"They're finally all here…"
Kazuma looked at the group that had returned.
Chika Shihōin glanced at the newcomers, then turned to Rukia and said, "Well? The nickname Sunny Boy wasn't wrong, was it?"
Rukia stared at Danjirō Obana again and again.
It really was not the wrong nickname.
It suited him far too well.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin."
As Kazuma spoke, he drew his Zanpakutō and opened his domain.
Everyone immediately felt as though the area covered by the domain had become a separate world.
Within it, Hell's will was completely cut off.
"Sever."
Kazuma swiftly swung the blade in his hand.
The chains wrapped around the captains snapped one after another.
At the same time, he did not go back on his promise. He also cut away part of the chains binding Shuren and the others.
Shuren's group was shocked to discover that the restraints on their bodies had weakened greatly, and they looked at Kazuma with gratitude.
After finishing all of that, Kazuma began panting.
A trace of exhaustion appeared on his face.
After all, using this domain power on such a large scale, especially when he had not fully mastered it yet, was an enormous burden even for him.
But the moment he withdrew the domain, the sky of Hell suddenly changed.
A vast mass of dark thunderclouds appeared out of nowhere.
Thunder rumbled violently, as if the end of the world had arrived.
"What's going on?"
Everyone looked up in surprise, staring at the strange thunderclouds filling the sky.
"Strange. How can there be thunderclouds in Hell? Is someone controlling lightning?" Chika Shihōin frowned and asked in confusion.
His gaze swept over everyone present before finally landing on Kazuma, because among the people here, only Kazuma's Zanpakutō possessed the power to command lightning.
The instant Kazuma withdrew his domain, an intense sense of unease surged through his heart.
He felt as though he had been targeted by some terrifying primordial beast, and every hair on his body instinctively stood on end.
'What the hell is going on? Is there still some indescribable thing hidden in Hell? Could it be an existence as powerful as the Soul King in the three worlds?'
Kazuma thought silently.
Just then, Rukia suddenly shouted from beside him, "Sensei, look at the sky!"
Kazuma raised his head in confusion.
'What could be in the sky? Don't tell me flowers are blooming up there?'
But when he truly saw the sky, he froze in shock.
The once gloomy sky had, at some point, become packed with dark clouds.
Heavy thunderclouds rolled in, as if announcing the arrival of a massive storm.
"What the hell? Where did these thunderclouds come from? Don't tell me you made them?" Chika asked in surprise.
Kazuma looked completely baffled and quickly shook his head.
"Of course it wasn't me!"
Chika teased him again. "I thought you were trying to show off again…"
Everyone looked at one another, none of them knowing why such strange thunderclouds had appeared.
Kazuma stared at the sky, and that indescribable unease in his chest grew stronger and stronger.
It felt as though some enormous threat was closing in on him.
Then, suddenly, a brilliant bolt of lightning tore across the sky, followed by a deafening crack of thunder.
That lightning was like a massive dragon ripping through the clouds as it struck directly toward them.
Kazuma's expression changed.
Without hesitation, he pushed Rukia away, gripped his Zanpakutō tightly, and tried to block the terrifying lightning strike.
But the instant the lightning collided with his Zanpakutō, he realized he had underestimated its power.
The overwhelming force blasted him backward.
His body tumbled several times through the air before crashing heavily into the ground.
"Sensei!"
Rukia cried out in alarm and hurried over to help him up.
Looking at his pale face and the blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, her eyes filled with worry.
Kazuma endured the sharp pain, wiped away the blood at his lips, and struggled back to his feet.
He gripped his Zanpakutō tightly and stared at the thunderclouds, his heart filled with confusion.
"What the hell is this thing…"
Kazuma muttered to himself.
He had never seen lightning this powerful before. Worse, it seemed to be coming directly for him.
At that moment, a low roar came from within the thunderclouds, like a colossal beast raging.
The entire space trembled, as if it was about to be torn apart.
"Everyone, spread out! This lightning is targeting me!"
Kazuma shouted.
That uneasy feeling grew even stronger, and he finally understood where it had come from.
He had cut the chains of Hell from so many people, disrupted the laws by which Hell operated, and violated Hell's will.
This lightning was punishment for his defiance.
Ignoring his injuries, Kazuma gritted his teeth and used Shunpo, trying to evade the lightning's lock.
However, no matter where he ran, the thunderclouds followed him like a shadow.
Bolts of lightning struck down one after another, blasting deep craters into the ground.
Kazuma looked up at the sky, his gaze deep.
He knew he could not run.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to face the lightning head-on.
"All of you stay far away. Today, I'm fighting this thunderstorm myself!"
Kazuma shouted, then charged alone toward the thunderclouds.
He raised his Zanpakutō high and swung forward with every bit of strength he had.
In an instant, a dazzling light shot into the sky like a meteor and collided violently with the lightning.
For one brief moment, heaven and earth seemed to change color.
The entire space was swallowed by blinding light, as though time and space had frozen in that instant.
Then a figure plummeted from the sky at terrifying speed, crashing into the ground like a meteor.
With a thunderous boom, a massive crater formed where he landed.
"Fuck! The strength of this lightning is ridiculous! It feels like it's really trying to kill me!"
Kazuma crawled out of the crater, coughing out a mouthful of black smoke. His face was covered in soot, and his clothes had been shredded into rags, revealing charred-black skin underneath.
He looked as if he had just crawled out of a sea of fire.
Before he could finish complaining, another bolt of lightning struck straight down from the sky.
"Damn it! You're not done yet?!"
Kazuma could not help cursing.
Then he gritted his teeth and charged toward the sea of lightning again.
However, the result did not change.
He was blasted back by the lightning once more and crashed into the ground.
But after being struck again and again, Kazuma was surprised to discover something strange.
After the lightning entered his body, it did not inflict fatal damage. Instead, it made his spiritual body increasingly solid and resilient.
'Don't tell me those cultivation novel protagonists using heavenly lightning to temper their divine bodies actually had a bit of truth to them?'
Kazuma thought silently.
He tried circulating the spiritual power within his body and discovered that his strength seemed to have risen slightly.
"Star's Protection!"
Kazuma raised his Zanpakutō high.
A vast amount of stellar power surged quickly into his body, helping him recover from his injuries.
As time passed, the lightning grew stronger with each strike.
Yet Kazuma discovered that although he was beaten miserably every time, the lightning never quite reached a truly fatal level.
And because of that, a bold idea slowly took root in his mind…