Chapter 17: The Power a Ruler Should Possess
"What's wrong? Not attacking? Waiting for my companions to get further away so they can't support me in time?"
Sōma flicked the blood off his blade, his gaze sharp.
"No."
Number Two's dog-like head combined with his humanoid body would have looked quite like an Egyptian death god if he'd carried a staff or something similar.
But appearance was secondary—the intelligence accumulated over years was what truly mattered.
"I was contemplating whether you're a fool or wise."
"How so?"
"I can understand that you correctly recognized my power, gathered your companions, and stayed behind alone to restrain me. But your wording deeply displeases me."
"You mean 'I'll finish my part before you do'?"
"Exactly."
"I don't consider that statement foolish."
Sōma remained unfazed.
Number Two laughed in anger, his terrifying face contorting as his Reiatsu nearly materialized around his body. Gradually, his skin turned from white to dark gray.
"—That only proves you've abandoned thought, content to remain a fool!"
The next moment, Number Two charged at Sōma with enough force to shatter the atmosphere, his claws merging into a hand blade aimed at Sōma's brain as if to dig out and study his cerebellum with brutal ferocity.
Sōma retreated to avoid the strike, but the resulting shockwave sent his slender form flying backward.
He had no choice but to create footholds mid-air, executing consecutive flips to stabilize himself.
Number Two's attacks came in relentless succession.
"See? Feel it? From the moment you sighed about my enhanced defense, you made a grave error. You don't understand my limits, my greatness—!"
Amid his raging assault, Number Two mixed in sharp verbal blades, making it clear this wasn't even his full power.
Sōma perfectly utilized Shin'ō Academy techniques to maneuver against him.
Clang!
The fierce sound of metal clashing rang out.
Watching Sōma steadily block the arm hammer strike, Number Two remarked with a tone that seemed both mocking and praising, "But having said that, to be able to match me in arm strength is something you can truly take pride in."
Sōma remained unmoved, instead speaking coldly: "Is this form the result of your metal-devouring ability?"
"Oh? So you overheard my earlier conversation with that Shinigami. That makes it even more imperative I don't let you escape."
"Before considering such things, why not reflect on your own shortcomings?"
"Hah?"
Number Two failed to grasp Sōma's meaning.
"What I mean..."
Sōma abruptly sheathed his blade mid-sentence, pivoting to deliver a whip kick that struck Number Two's abdomen, sending him crashing to the ground.
Then, looking down at the dust-covered Number Two, he slowly continued:
"A special form granting massively enhanced defense through metal consumption. Building upon that, devouring a Zanpakutō to obtain vitality surpassing even that defense—capable of death substitution and splitting into multiple bodies with equal combat power. It all appears perfectly designed."
"Precisely because of this perfection, you grew complacent when Ōmaeda rejected you. At such close range, despite the risk of counterattack, you didn't activate this form."
"That's how I could sneak behind you and plunge my blade into your body."
"From this perspective, your judgment is... unwise."
"And someone as half-baked as you dares to mock me?"
"?!"
As rage surged in Number Two's heart, Sōma continued fueling the fire:
"Most crucially, I can sense you've lived many years. Yet you're not even a Vasto Lorde, while boasting about becoming the King of Hueco Mundo. Does Baraggan know you're this audacious?"
"For a mere brat to know of Baraggan... That fraud is but an imitation! The true King is another, and I am his successor!"
Number Two's unexpectedly vehement reaction gave Sōma pause.
"The true King... you say?"
"Correct! A noble being who once rendered the Soul Society helpless! Far more radiant than that decaying Baraggan! I came to the Soul Society to seek his legacy and inherit his will! Not even Vasto Lordes can stop me! The Seireitei is no exception!"
"...That doesn't sound like my Sensei. Then it matters not."
"What did you say?"
Number Two watched Sōma's satisfied expression—having successfully extracted crucial information—and realized he'd been manipulated.
Just as shameful fury overwhelmed him, Sōma raised his Zanpakutō, pointing the tip toward the moon overhead.
"—Additionally, let me correct one more thing."
"I never abandoned reason as you claimed."
"I didn't have my comrades stay to assist simply because I don't underestimate enemies like you do... nor am I as... pathetically weak as you."
"Your prized abilities, the power you constantly boast about—all your reliance and pride mean nothing to me. Now witness what constitutes... a ruler's true power."
