"But this man… he still bears a number on his body," Shin replied calmly.
A number meant a direct link to Aizen himself. Ending him so casually was suspicious at best.
Daesle softened his voice, mixing truth with lies. "Yes, he is one of our important comrades. Sadly, he was gravely injured in battle. We only wish to borrow your ability to ease his suffering quickly."
Shin's brows knit. His speech was well-dressed, but full of holes.
First, Hollows had little sense of companionship. Such complex emotions were rare, found only in exceptional cases like Nel's group, Harribel and her Fracción, or Starrk. Shin refused to believe someone like Daesle could feel that way.
Second, all Arrancar were Aizen's property. Even in death, their remains required formal report. Daesle's rush to handle things in secret reeked of a cover-up.
And Shin could already guess the truth.
The Quinta Espada, Nnoitra, was obsessed with rankings. Grimmjow, brash and rising, was right next to him on the ladder. The pressure of rivalry was obvious.
So, eliminate Grimmjow's Fracción first, weakening him piece by piece before going for the man himself.
The Arrancar before him, No. 13 Edorad Leones, must have been ambushed by Daesle in one such "battle," left half-destroyed. The faint traces of reiryoku lingering in his wounds matched Daesle's signature perfectly.
Edorad had survived only thanks to his armored body, shielding his vitals from a finishing blow.
But unable to breach that armor, Daesle now wanted to use Shin as his knife.
That alone sealed Shin's decision: he wouldn't play executioner. Not out of pity, but because he had no interest in being dragged into the bloody rivalries of the Espada.
Just as he opened his mouth to refuse, the system chimed in:
[Ding~ Random Mission Triggered. Completion will grant an extra reward. Task Objective: Disintegrate all nearby Hollows.]
The temptation of a mysterious reward stirred something inside him.
Yet the task was ruthless, Edorad included. Perhaps even Daesle himself.
After some thought, Shin chose to accept. He could only apologize to those nearby for what came next.
"My ability only works on corpses," he told Daesle evenly. "This one is still alive."
"I'll take care of that." A sly glint flashed across Daesle's face. He turned to Edorad with mock solemnity. "You served Lord Aizen well. Now, rest in peace."
Then, without hesitation, he unleashed dozens of Bala, each twenty times faster than a normal Cero. They rained mercilessly on Edorad's head.
The wounded Arrancar crossed his arms to shield himself, catching one strike after another. Bala lacked the force of a Cero, but a barrage of them still tore through his defenses, slipping through cracks to smash inside.
Explosions rang out. Then silence.
Shin exhaled faintly. The cruelty was sharper than expected. And yet, he sensed Edorad's reiatsu vanish entirely, finally gone.
His Resurrección form dissolved, but the heavy armor slowed decomposition. That, of course, was Daesle's real problem.
For Shin, it was the perfect opening.
He laid his hand on the corpse, activating the system.
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. Collected R-level [Cero] attribute. Power +1000.]
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. Collected R-level [Sonído] attribute. Power +1000.]
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. Collected SR-level [Armor] attribute. Power +2000.]
Tension should have filled the air, but Shin was secretly pleased.
A current Arrancar truly yielded greater rewards. Even without top-tier drops, the average quality was impressive.
He quickly converted [Cero] and [Sonído] into pure reiryoku, then stored [Armor] in the system, it was one of his rare defensive skills, after all.
As he finished, the corpse's reiryoku unravelled, decomposition hastening.
But then, a gust of dust brushed across the sand.
Shin's eyes flicked sideways. Under the pale moonlight, Daesle's form swelled, power surging.
Shin had foreseen this from the moment the mission began. The talk of "disintegrating Hollows" was bait. The real goal was to erase Edorad, and silence Shin along with him.
Sand roared outward as his spiritual pressure spiked severalfold.
"Fall to the ground, Yagais!"
The release phrase rasped from Daesle's throat, voice turning guttural and bestial as his form shifted.
This was his Resurrección, a towering, boar-like brute.
He had no intention of holding back.
"You're remarkably calm," Daesle sneered, looming over him.
"It's only a Resurrección. Hardly surprising," Shin replied, rising to face him.
Tusks jutted, crimson hide bristled, muscles bulged, the man was unrecognizable.
"Ha! Frozen in fear already? Your death may be unjust, but it is inevitable!" Daesle roared.
"Oh? Then hurry up and do it," Shin said, his tone as flat as steel.
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter