DxD: Chapter 299/300

Chapter 299: Still Want to Continue?

The moment Lynn's fist connected with Aizen's left cheek, the entire side of his face caved in. The white bone armor shattered like a fragile eggshell.

The pale sky of Hueco Mundo dimmed for a brief moment, as if space itself trembled under the force of that single punch.

Aizen's body was sent flying like a meteor, crashing through the sea summoned by Ingvild Leviathan and exposing the moist white sand beneath.

In an instant, a trench over a thousand meters long formed where he skidded across the ground.

The impact was so overwhelming that the sea, which had been split, remained suspended in the air, unable to fall back for some time.

Elsewhere…

Ulquiorra Cifer, who was still engaged with Nelliel, heard the tremendous sound and glanced toward it.

Hm…

It had only been a short time, but…

Aizen should have already succeeded, right?

But…

Why does the figure that just flew past look… familiar?

Wait.

As he got a clearer look, Ulquiorra's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Aizen-sama?!"

Hiss—

He flew out?

How could that be Aizen-sama?!

Where was the shrine maiden?

He looked up quickly and saw someone standing calmly beside her.

When did he arrive?

Ulquiorra was stunned, but more than that, his concern turned immediately to Aizen's condition.

From the look of it…

Things didn't seem fine at all.

"Don't worry,"

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez slapped Ulquiorra's shoulder and said with confidence, "This is all just part of Aizen-sama's plan."

"Have you forgotten the power of his Zanpakutō?"

Hearing this, Ulquiorra snapped back to reality.

That's right!

Mirror in the water, flower in the mirror…

Everything before them was just an illusion conjured by Kyōka Suigetsu to mislead the enemy.

"Oi, oi."

Starrk, overhearing them, muttered, "Did you two even watch what just happened?"

"Aizen's Zanpakutō…"

He turned to Lynn, eyes filled with unease. "Back when he appeared…"

"It was crushed. Just like that."

Even now, Starrk felt a lingering chill.

Damn it.

Who the hell is this guy?

He shattered a Zanpakutō with his bare hands?

Even Aizen, evolved by the Hōgyoku, couldn't pull that off.

By comparison…

Isn't this newcomer the one who should have fused with the Hōgyoku?

But then…

Lynn.

Starrk narrowed his eyes, recalling what Midoriko had just called him.

So…

This man is the leader of that group, the one Nelliel recently joined?

Starrk fell deep into thought.

However, his words left Grimmjow and Ulquiorra stunned.

What did you just say?!

Ulquiorra, who had been focusing on holding off Nelliel, hadn't seen any of what happened earlier.

Grimmjow had the same idea. When Nelliel charged forward, they both used Sonído to intercept her.

Though a bit slower than Ulquiorra…

They still missed the key moment.

In their minds…

As long as no one interfered, Aizen would naturally finish off the shrine maiden. They'd just deal with the aftermath.

But…

The unexpected still happened. And it happened without warning.

Who is this man?

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow exchanged a glance. They hadn't seen it with their own eyes, so they remained skeptical about the claim that Kyōka Suigetsu had been destroyed.

But…

Starrk had no reason to lie.

Just as they were starting to waver…

Aizen Sosuke coughed.

He struggled to rise from the sand, his figure covered in dust. His once-pristine hair, usually styled like it had been held together with hairspray, now drooped messily over his forehead.

More eye-catching, however, was the blood smeared across his body and the clearly swollen left side of his face.

Fortunately…

With the Hōgyoku embedded in him, Aizen had access to super-speed regeneration, much like an Arrancar.

The injuries across his body, the damage to his internal organs, and the swelling on his face all healed rapidly.

But…

The thudding in his chest hadn't faded.

For a brief moment just now, Aizen had felt something unthinkable—that he might actually die before achieving his ambitions.

And not even the Hōgyoku could have saved him.

Worse…

His instincts told him that the punch he'd taken really had been just an ordinary, straightforward punch.

Haa…

Aizen took a deep breath. Just before the parted sea on both sides collapsed in, he rose steadily into the sky.

Then…

He stood there, mid-air.

Lynn was strong.

But Aizen was not weak.

The desire burning in Aizen's heart seemed to resonate with the Hōgyoku.

Purple light surged from within him. More bone-like armor grew across his body, as though crawling to cover every inch of him.

And…

His spiritual pressure exploded once again.

"This is…"

Aizen himself was surprised by the sudden evolution.

But…

It was fine.

Maybe like this…

Maybe now he could close the gap between himself and that man… right?

On the other side.

Seeing that Aizen wasn't mortally wounded, Ulquiorra finally regained his composure, and Grimmjow let out a sigh of relief.

"See? That's Aizen-sama," Grimmjow said with pride. "You think he'd go down that easily?"

He transformed into a streak of blue light, voice loud and smug.

Starrk didn't bother responding to Grimmjow's rambling. Instead, he stared closely at Aizen's condition and muttered to himself,

"If this keeps up, Aizen's body is going to collapse."

After all…

The Hōgyoku is incomplete.

It could still grant limitless evolution.

But…

It was out of control.

It only responded to the will of the user.

It didn't care whether the user's body could withstand the changes.

That was…

The fatal flaw of a half-finished Hōgyoku.

Starrk looked grim as he muttered quietly, "Still want to continue?"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 300: Inconvenient

Starrk's voice was soft, but…

No one present was an ordinary being. They all heard it clearly.

