Unexpected Turn

A fierce wind wrapped in reishi clusters tore through the air with unstoppable speed, heading straight for Baruk!

Boom!

Flames erupted, the intense shockwave collapsing the wall on the left, sending dust clouds billowing everywhere.

However, when the dust settled, a giant red sphere appeared in its place.

Swoosh!

Red fur retracted like flowing water, revealing Baruk unharmed, standing back on the street.

"A taste that makes Hollows salivate!"

Baruk's blood-red eyes fixated on the black figure in the distance, a joyful expression on his grotesque Hollow mask.

"Today must be Lord Baruk's lucky day!"

"Man or woman, Lord Baruk is not picky!"

As he finished speaking, red fur grew wildly, rushing towards the black figure in the sky with overwhelming momentum.

But the attack hit nothing but air.

A shadow flickered.

The girl's slender figure appeared behind Baruk instantly, her arms spread, and reishi gathered on the string of her longbow, forming a brilliant blue arrow.

With a sharp whistle, the arrow flew out, hitting Baruk's back with pinpoint accuracy.

Boom!

An explosion erupted, and Baruk slid across the ground under the terrifying impact, carving a massive trench into the hard concrete, sending countless stones flying!

Baruk struggled to rise from the trench, his blood-red pupils shrinking to pinpoints, his entire Hollow body radiating a nearly tangible aura of violence.

"You've completely angered me, food!"

A violent spiritual pressure surged again as he spoke, making the surroundings chillingly cold.

Behind him, the shredded flesh from the arrow wound regenerated rapidly, the meat intertwining like a woven net, healing the grotesque injury in an instant.

Seeing this, the girl frowned deeply, realising the difficulty of her opponent.

With such rapid regeneration, Baruk was practically invincible.

Ordinary attacks could not effectively harm his body.

Swoosh!

Countless red furs surged towards the figure in the sky, faster than before.

The girl, noticing this, moved her mind, gathering reishi under her feet.

The next moment, she vanished from her spot, reappearing beside Baruk.

When she raised her reishi longbow again, the blue glow became even more dazzling, like a small sun shining brightly in the sky.

"Heh, you fell for it."

A grotesque face appeared beneath the red fur, its fangs bared, and its jagged teeth showed a terrifying sight.

Red light gathered between the fangs, forming a sphere with immense pressure.

Cero!

With a deafening roar, the ground split under the pressure, and a red light shot out, engulfing the slender figure in an instant.

But just when Baruk thought his plan had succeeded, an even brighter blue light burst forth from the red.

Boom!

An explosion followed, sending visible shockwaves mixed with blue light scattering from the centre of the Cero explosion.

Buildings collapsed in its path, dust nearly blocking the view.

Such a terrifying scene.

Made Naoto Ishikawa's hands tremble as he gripped his Zanpakuto.

Before entering Menos Grande's spiritual pressure range, he had never imagined facing an Adjuchas.

At Shin'ō Academy, the teachers repeatedly taught that only Shinigami, who mastered Shikai, could handle Menos Grande of the Gillian class.

Higher-level Adjuchas could only be confronted by captain-level Shinigami.

Now.

He, a seventh-seat who had just mastered Shikai, encountered an Adjuchas.

Even with a captain standing beside him, his instinctive fear was uncontrollable.

Especially under the overwhelming spiritual pressure.

The vast difference in levels made it impossible even to draw his sword.

But what shocked him was that someone else had already engaged with this extremely brutal Adjuchas.

Most terrifyingly, judging by their performance, the two sides seemed evenly matched.

Breaking Baruk's Cero, the girl used Hirenkyaku, her agile figure flashing in the sky, her reishi longbow opening and closing rapidly.

Countless reishi clusters shot out, making the already blue sky even darker.

"Do you know her?"

Sufu glanced at Uryū Ishida beside him, "Her spiritual pressure seems stronger than yours, and her combat experience is more extensive."

Uryū Ishida wiped the sweat from his forehead, extremely tense, whispering back to Sufu:

"I know her, she's from the pureblood Quincy clan too, but her name is..."

Before he could finish, an unexpected turn occurred on the battlefield. The girl was hit by Baruk's wild fur, sending her flying.

A shadow streaked across the sky, crashing into a building and piercing through it.

The building collapsed, debris falling, forming a small mountain of rubble.

Blue reishi clusters exploded again, breaking through the rubble and clearing everything away, but Baruk had already arrived above the ruins.

Red Cero gathered again, locking onto the girl's spiritual pressure, roaring as it shot into the ruins.

With the impending attack, the girl tried to use Hirenkyaku to dodge but was too late.

"Bakudō #81: Dankū."

A transparent barrier descended from the sky, falling like a chasm before the Cero, smashing the ruins while blocking the powerful Cero outside.

The red beam hit the barrier, unable to move it at all.

The girl looked stunned, unable to comprehend the scene.

Seeing his prey thwarted, Baruk roared in anger:

"Roar!!"

Slash—

The roar abruptly stopped as a new moon-shaped wind blade of bluish-white colour sliced through his body.

Baruk stiffened, countless blood spraying like torrential rain, the sky filled with bright red. His bisected body fell into the rubble.

The Menos Grande's spiritual pressure began to dissipate…