The world reassembled in jagged fragments—Dean's retinas burning with afterimages of Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnosis. His **STATUS SCREEN** rebooted with violent static:
**WARNING: [ILLUSIONARY RECURSION DETECTED]**
**COUNTERMEASURE: [NZT-48 COGNITIVE OVERDRIVE]**
Loki's dagger was still at his throat, but the blade trembled. Dean's Absolute Calculation mapped the truth: Aizen hadn't moved. The entire confrontation had been a 0.8-second hypnosis loop.
"Pathetic," Aizen murmured, adjusting his glasses. "You counter illusions with... arithmetic?"
Dean's stolen Bankai flared. Ice erupted from his palm—not at Aizen, but at the **STATUS SCREEN** itself. The frozen hologram shattered, scattering prismatic light across Sōkyoku Hill.
Aizen's left pinky twitched.
Dean shot him through the knee.
**COMBAT LOG:**
**AIZEN SOSUKE: HP 89% → 74%**
**CRITICAL HIT: [ILLUSIONARY FOCUS DISRUPTED]**
Loki blinked. "You shot God."
"Temporary measure." Dean ejected the smoking cartridge. The **STATUS SCREEN** reformed:
**EMERGENCY PURCHASE: [HOLLOWFICATION SERUM - 4000 SP]**
**EFFECT: [90 SECONDS OF ESPADA-CLASS POWER]**
Aizen's blood hissed against the icy ground. "You can't—"
Dean injected the serum into his jugular.