Reborn as The Hollow God

The first flash of the sword, the fastest and most powerful surprise attack, ends up being blocked.

Arturo's full power cannot pierce Æƙųřœ's Core. In this space, in this core inside his stomach, no one can defeat Æƙųřœ. Arturo's natural jaw drops at this fact.

"Fufufufu. Hahahaha! As I thought—no! It's simple! It's not worth it if there's no difference in power. It would be boring to kill with one blow."

He was satisfied. Æƙųřœ is the master of this world. And this man, who wants to cut him, laughs more than a child.

"Let me cut you!"

The Arrancar's request comes out with an innocent smile, but it's accompanied by intense murderous intentions. It's been a thousand years since he spilled the blood of the strong. And in this place, where Æƙųřœ is a god, his blade cries, wails, and begs for blood.

The irrefutable and irreversible difference in power only fuels his desire to make Æƙųřœ bleed. Even the defeat of the past becomes a mere blur to Arturo.

He ducks to advance and slash—

"Shut up!"

!!!

Just before he strikes, Arturo feels his entire body melt at the sound of a single voice…

"Guh!?"

"Don't talk so much."

FOOSH

BOOM!

The area suffers an impact similar to a meteor's fall.

It was almost a miracle that Arturo managed to escape the next sword strike from Æƙųřœ. It was also pure luck that the attack was executed carelessly, with the disdain of crushing an insect. Had Æƙųřœ attacked with all his strength, Arturo would have died on the first strike.

However, luck isn't invincible.

Even dodging, the act of evading the simple wind from the blade's cut was enough to leave Arturo's body decaying.

"GAH! UH…AUGH!"

Arturo groaned as he put distance between himself and the monster he faced.

The smell of burned flesh, pus, and corrosion filled his nostrils. Looking down, he saw it emanated from his own rapidly decomposing body.

D-did he predict my strategy?

No…looking at his enemy's emotionless face, Arturo could see that his opponent's eyes didn't even meet his own. Those eyes, capable of melting lives, looked away as though disgusted by him.

"Don't cause me trouble. I don't want to deal with you."

Hearing the voice devoid of anything but indifference, fury built within Arturo. Gritting his teeth and ignoring his body being eaten alive, Arturo gripped the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Tch…DAMN IT!"

With a burst of sonido, he escaped Æƙųřœ's subsequent attack and the winds that followed.

His body continued to corrode as he struggled against the putrid venom consuming him. What was this power? Was it like Baraggan's? No.

The answer was different.

Baraggan's power was like a "time skip" that cut straight to the end. An absolute acceleration of the concept of "time" until everything turned to dust—falling under the "Time" class.

Æƙųřœ's power was different. It was a miasma of venom and corrosion, eating away at everything it touched or that came into contact with his body. The closer or more direct the contact, the faster the decay. Had Arturo moved a millisecond later, he would have died. Æƙųřœ's power belonged to the "Death" class.

Both were terrifying powers to face. But worst of all—

"Quickly…just faint or surrender. I'd rather not deal with your kind."

He didn't underestimate him! Every word Æƙųřœ spoke was filled with honesty and indifference. He didn't even feign anger. He acted like a perfect killing machine, objective and pragmatic.

He was like a personification of the will to kill, a god of war, embodying the pride of his peers. Arturo envied how many battles Æƙųřœ must have faced to master such expertise in combat.

But would that stop Arturo?

"Tch…hehehe…fufufu…HAHAHAHA!"

The answer was no. The primordial Arrancar gripped his sword tightly. He had a mission, an objective here, and he wouldn't fail again.

"That's why I have to cut you! I can't accept defeat here!"

With a thunderous roar, he swung his blade, enduring intense pain as the skin of his arm—his dense, "Hierro"-reinforced skin—peeled away to the flesh while he advanced toward his target. The foul stench hung heavy in the air.

"So what?! Hah! My body will decay and corrode? Let it be! If it can't be avoided and can't be stopped, why would I care about 'how' it happens?!"

With a roar of defiance and determination, Arturo gripped his zanpakutou with all his strength and attacked.

BOOM!

1, 2, 3…6…10…20…50…100 strikes were exchanged between the two in mere seconds. To an ordinary observer, they would appear frozen in frames, while the air around them hummed and echoed with explosions. Their arms vanished from sight with each thunderous clash.

The skills of both were absurd. Arturo consumed the surrounding reishi to heal himself while his attacks were melted by the venom exuding from Æƙųřœ's skin. Their strikes landed before the dust even settled—they were like personifications of destruction.

But what result could such a battle have?

Well…one could only wait to believe in its outcome.