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Freya fell on her butt with her eyes wide open and could only stay silent at the sight of her precious child, drowning in his own pool of blood.
The next instant, Freya felt her body move again and felt Allen's presence beside her. However, before she could even face him and ask what's going on, she saw the four Gulliver brothers lunging at Kisuke. Freya raised her hand in an attempt to command them to retreat but her voice couldn't leave her.
As she somehow and fearfully expected, Kisuke's arm holding his blade jerked, producing a subtle flash of light before the brothers were all cut in half in an instant. Their weapons and armors served no purpose to stop the reaper's scythe from claiming their lives.
Freya's remaining thoughts were instantly replaced by an unending regret and asked herself where did she go wrong, '...At least Allen and the rest...'
But even before forming the last of her thoughts, Allen who had been dragging Freya away suddenly lost his footing, and the Goddess, once again, met the ground with her back this time.
As she inadvertently looked up, the sunlight obscured her vision. Nevertheless, it wasn't enough for her to miss a rolling ball in mid-air. Except, it wasn't a ball but Allen's decapitated head filled with terror, 'No...'
"Freya-sama!!!" From afar, Mia Grand's roar reached the bewildered Freya. The Goddess shakily sat up, choosing to ignore the warm blood of her child on her hand, and turned around only to see Kisuke standing menacingly and looking down on her. She didn't know how he's suddenly behind her when she just watched him bisect her children in front of her.
Mia, still in her working uniform, was charging towards Kisuke with a fury-filled expression, "N-No..." Freya tried to warn her not to approach but she's shaking so much that she couldn't muster any strength.
But despite it being incredibly soft, Mia still clearly heard the plea of her Goddess and knew what she wanted. Nevertheless, she couldn't really afford that and released all the strength she had, doubling her speed and almost reaching Kisuke, 'I'm leaving it to you, Anya.'
Kisuke finally ignored Freya and turned towards Mia, just as she wanted. Pouring all her power into her arm, her sleeve bursts open with her arm's expansion. As her fist that looked like an unbreakable boulder descended onto Kisuke, the latter took a stance and also threw his fist towards her own, "Ikkotsu (Single Bone)."
The two fists collided, producing a shockwave that blew all the dust away. Freya was immediately gleeful seeing that Mia wasn't instantly killed... For now, at least.
Mia and Kisuke stared at each other for a second before the former said, "You monst..."
She couldn't finish her words because starting from her fist, her skin started cracking, blood spurting, and flesh being ejected out. A split second later, her flesh and skin were already gone, leaving the bones behind. But even those didn't last any longer as the destruction crawled up to her arm, shoulder, and entire upper body.
Everyone saw how Mia fell into her knees but without her upper body anymore as it was obliterated into nothing.
The sight that Freya caught, however, was Kisuke's bloodied blade extended beside her as another familiar head rolled in front of her, "...Anya..."
While all wasn't still clear for Freya, Kisuke prepared his next move and gathered another ball of energy before tossing it up, "Bala Millar (Thousand Bullets)."
The ball of energy then started releasing smaller balls of lights and launched towards all directions. Instead of the traditional Cero, it was a modified one that releases numerous Bala that automatically seek their targets. Right away, various screams of terrors resounded before being abruptly cut off.
A few seconds later, the ball of energy stopped releasing the smaller bullets and disappeared. But along with it was the suffocating silence and the thick scent of blood that covered the surrounding. Each and every single member of Freya's Familia died without ahead.
The ghastly and horrifying sight immediately caused the Elves of the Loki Familia to throw up except for Riveria. Even then, the latter, along with her fellow member's stomach churned as they resisted the urge to release what it contained.
Contrary to everyone's reaction, however, Loki already calmed down because she already saw significant discrepancies to what's happening in front of her.
For Freya, on the other hand, everything happened so fast that she didn't have any time to react properly. For those who are watching her, meanwhile, one would think that she's too calm for someone who has her Familia annihilated. And it's true, she still has a bit of calmness left because she still has a place to retreat and pull the hidden knife under her dress.
