join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters
"I knew it!"
Oyama shouted excitedly while quickly retreating as Himura's attention was entirely on Ishikawa Katori. "With Big Bro Ishikawa's character, he would never abandon us and run away!"
Oyama spoke with such certainty, as if the person who had been furiously cursing 'bastard' just seconds ago wasn't him at all.
Ishikawa Katori glanced at him, his icy gaze making Oyama shiver. He hastily said, "You go, you go… I won't bother you."
"..."
Watching Oyama suddenly move away after their eyes met, Ishikawa Katori opened his mouth, then gave up on the idea of explaining to the customer.
Since fighting was unavoidable, he had to ensure his retreat path.
Although Ishikawa Katori didn't believe that with his current strength, he would lose to a follower of a great villain, there was no harm in being cautious.
After all, this time was different from the last; Shiba Kūkaku was not secretly following him.
Before starting the battle, he had to ensure he could retreat safely at any time. Oyama and his subordinates were well aware of this, but because the enemy was too strong, they had no time to worry about their retreat path.
So, when he discovered Himura's forces dividing to cut off their retreat, Ishikawa Katori immediately used Kyōka Suigetsu to conceal his figure and silently moved towards those who were blocking their escape.
"Hado!?"
Himura had lived for nearly 600 years and had seen members of the Gotei 13 use Hado before, but the power of the Kido used by those members in her memory couldn't compare to this black-haired youth; they were on completely different levels.
Very strong!
Himura instantly made a judgment in her mind, made a gesture behind her, and shouted, "Assemble!"
Immediately, her subordinates, who were scattered throughout the town, forced back their opponents and began to gather towards Himura's location.
This allowed Oyama's previously beleaguered subordinates to breathe a sigh of relief and they did not intercept. Although there were a few bloodthirsty villains who erupted in ferocity, most of them were cut down by a flurry of blades after giving chase.
With Ishikawa Katori's appearance, the battlefield, which had been filled with shouts of killing, suddenly became somewhat eerie, with both warring sides involuntarily retreating.
As for Oyama, he called upon a few of his stronger subordinates and dispersed them on both sides of the town, to prevent Himura from outflanking them again as she had before.
"Why is a Shinigami, who should be doing their job of killing, so idle as to meddle in our affairs?" Himura looked at Ishikawa Katori, her tone mocking.
Ishikawa Katori's eyes flashed with surprise at her words; he had heard similar things from Oyama.
For some reason, there seemed to be a common consensus in the lower-numbered districts, where 'Shinigami' and 'assassin' were seemingly equated in their eyes.
Ishikawa Katori showed Himura his signature smile, though under the chilling aura that involuntarily emanated from him whenever his killing intent arose, the smile became cold and terrifying:
"I'm not a Shinigami. I'm just a small shop owner who takes people's money to help them solve their troubles."
Himura snorted. She didn't believe that after decades in the West 80th District, Rukongai had changed to the point where even a shop owner could casually use Kido.
However, she didn't doubt that Ishikawa Katori wasn't a Shinigami.
Because the feeling he gave off was nothing like a Shinigami; instead, he was more like those great villains in the West 80th District. The familiar aura made Himura's vigilance soar.
"Kill!"
After confirming that the other party was not a Shinigami, Himura directly waved her hand at her subordinates behind her, and hundreds of people simultaneously charged at Ishikawa Katori.
Ishikawa Katori no longer wanted to dwell on whether the word 'communication' existed in these villains' dictionaries. A flicker of killing intent flashed in his eyes, and he simply charged straight into the vast crowd.
Himura did not go forward this time, but stood behind her subordinates, carefully observing Ishikawa Katori.
The opponent was very similar to those terrifying great villains in the West 80th District. Rather than sitting idly and waiting for the other party to make the first move, it was better to strike first!
Over a hundred people attacking one person, and the opponent not fleeing, did not make Himura think 'the advantage is mine.' Instead, she became even more vigilant. The fact that the opponent dared to charge forward like this clearly meant he wasn't limited to Kido that required long incantations.
Just as Himura was secretly on guard, Ishikawa Katori, who was coming towards them, suddenly raised his right hand and brought it down, just as he had when releasing the large fireball earlier.
The distance between the two sides was constantly closing, and everyone's nerves were tightening. Faced with Ishikawa Katori's sudden movement, some of the tense villains instinctively reacted.
Himura's expression changed, and she wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.
Many people had already manifested their spiritual pressure, pouring it into the blades in their hands. For a moment, a sky-blue spiritual energy permeated the entire battlefield.
"Attack together! Don't let him use that fireball again!"
Someone shouted, and various weapons filled with spiritual pressure smashed towards Ishikawa Katori. The sight of hundreds of people releasing spiritual pressure was spectacular, and the sky-blue spiritual energy converged, like a surging tide, rushing towards Ishikawa Katori.
Damn it!
Himura's expression was solemn. Having dealt with powerful, temperamental great villains who would slaughter indiscriminately in the West 80th District for years, these 'weaker' individuals had to cooperate to survive.
Although her subordinates couldn't be called elites, they had a tacit understanding with each other, and their cooperation allowed them to unleash considerable strength.
The opponent seemed to have seen this. His sudden raise of the hand just now was timed perfectly. Not only did it interrupt their build-up, but it also caused some impatient individuals to attack first, disrupting the entire team's attack rhythm.
While it was true that her subordinates hadn't fought Shinigami before and didn't understand that Shinigami needed to chant to release Kido, the fact that the opponent could immediately think of this and apply it showed that the black-haired youth had extremely rich combat experience.
A seemingly ordinary movement could produce extraordinary results.
The attack is coming!
Sure enough, Ishikawa Katori, who had raised his hand, suddenly vanished, and when he reappeared, he was on the flank of the crowd, catching everyone who was prepared to endure Ishikawa Katori's Kido by surprise.
As soon as he appeared, Ishikawa Katori stepped forward, delivering a straight punch to the nearest person.
Bang!
A straightforward punch, yet it sent the struck person flying backward, hitting several others before their body exploded from the impact.
Under the blood mist.
Ishikawa Katori, like a ghost, moved rapidly, swaying and striking with both fists and feet, killing one person after another on the spot.
The continuous deaths of their companions brought intense pressure upon everyone. No one knew if they would be the next to die, and they could only instinctively attack frantically, trying to stop the opponent.
Intense fear made them lose all coordination, fighting individually, and their attacks became exceptionally chaotic.
All sorts of Hakuda techniques poured out like a storm, giving the impression not of a battle to the death, but rather of someone honing their moves using these enemies as practice.
And that was precisely the case.
Although from Himura's perspective, Ishikawa Katori possessed extremely rich combat experience, in reality, Ishikawa Katori's actual combat experience was pitifully scarce, with this being only his second time.
It was only after the previous battle that he became accustomed to fighting opponents who used spiritual pressure, and coupled with the disparity in strength, that he gained such a huge advantage!
Tiger entering a flock of sheep!
These words were undoubtedly the most fitting description for the current situation.
...
join the Church of MissRaven and become a Sequence 9: Reader p atreon.com/KeyofStars for more chapters