DxD: Chapter 294/295

Chapter 294: Strange Soul, Open!

"Watch out!"

Nelliel's warning pierced through the still air, and the hair on the back of Midoriko's neck stood on end.

She instinctively twisted her body, only to see Aizen's Zanpakutō slashing right at the tip of her nose!

Impossible!

He had clearly been twenty steps away just a second ago!

Whoosh!

The dull sound of a blade slicing into flesh exploded in her ears.

Midoriko's eyes widened as she watched her body being split in two.

But what was strange was that no blood gushed from the wound. Instead, two bloodstained paper figures slowly floated to the ground.

"A substitute?"

Aizen raised his eyebrows slightly, withdrawing the illusion and staring at the fallen paper talismans with interest.

"An intriguing system of abilities."

Completely different from a Shinigami's.

Elsewhere—

Midoriko's true body reappeared a hundred meters away, her back soaked in cold sweat.

She took a deep breath, then locked her eyes on the blood drifting in the sea.

Bright red spread across the surface like an actual corpse had sunk.

"A substitute?"

No...

Something's wrong.

If it had been a substitution technique, there shouldn't have been any blood.

"Confused?"

Aizen's voice echoed again. It was distant, yet felt disturbingly close—right at her ear, or maybe at the edge of the horizon.

"You did hit me just now."

Midoriko's eyes narrowed as she sensed a strange ripple in the air and retreated without hesitation!

The next second—

Aizen appeared in front of her!

Seeing this, Midoriko immediately threw out three talismans. Golden light burst forth, binding Aizen's limbs like chains.

This time, there was no illusion.

It was as if the chains had genuinely wrapped around him!

But...

With what had just happened, Midoriko knew better than to take it at face value.

Still...

She had to try.

Taking advantage of Aizen being bound, she released a faint black flame from her palm and hurled it toward him!

This was her true soul-attack ability!

Fwoosh—

The dark flame landed directly on Aizen.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

A shrill, distorted scream erupted!

Aizen's body peeled like scorched bark.

Midoriko quickly withdrew her hand and stepped back.

That scream... it was too theatrical.

Sure enough, the charred "Aizen" suddenly raised his head. The corners of his cracked mouth curled into a grotesque arc.

"Your ability is... quite fascinating."

Amid eerie whispers, the burnt figure raised a hand and effortlessly extinguished the lingering dark flame.

Midoriko's pupils contracted sharply.

So easy...

What was even more terrifying was that as Aizen's fingers ran across his neck, the skin—supposedly scorched by the talisman—was completely intact!

And...

Wasn't this guy supposed to be a soul?

Her attack was meant for souls.

So why—

Just as she was trying to make sense of it all.

The waves beneath her suddenly churned. The sky beneath her feet cracked, and seawater surged upward like a whirlpool trying to drag her in!

A sense of terror flooded Midoriko's heart.

Wait!

Aizen Sosuke...

Why could he control Ingvild's sea?!

Is that even possible?

But—

The smell of the sea hitting her face confirmed it.

She tried to stabilize herself, dodging the surging seawater, then instinctively looked for Ingvild Leviathan.

She wanted to call out for her to regain control of the ocean.

But—

Ingvild was just as confused.

She had raised both hands, activating the power of her Sacred Gear to manipulate the sea.

But...

"Why... why isn't it responding?"

Ingvild stared blankly at the unruly ocean before her, her eyes full of confusion.

On the other side.

Seeing Ingvild's condition, Midoriko's eyes also showed shock.

She knew what Ingvild's power was.

Ocean dominion...

But now...

Before she could process it all, Aizen's voice echoed once again.

"Hadō #33 – Sōkatsui!"

A blazing ball of flame shot toward her!

Midoriko dodged instinctively.

But...

Under her gaze...

It curved midair?!

"?"

A question mark flashed across her face. She panicked, raised her hand, and erected a barrier!

Boom!!

The flames exploded on impact, and the sheer force sent her flying backward!

Although her hastily raised barrier managed to block the main blast, the scorching heat still penetrated and singed her skin.

Sweat dripped down her forehead.

But more than the heat.

What truly bothered her was the unpredictability of Aizen's techniques.

Tch...

She frowned.

What had Aizen done?


---

In the main world.

Watching Midoriko getting toyed with by Aizen, Lynn shook his head and spoke through the Evil Piece:

"Kyōka Suigetsu's true ability is to manipulate all five senses, inducing complete hypnosis."

Hueco Mundo.

Midoriko froze. "Lynn-sama?"

It's over. It's really over.

He saw all that just now?

Midoriko felt embarrassed.

All because of that glasses-wearing bastard!

She threw Aizen a glare.

But...

Manipulation of the five senses. Hypnosis...

Midoriko narrowed her eyes.

No wonder...

Whether it was landing a hit, only for him to reappear unharmed, or his body shrugging off her flame.

And even the ocean Ingvild couldn't control...

All of it was hypnosis.

Now it all made sense.

But...

Even knowing that, how was she supposed to break free?

Her brows furrowed deeper.

Just then—

Lynn's voice sounded again.

"Maybe... try using the Strange Soul?"

He offered advice.

If it were him, Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu would have no effect.

But Midoriko...

She couldn't reach that level yet.

"Strange Soul!"

The moment she heard Lynn's suggestion, Midoriko's eyes lit up.

Right!

She still had that!

Thinking of this—

She didn't hesitate.

"Strange Soul, open!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 295: Quick Battle, Quick Victory!!

"Strange Soul, open!"

