"This is impossible~"
Nnoitra's roars continuously echoed, and endless Kido seemed to incessantly assault him, preventing him from jumping.
Ishikawa, being in the safe zone, could, according to the rules, interfere with the game in any way without leaving the 'house'.
But whether he intervened now was irrelevant; Nnoitra was currently facing himself in Release Form and Ishikawa simultaneously.
The rule-maker vented all the anger from Ishikawa escaping into the safe zone onto Nnoitra.
The scene before him strengthened Ishikawa's resolve not to use Zanpakuto in the future.
At least…
Not until changes were made.
—Kokumei.
This was not Ishikawa's Zanpakuto, or more strictly speaking…
It wasn't his current Zanpakuto.
It wasn't difficult to fully master it; Ishikawa only needed to… personally kill everyone who had a good impression of him, including Shiba Kūkaku.
It was similar to him, yet different.
Similar because it was born the moment he first arrived in this world.
But dissimilar because…
The current Ishikawa was no longer the same as when he first arrived in Soul Society.
One could say…
If Ishikawa didn't have the System, then this blade would be his most loyal companion, his only trustworthy companion.
It was the blade of the past Ishikawa, but not the blade of the present Ishikawa.
It wanted him to return to his past self, even turning its blade against his current self for the sake of his past self.
But…
Ishikawa didn't dislike his current self.
Therefore, this was 'someone else's' blade; without erasing its 'true name', it would never become his blade. There was no so-called mutual understanding between 'Kokumei' and himself.
There was only annihilation!
While the white spot was the origin of 'dissimilarity', it was also the beginning of change.
When that white spot transformed into stars, illuminating the darkness, and the azure sky appeared when the Zanpakuto entered its Shikai 'Kokumei', that was the true Zanpakuto that the current Ishikawa should possess.
Not this kind of…
Blade that only wanted to kill him.
It wanted to obliterate Ishikawa or change Ishikawa; and Ishikawa likewise wanted to obliterate its true name.
Although they shared the same origin, their starting points diverged.
One could say this was a slaughter between the current Ishikawa and the former Ishikawa, not merely a battle between him and a blade.
All the current changes, though stemming from the System, had their divergent path decided by the former Ishikawa himself!
His past self had hoped for change in his heart, which led to the birth of the current Ishikawa.
But the Zanpakuto, originating from the 'starting point', didn't realize this, only steadfastly following the former Ishikawa.
Therefore…
It, like his former self, no longer needed to exist!
Ishikawa slowly raised his head, looking up at the sun and moon hanging high in the void.
The sun, moon, and stars… as if sensing something, all turned their gaze towards Ishikawa, a strange curve forming on their lips.
Ishikawa's face also showed a smile.
If anyone were present, they would find this smile so similar.
Equally sinister, equally cold, equally…
Full of murderous intent!!
Ishikawa would not discard or abandon his Zanpakuto. If it were merely a Zanpakuto rebellion, he might indeed simply give up or destroy it.
But in this slaughter, his opponent was himself!
That hidden rule-maker, the god seated on the throne of emptiness…
It was himself!
Nothing was more exciting than taking oneself as an opponent, especially when the opponent was a stronger, colder, and more ruthless version of oneself!
His past self had no power and could only use rules to kill; but now, everything was different.
He already possessed the ability to kill with his own hands, completely without needing such a cunning method.
However…
Without himself, even if this god still existed, its strength would probably be incredibly weak.
Thinking of this, Ishikawa's eyes couldn't help but show a playful look.
…
At the same time.
"I'm already following the game rules!!"
Nnoitra's angry roar came from the #2 circular platform. He looked at the attack above his head, his face as grim as could be.
In his mind, he was carefully reviewing the game rules that had been forcibly implanted into his memory.
According to the rules, when he landed on a circular platform, he should have thirty seconds of rest time. The attack would only begin after thirty seconds, and within these thirty seconds, he could attack players in the safe zone; knocking them out of the safe zone, while not allowing him to seize safety, would cause the space to attack them.
Of course, players in the safe zone could also attack him, forcing him to make a mistake and incur fatal punishment.
In short, the safe zone was for defense, and he was the attacker.
At each circular platform, he could attempt to attack; if he knocked the opponent out of the safe zone, the attacks focused on him would greatly decrease, making the rest of the game easier for him.
Although he didn't know what was in the endless abyss below the circular platform, Nnoitra could vaguely sense the danger below. If he fell, he would very likely die there.
Currently, while dangerous, he could barely cope by risking injury.
But he didn't dare to deliberately make a mistake and trigger a player switch.
Because when he made a mistake, after the player switch, just like how the initial area's safety protection was removed, he would face non-stop attacks here.
However, Ishikawa would not be attacked during his journey from the #8 platform back to the initial area to prepare for the game, and he could rest for thirty seconds on every circular platform, including the safe zone.
In other words…
On eight circular platforms, within four minutes, he could avoid all attacks; while he himself would be subjected to continuous attacks for four minutes.
The first player, though at a disadvantage, also had an advantage.
Nnoitra wildly surged his Reiatsu. Just getting from the initial area to the #2 circular platform had already made his Espada's strongest Hierro unbearable. Enduring for four minutes would be too difficult, and being knocked off the platform was not entirely impossible.
The only thing that made him grateful was…
All attacks were based on Reiatsu and could not limit the player's inherent physical quality, meaning their physique. The reason he could hold on this long was precisely his proud Hierro.
"You've already made a mistake."
Ishikawa's voice came, and Nnoitra looked up, only to find that Ishikawa had somehow arrived at the edge of the #8 circular platform, looking at… his foot.
Mistake?
Nnoitra followed Ishikawa's gaze, and when he saw his feet on the circular platform, his expression changed drastically!
Single foot—!
Initially, he only wanted to break through this domain and had no intention of following the rules for the so-called game.
Only after realizing the surrounding attacks were too terrifying did he think of obeying the game rules.
However…
With both feet on the ground, he was already out.
Ishikawa lightly jumped to the #7 circular platform and looked at Nnoitra.
Nnoitra's worries were actually completely unnecessary.
Because the remaining game time was only a little over a minute. He only needed to endure for a little over a minute, and he would reach the time limit set by Ishikawa.
The game was about to end!