It was then that she heard Kisuke's mocking tone, "Before you do that, I suggest you properly look around first, or else you'll only 'go home' with no one really waiting for you."
A bad premonition overtook her... No... It's a premonition that she has been ignoring in an attempt to escape reality, 'W-where!? Where are my children!?'
Freya looked around in panic while using her Divine Eyes. However, the scene of the field filled with her children's colors was nowhere to be found, 'Where!?'
"As you should have already known, I practice soul-based techniques,'' Kisuke started explaining.
"However, unlike the initial attack that destroyed two people's souls, those that I killed after had their souls purified. You should know that purified souls can't stay in a place that will destabilize them so they instantly go to Heaven. And since they are already purified, they won't go to another arduous purification process and would immediately start their reincarnation. As of now, depending on how reliable Heaven's system is, they should be more or less already ready to descend again."
"So even if you kill yourself now to follow and secure them, you already lost your chance."
But as soon as he finished, Kisuke had to jump back and put forward his hand. In that instant, a white light suddenly smashed into him, sending him almost fifty meters into the air. After regaining his balance, Kisuke saw that a falcon feather pierced his palm, 'So this is where the fun starts.'
Editors:
28th00: Hmm, truly a bloodbath for the legends. Time for some
While mid-air, Kisuke felt a slight change in the sky, and without any hesitation, he activated five of the barriers he left on Orario which mainly block energy fluctuations and hide the sky among the residents of the city.
A second later, a bright violet light descended and struck Freya, breaking the pavement around her. The violet light was similar to the golden light when God's avatar died, but this time, the avatar was initiating a direct connection to God's main body. A direct confrontation against the rules of the Lower World.
Normally, she would only have a minute at most to use her Arcanum before she was forcefully deported back to Heaven but the barriers that Kisuke erected prevented that from happening.
And since the descending light created a small hole among the formations, those nearby could see what's really going on while those who can't see were discouraged from approaching the area. Of course, Kisuke knew that he wouldn't be able to control the Deities, at least with the barriers he had chosen to activate. So instead, he added a barrier that would physically stop them from even approaching to see what's going on. In any case, they would only be able to feel a slight release of Divine Power.
A few seconds later, the violet light ceased and revealed Freya adorned with a cloak made out of falcon feathers, "S-so this is a Deity... It's way more amazing than I originally imagined..." Tiona commented after the wave of Divine Aura washed over them, "T-te... Wait! Is it fine for her to be doing something like that!? I thought Deities aren't allowed to release their powers in the Lower World!?"
But instead of Loki, it was Finn who answered, "Of course it's not... However, Kisuke Urahara is probably doing something to hide that fact... Truly inconceivable... Does that mean he has the means to go against a God?"
"Not just that. Take a look at our surroundings. Despite the serious commotion they've caused, no one was approaching and it's too quiet. It's as if we became the only residents of Orario.", Riveria added.
"Finn is correct and he doesn't just have the ability to go against a God..." Loki, with the most serious voice and expression she has, continued, "He fully has the capability to slay one." Kisuke already guessed that Loki had already figured out what's going on because of his sloppy handling of the ability he's using, so he'd already released her and trusted that she won't be interfering anymore.
Loki then looked towards her children trying their best to hide their fear, "That's the kind of guy that you've been fighting earlier so you really don't have to take it to the heart that you lost to him. That also meant that his teachings and advice from earlier had a lot more value than you all originally thought. Who knows~ Maybe there would be a time that you all would be able to stand beside me on equal footing."
Ais clenched her fist as the heat was raised in her chest. If she really has that kind of power, then her dream would just be a trivial matter. She then looked back on the battlefield and became curious about Freya's sudden change of outfit, "A cloak made of feathers? What for?"
"Those aren't just some bird cloak but one of her Divine Armaments. Although it doesn't have a name, it's one of her most powerful weapons."