"Collapse?"

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez frowned. "What do you mean?"

Aizen-sama… collapsing?

How was that possible?

Ulquiorra Cifer narrowed his eyes slightly, as if contemplating something.

But…

Aizen Sosuke himself acted as if he hadn't heard Starrk at all. His expression remained calm.

In fact…

He was still channeling more of the Hōgyoku's power.

He had created the Hōgyoku himself. Of course he understood its pros and cons better than anyone.

But…

Facing Lynn, Aizen had come to a clear realization.

If he did not continue evolving, he would definitely lose.

So…

Under Hueco Mundo's pale sky, Aizen stood silently. His pupils shimmered with a deep purple light.

Buzz—

The Hōgyoku on his chest bloomed again with its signature glow.

His evolution accelerated even further.

Crack—

The white bone armor continued to spread, encasing more of his body. It now resembled a grotesque exoskeleton.

He could feel it. With every heartbeat, a tearing pain surged through his body. The Hōgyoku was forcibly restructuring every cell.

"Still not enough…"

Aizen muttered through the metallic echo of the bone armor.

He raised his hand, looking at the sharp bone spurs protruding from his fingertips. "At this level… it's far from enough."

In the distance, Ulquiorra's pupils contracted slightly.

As the calmest of the Espada, he clearly saw the blood seeping through the gaps in Aizen's armor. That was a sign.

His body could no longer keep up with the evolution.

"Lord Aizen!" Grimmjow couldn't help but shout, "Your body—"

"No need to worry."

Aizen cut him off, his voice eerily calm. "This rate of evolution won't destroy me."

"But…"

Grimmjow looked at the sword hilt still clutched in Aizen's hand. "Your weapon…"

"Kyōka Suigetsu…"

As if just remembering, Aizen's tone turned faintly nostalgic.

But…

He didn't even spare the broken hilt another glance.

In fact…

He let it go.

With a splash, it dropped into the sea below.

He chuckled. "Though Kyōka Suigetsu is destroyed, its essence has long since become part of my soul."

Aizen slowly raised his hand. Ripples shimmered in the air.

"The so-called Zanpakutō is just a medium. A means to channel power."

Starrk's eyes widened.

He saw countless threads of dense, condensed reishi appear in the air. They were far more refined than before.

That was clearly Kyōka Suigetsu's power.

But it no longer required a physical weapon.

"I see…" Tier Harribel murmured. "Aizen… has transcended the boundaries of a Soul Reaper."

Ulquiorra's tensed shoulders eased slightly.

Yes. That was Aizen. How could something like a broken Zanpakutō hinder him?

A renewed sense of faith reignited in his eyes.

As long as Aizen still stood, no obstacle was insurmountable.

But…

The man they believed in so devoutly did not feel reassured at all.

Aizen looked at Lynn, who remained utterly composed. A cold glint flickered in his eyes beneath the armor.

"Then let's begin."

Before the final word even left his mouth, hundreds of identical Aizen clones materialized in the void. Each one lifelike. Each exuding terrifying spiritual pressure.

This wasn't a simple clone technique.

It was the perfected manifestation of Kyōka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis. By distorting all sensory perception, the enemy would simultaneously "see" countless real Aizens.

Crackle—

Hundreds of Aizens raised their hands together. Thousands of energy spheres condensed in the sky, each one capable of obliterating a city.

Compared to before, after evolving through the Hōgyoku, Aizen's spiritual pressure had risen to a whole new level.

Boom—

The spheres rained down like a violent storm, completely engulfing the space where Lynn stood.

The explosions were deafening. The pale sky of Hueco Mundo split apart with jagged black cracks.

Grimmjow shielded his face from the shockwave, a surge of excitement welling up inside him.

With an attack of this scale… even that monster couldn't possibly.

But when the smoke cleared, his thoughts abruptly froze.

Lynn was still there.

Not even a single thread of his clothing was damaged.

He stood motionless, eyes calm, not a trace of contempt or awe in his expression.

"Impossible…" Grimmjow's voice trembled. "Kyōka Suigetsu's complete hypnosis… didn't work?"

Finally, a crack appeared in Aizen's expression beneath his armor.

He could clearly feel it—his reishi threads melted into nothing the moment they neared Lynn, like snowflakes dissolving into molten lava.

It wasn't being resisted or broken.

It was as if…

Kyōka Suigetsu's ability never existed to begin with.

"Interesting…"

Aizen tried to compose himself, but his voice came out hoarse. "You're the first… completely immune to Kyōka Suigetsu."

Lynn finally spoke, his voice cold and emotionless.

"That's it?"

Aizen was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Of course there's more!"

He ripped open the tattered remnants of his uniform, revealing his chest fully covered in bone armor.

The purple light of the Hōgyoku had turned pitch black, absorbing the surrounding reishi like a miniature black hole.

The white armor crept higher, climbing up his neck, slowly covering his chin and cheeks.

"Aizen-sama!"

Ulquiorra shouted.

He saw Aizen's skin splitting under the spreading armor. Blood seeped from the cracks, only to be forcibly healed by the Hōgyoku's power.

This wasn't evolution.

This was self-destruction disguised as evolution.

But Aizen could no longer hear anything.

His consciousness was being devoured by the Hōgyoku's darkness, leaving behind only one obsession.

To become stronger.

Stronger.

Strong enough… to kill the man in front of him.

"Hadō #99. Goryūtenmetsu."

(To be continued.)