Sōma's Reiatsu intensely contracted at that moment, coalescing at his saketsu point. His entire body became hollow, save for the central core blazing with infinite radiance like a star. An incredible transformation occurred after his soft incantation:
"Eight Aspects Manifest... Shinda Yami."
BOOM!
The condensed Reiatsu exploded like a supernova, instantly flooding his entire form. The colossal spiritual particle torrent didn't spill outward, perfectly contained within his seemingly slender frame.
Thus, the high-concentration, high-density Reiryoku underwent internal combustion and pressurization, transforming Sōma into a luminous entity, with even his flowing hair strands appearing as translucent as glazed glass.
The night sky gained an artificial sun, creating the terrifying spectacle of both the sun and moon shining simultaneously.
Number Two felt his body trembling.
No! It wasn't just a feeling.
Including his own body, the atmosphere and the ground—everything composed of spiritual particles—were groaning under the weight of this new celestial body-like presence.
Every single spiritual particle within Sōma's body was undergoing fission, fission, and more fission, as if caught in an endless chain reaction, ultimately reaching astronomical proportions.
This result was also reflected in his Reiatsu.
Within mere seconds, his Reiatsu surged a hundredfold!
Merely standing there alive, the "pulse" of his spirit was enough to kill any nearby soul; even a Menos Grande would struggle to bear this weight.
If proximity meant death, then what of an attack?
Number Two only saw an exceedingly brilliant light descending from the sky, and by the time he realized it, everything below his chest had vanished—not flung away somewhere, but utterly erased.
His special form, renowned for its defensive capabilities, proved utterly useless.
The ground where he stood was also cleaved, forming a canyon stretching hundreds of meters, bottomless and with edges so unnaturally Plus that it was clearly cut by something razor-sharp. Such a landscape was undeniably visually shocking.
Moreover, residual shockwaves formed visible ripples that spread outward, uprooting and shredding entire swathes of trees, leaving no single object larger than a finger behind.
"What... is this?"
Even with high-speed regeneration, recovery was impossible.
Spiritual particles throughout his body were undergoing varying degrees of dissolution.
Number Two clearly realized his soul was gradually melting away...
"Just ordinary sword pressure."
Sōma landed lightly, stirring up a faint cloud of dust.
Though his body still glowed, his Reiatsu had diminished to its limit.
"Monster... no wonder those two brats were jealous of you."
Number Two laughed despairingly, unable to hold it back.
"But they were still too foolish, deluding themselves into thinking they could surpass you with that thing."
Those two academy students were said to have disappeared without reason, but they certainly didn't come to Rukongai for no reason and get caught by Kers.
Sōma intended to ask what "that thing" was.
But Number Two had already breathed his last.
Thus, he could only set this question aside for later investigation.
"...It hurts a bit. That guy wasn't wrong after all; it truly takes an extraordinary mindset to master this power."
Sōma clenched his fist, recalling the mushroom woman's words and feeling a newfound sense of agreement.
"Shinda Yami."
—That was his Zanpakutō's true name.
Its ability was to induce a fission effect in all the spiritual particles in his body for the next eight seconds, resulting in a tens to hundreds of times increase in Reiatsu.
Hence, it could also be called "Spiritual Particle Fission."
Though it placed immense strain on his body, even risking soul suicide, the power wielded within those brief eight seconds was truly terrifying."
With Reiatsu a hundred times that of a Lieutenant concentrated into a single strike, he could effortlessly erase an Adjuchas of considerable strength.
Whether he struck or not, after eight seconds, the ability would forcibly deactivate, leaving him in a weakened state.
While he couldn't exactly say he was immobilized, the feeling of emptiness within was very real, and he truly lacked much combat capability to speak of.
Since all existing Reiatsu had been completely depleted, like blood drained from the entire body, he could only wait for his body to produce new reserves.
Currently, it would take several hours to recover.
As his own strength grew, this duration would further increase.
Moreover, the destructive power was far too astonishing.
Such a Shikai was truly unsuitable for use when many allies were present.
Speaking of which, such an extreme power appearing at the mere Shikai stage...
Even Sōma found it perplexing. Could it be that his true nature appeared so extreme?
But regardless, the promised task was accomplished.
"—The rest is up to you."
Sōma sat cross-legged, his gaze fixed on the distance where the clashing Reiatsu was also intense, clearly reaching a critical juncture. He wondered if the third Kers, with only one life remaining, might have other ideas.
For example... a strategic retreat.