The bull's head, white bones, tattered black clothing, the black blade, and that scorching breath all combined to give the two of them an ominous, chilling sensation that made their hearts tighten abruptly.
"Weak little lambs, no matter how many come, they're all just trash waiting to be slaughtered!"
In those crimson eyes, disdain and mockery grew ever deeper.
With a sudden flick of his right hand, Zangetsu swung down, pointing diagonally at the ground. Under that terrifying reiatsu, the earth was sliced open with a long, deep gash.
"Kuzan, be careful, this guy is terrifying!"
Kizaru was covered in wounds, maintaining his guard with great effort, his voice noticeably weak.
"That much is obvious. He barely even looks human."
Kuzan stepped forward, his expression growing increasingly grave. With every step he took, the temperature around him dropped rapidly, covering the ground with a layer of white frost.
Just one look at the figure beneath that Bull-masked mask gave him a deeply ominous feeling.
That feeling made Kuzan sigh inwardly.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others… they seriously underestimated how dangerous this guy is."
"Yata no Kagami!"
Suddenly, Kizaru moved again. Golden lines stretched and pulled, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Bull-masked Rojen.
"Lightspeed Kick!"
A massive foot burst out of the golden light, followed by the leg, descending from above and slamming down vertically with brutal force.
At the same time, Kuzan's figure twisted and vanished.
"Ice Saber!"
In an instant, Bull-masked Rojen was attacked from both the front and the back by two Admiral-level powerhouses.
"Ahaha, useless!"
"Why is it that you just don't understand?"
Laughing loudly, Rojen drew his blade and slashed upward fiercely, aiming straight at Kizaru's descending kick. At the same time, he twisted his body, turning from facing away to a side-on stance, and extended his left hand with a pointed finger.
"Pop!"
A burst of light shot out. A lightning-shaped crimson beam instantly expanded and surged forward at point-blank range, rushing straight toward Kuzan's face.
"Gran Rey Cero!"
"Is he insane?!"
Kuzan's pupils shrank as he watched that lightning arc slightly before slamming brutally into him.
At such close range, unleashing such a violently explosive power would inevitably engulf the user as well! A fighting style that invited mutual destruction, if that wasn't madness, what was?
The crimson light swelled, flames roared to life, and the freezing temperature was instantly converted into scorching heat. Countless plumes of white steam erupted as the ice was vaporized in an instant.
Gran Rey Cero, had detonated!
Under Kuzan's shocked and incredulous gaze, his body was completely swallowed by red light.
"Chī chī chī chī!"
The black blade struck Kizaru's right foot. Terrifying reiatsu erupted and poured out, all of it crashing into that flickering golden limb.
"Impossible!"
Kizaru's expression changed drastically. At that moment, the black blade cut down, shattering the light itself as enormous power surged straight into his body.
"Whoosh!"
Like a fired cannonball, Kizaru was blasted away by that single slash. He smashed through twelve ruined buildings in succession before finally crashing into the rubble.
"This… this is impossible!"
Even as his body was buried under dust and shattered stone, Kizaru's heart was still trembling.
The power that erupted in that instant had left him completely unable to resist.
The opponent had crushed the terrifying weight and force behind his Lightspeed Kick, sliced through his Elementalization, and directly cut into his right foot and lower leg, biting deep into the bone.
This was a severe injury, an unprecedentedly severe injury.
Yet just as he was sinking into shock, the rocks and debris above his body suddenly shattered apart.
"What are you spacing out for?"
"Did you really think I'd let you off that easily?"
A streak of pitch-black light swept through all the rocks and dust, as if tearing through space itself, and arrived directly above Kizaru, then slashed down at him without mercy.
Kizaru opened his eyes, and what filled his vision was that brutal, bloodthirsty Bull-masked mask, overflowing with cruel mockery.
In an instant, his entire body began to tremble.
He felt it…
The aura of death.
"Slash!"
Blade and sword tore through the air, carving across his chest. Blood sprayed wildly as the cut continued straight down to his abdomen. Agonizing pain flooded Kizaru's mind in an instant, making him scream uncontrollably.
He could even feel as if his intestines were exposed to the open air.
An incomparably cruel, violent scene.
That single slash was enough to kill him.
"Hahahahaha!"
Bull-masked Rojen continued laughing. As his black blade swept past, it twisted midair, a flourish of steel flashing in the void as it shifted into his other hand.
"This slash, will shatter you!"
The hoarse, grating voice rang out as Bull-masked Rojen raised his blade again.
Kizaru was filled with despair. In his current condition, there was no way he could evade this strike!
But at that very moment, a point of icy blue suddenly burst out from Rojen's chest, causing his body suspended in midair to stiffen abruptly.
"Oh?"
Bull-masked Rojen looked down in slight surprise.
From his right chest protruded an ice-blue saber.
"Good… I made it in time."
Kuzan's low voice sounded from behind. He glanced down at Kizaru, his pupils contracting sharply.
Horrifying, his colleague's wounds were truly horrifying, so gruesome they were hard to look at.
"A beautiful ice blade."
But in the very next moment, something even more shocking, something that filled Kuzan with fear, happened. The Bull-masked monster actually reached out and grabbed the ice blade that had pierced his chest.
He even revealed a cold, mocking smile.
Then, he exerted force.
"Pff!"
Blood sprayed violently. Bull-masked Rojen's lips curled upward, as if that bone-deep pain didn't belong to him at all.
The sheer power was so overwhelming that Kuzan couldn't resist at all. The ice blade in his hand was dragged along as it was forcibly pulled out.
Three breaths later, the bloodstained ice blade was torn from Rojen's right chest.
The stench of blood instantly spread through the air.
"Are you still spacing out?"
The icy, hoarse voice reached Kuzan's ears. His stunned body reacted, but it was already too late.
With a light thrust, that bloodstained ice blade plunged straight into Kuzan's right chest.
A suffocating sensation surged into his mind.
Facing such cold, indifferent brutality, even when directly confronting him, Kuzan froze.
It could be said that anyone facing such a savage opponent would momentarily lose focus.
"Using your own method against you~ Do you like the gift I gave you?"
A cold laugh echoed as Bull-masked Rojen turned to face Kuzan.
The two stood face to face.
One radiated a terrifying, chilling aura of dominance.
The other's gaze was unfocused, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Bull-masked Rojen raised the black blade above his head. Under the sunlight, its sharp edge reflected an icy gleam.
"How about another gift, one that sends you straight to the afterlife?"
The black blade slashed down.
At last, Kuzan reacted. He swiftly scooped Kizaru up from the ground.
"Crack… Crack… Crack!"
Ice shattered across the ground, forming a mound of ice before Rojen.
Rojen's eyes narrowed as he turned his head to the right.
There, Kuzan was gasping for breath, completely freezing Kizaru's wounds, staring at him with grave intensity.
(End Of This Chapter)
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