Midoriko's calm yet resolute voice echoed beneath the pale sky of Hueco Mundo.

Buzz—

Her mind instantly sharpened, as if it had entered a hyper-accelerated state.

A faint light-blue soul mark appeared on her forehead. Her pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints, and the world before her eyes changed completely.

The previously distorted space was now filled with spiderweb-like spiritual energy veins, each flickering with an eerie blue light.

These were the nodes of reality manipulated by illusions.

What was even more shocking was that she could now see countless translucent silk threads extending from Aizen's body, entangling around her senses—eyes, ears, nose, mouth—like strings controlling a puppet.

"So… that's how it is…"

Midoriko finally understood the source of her unease.

When she attacked Aizen, it wasn't that she truly struck him—those threads were transmitting a false "hit" signal.

As she looked around, the threads of perception fabricated false images.

Even the salty smell of seawater was a fabrication, created by the illusion-bound threads around her sense of smell.

"Oh?" Aizen pushed up his cracked glasses slightly. "Looks like you've found an interesting way to deal with the problem."

Midoriko ignored his tone. Her mind, enhanced by the Strange Soul, was analyzing at lightning speed.

She discovered that the threads controlling her five senses weren't perfect.

Whenever Aizen had to sustain multiple illusions at once, some of the threads would subtly desynchronize.

Just like now—his movements on the left side of her vision lagged behind those on the right by 0.3 seconds.

"A temporal gap... that's the flaw."

Without hesitation, Midoriko lunged right. The ghostly flame in her palm condensed into a whip, which she lashed out with full force.

This attack no longer relied on her sight. It was purely guided by the trajectory of spiritual resonance.

Crack—

The flaming whip sliced through a dozen visual threads.

The spiritual path connecting Kyōka Suigetsu to her vision abruptly snapped.

In an instant, the "Aizen" on the right flickered like a broken projection. The illusion shattered, revealing that no one was actually there.

Seeing this.

Aizen went silent, then glanced at Kyōka Suigetsu in his hand.

"I see..."

He adjusted his glasses again. A strange smirk formed at the corner of his mouth.

He never imagined Kyōka Suigetsu had such a flaw.

But...

To interfere directly with spiritual threads and decipher Kyōka Suigetsu...

Who could even accomplish that?

This shrine maiden...

Really did give him an unexpected surprise.

And...

Also gave him another idea.

Spiritual interference...

"Left!"

On the other side.

Midoriko, unaware of Aizen's internal thoughts, turned sharply and threw three talismans. Golden chains shot toward the real Aizen who had just reappeared after his flash step.

Aizen watched the golden chains approach. He remained motionless, allowing them to wrap around his limbs.

Fwoosh—

It wasn't over yet.

A ghostly flame appeared on Midoriko's palm, and the energy quickly flowed along the chain until it reached Aizen's body.

Ssshh—

His face showed no expression, but the ghost flame burned away his left sleeve into ashes.

This time...

It must've worked, right?

Midoriko narrowed her eyes as she stared at the unmoving Aizen.

Meanwhile—

Aizen, feeling the pain of his soul burning, let his gaze flicker.

"So this is... what it feels like to have your soul scorched…"

He reached toward the black flame, and his body began to grow translucent.

His spiritual form... was fading.

"Aizen-sama…"

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez watched in disbelief. "Are we... actually at a disadvantage?"

Ulquiorra Cifer remained stoic. His voice was cold and steady. "Don't underestimate Aizen-sama's strength."

"But…"

Grimmjow wanted to say more, but just then Aizen calmly said,

"Your ability does indeed counter illusions."

And not just illusions.

Zanpakutō that rely on intricate spiritual control likely become much less effective against someone like this shrine maiden.

"But..."

Aizen suddenly took off his cracked glasses.

A terrifying burst of spiritual pressure erupted, tearing a pitch-black rift into the pale sky of Hueco Mundo.

He brushed his hair back with one hand. His aura shifted, becoming far more serious.

"That alone... isn't enough."

As the words fell—

The black flame clinging to his body fell away.

His formerly translucent form solidified again.

Even...

His spiritual pressure had become even stronger than before.

Though not yet complete...

Right now, he had no choice but to borrow a portion of the Hōgyoku's power.

He hadn't expected someone this troublesome to appear among the intruders at Las Noches.

Exhale—

Aizen let out a breath. "You should be proud. You've forced me to reveal this much."

Midoriko: "…"

What a damn arrogant guy.

Still...

"You're not the only one with power boosts."

With that.

Midoriko's aura began to surge rapidly.

Harmonious Soul. Strange Soul. Wild Soul. Lucky Soul.

Four souls converging into one.

Four Soul Mode, activate!!

Boom!!

Golden aura erupted from Midoriko like a supernova. Her hair rose in the energy storm. The entire false sky of Las Noches trembled under the sheer force of her spiritual release.

But—

Clap!

Aizen calmly clapped. "Not bad. I didn't expect you to reach this stage."

"But…"

"That's all it is."

He watched her spiritual pressure rise toward its peak, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

Although the Hōgyoku hadn't fully awakened yet...

The longer this drags out, the greater his advantage becomes.

Of course—

Midoriko had no idea about that.

She clenched her fists, feeling the surging power coursing through her body, and fixed her gaze on Aizen.

"Enough talk!"

Boom—

The air exploded as a golden trail streaked through the sky.

In an instant, she was right in front of Aizen!

With her current power in Four Soul Mode.

She had truly reached the Maou class!

But...

This power couldn't be sustained for long.

She had to end it quickly!!

(To be continued.)