confusion flickered in the judge's eyes, then gave way to rage.
"A mere Fifth Division captain dares speak like that to Central 46?! Have you truly abandoned all reason?!"
But before the man could utter another syllable, a thin gleam of steel sang through the air.
The reinforced screen between them split cleanly in two, a single flash of movement severing all sound. The judge stood frozen, his expression suspended in horror, until the telltale wet snap of parting flesh followed. His hand instinctively reached for his throat, but it found only airāhis head had already slipped from his shoulders and fallen like a stone to the polished floor below.
A gasp rippled outward. A wave of disbelief struck the assembly.
"Aizen SÅsuke! Have you gone mad?!"
"He killed a judge! He drew his sword inside Central 46 and executed a sitting Inquisitor!"
"This is mutiny! Call the guards immediately! Sound the alarm!"
A sage slammed his palm against a trial microphone, triggering the broadcast system, but beyond the thick walls and the protective spells of the chamber, the guards remained unmoved. Every one of them still stood silently outside, locked inside the perfect illusion of KyÅka Suigetsu's hypnosis. Whatever panic and bloodshed erupted within this sacred hall would go unseen, unheard, and unanswered.
Aizen calmly wiped the blood from his blade, his smile unchanging, as he met the horrified stares of the remaining members. One by one, his gaze moved from face to face, each one pale with mounting dread.
"Youā¦ what are you trying to accomplish here?!" another sage cried, voice cracking.
"What madness possesses you?! Stop this, Aizen SÅsuke! Cease this blasphemy before it's too late!"
Though their tones brimmed with fury, the fear had already sunk in deeper than the rage. They had just witnessed a killing. They had seen blood soak the hall's sacred floor. And none among them had moved to stop it.
Yet still they shouted, clinging to rules and authority that had already failed them.
Hidden in a shadowed corner near the ceiling, a cloaked figure stifled a laugh. Su Li crouched silently beneath the same kind of illusion cloak Aizen wore, hands twitching with restrained excitement as he peered down at the chaos below.
The whispers barely left his lips. "Oooh, manā¦ so much better than watching from a screen. Front-row seat to the main eventā¦"
Aizen, for a brief moment, tilted his head, as if catching something unusual in the air, a flicker of familiar presence. But he dismissed the thought with a faint smile, convinced his own obsession had created phantom echoes.
Surely, he thought, that man wouldn't be foolish enough to follow him here.
With his certainty restored, Aizen's attention returned to the Council.
"I had considered explaining the necessity of your deaths," he said, voice low and measured, every syllable perfectly clear. "But then I realized such effort would be wasted. You lack the minds to grasp anything beyond your own bureaucracy."
His blade lifted again, the polished steel catching the lantern light above, reflecting back into dozens of frightened eyes. Panic erupted. Several sages bolted from their seats, scattering in clumsy retreat toward the exits. Others fell to their knees, screaming for help or divine justice. Some simply froze, lips trembling, unable to move or speak.
"Stop! Don't!"
"We're judges of Soul Society! You can't do this!"
"Help us! Captain-Commander! Anyone! Please!"
But no one was coming.
And Aizen didn't hesitate.
One clean arcāone sweep of the bladeāand the screaming stopped.
Silence fell.
The last echoes of movement faded, replaced by the soft thud of bodies slumping forward, blood blooming across the white wood of their tables. Forty-five souls, all silenced in less than a breath. Not one managed to flee. Not one resisted.
The smell of death soaked into the walls, quiet and complete.
Aizen stood amidst the stillness, sword lowered at his side, the faint curve of satisfaction returning to his lips as he observed the stillness he had wrought.
"The chirping of insects is annoying," he murmured. "But once it's quiet... it's almost peaceful."
Above, Su Li clapped silently, grin spreading beneath his cloak, heart pounding from the thrill of it all.
"Thatā¦ was art," he whispered to himself, eyes gleaming. "Better than the manga, better than the anime. That man knows how to end a scene."
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