Everyone had already heard about Divine Ornaments from Loki when she's drunk bragging about hers so they could understand what it entails.
"Its wearer would be granted the ability to fly and contrary to its looks, it's one of the most sturdy ornaments in Heaven, making the user almost invulnerable to damage. Of course, as I've said, it's a weapon. Those feathers can fly out with blinding speed and each of them could act like they are a thrown spear. Most of the Gods who went against it got multiple holes punched in their bodies."
While Loki was explaining the cloak to her children, Freya finally moved and slowly floated up to the same level as Kisuke.
What Loki didn't tell her children was that the Freya right now became complete.
When she descended, she became known as Goddess of Beauty, Love, Fertility, and Harvest. That's because those are the only aspects that her avatar could contain until it became 'filled'. As for the remaining aspects, Gold, Sorcery, War, and Death, they were left behind and sealed in her original body.
Now that she has a direct connection, however, all the knowledge and experiences she has with the remaining aspects descended into her Avatar which was arguably, the biggest power up she'd received.
"Unforgivable..." Freya softly muttered, but Kisuke heard her perfectly. The despondent Goddess from earlier had already disappeared and the one in front of Kisuke right now is a bloodlust-filled warrior.
'I pissed her off, alright~ So much so that she still has no inkling that I'm using an incomplete illusion spell, Kyoka Suigetsu, sloppily.'
Loki has guessed correctly that Kisuke decided not to reason with Freya because he knew that it would just be a useless endeavor if he had learned something from socializing with Gods. Their beliefs are from their Divinity and their Divinity is the source of their power. The moment they doubted themselves, it would be the moment that they lost everything.
Nevertheless, they aren't exactly wrong with their beliefs either. In this morally gray world, wrong answers are only wrong for those who think they are wrong.
Since reasoning with her would just be a useless effort, Kisuke opted for an easier one, blackmail. By threatening her that he could easily destroy everything she has if she goes over the 'no no' line, it would create a more effective method of control.
Of course, Kisuke could have stopped after deleting a few of her top Familia members, but this is also a good chance to gather more concrete information regarding the beings called 'Deities'. As such, he couldn't easily let go of the opportunity and went ahead to piss her off more by brutally murdering everyone in front of her and disconnecting their connections to Freya temporarily, creating a wrong impression that they are already out of her reach.
As one could see, it went incredibly well. So well that she really won't listen to any of his words anymore and just out for his blood and soul.
Without saying anything further, Freya raised her hand, and thousands of complicated Magic Circles four feet in diameter each appeared around them in a span of a few seconds. Seeing such a grand scale of Magic, Kisuke thought, 'Yep~ She's in the state that she couldn't care less if she destroyed the world. How selfish.'
Instead of defending, Kisuke flew up with the speed of sound, aiming to escape the area so that Orario wouldn't be obliterated with just him standing there, 'Hmmm... Lolog Lake beside Melen is a good spot since I've also placed various barrier formations there. Good thinking, past me~!'
After praising himself, Kisuke decided to give a small screen where the members of the Loki Familia could watch their fight since it'll also be a good experience for them since he has a feeling that they might have to go against a God if things develop for the worst.
Editors:
28th00: I kinda expected this the second he used an Illusion magic at the start, but man, it felt great to see Freya suffer. Cathartic, some might say...
Arc of golden lights created sharp whistles as they passed through Kisuke's former position with some of them hitting the ground and disappearing after creating crevices of unknown depths, 'A very simple yet very effective attack. Without activating Hierro, I would be in pieces after a few hundred of those hit me even if my basic resistances were boosted. Though being torn into many parts isn't really a big deal for the current me.'
While whizzing through the golden blades, Kisuke looked back at Freya who's silently chasing after him, and thought, 'Still, I can't really prevent the activation of her Magic because she's using an entirely different system of Magic. They look like Elven Magic, but none of my knowledge about it does help. Even if I tried, I would just fall for the traps within those Magic Circles.'
Ability-wise, Deities, including those from the previous world, average around Captain-level while wielding their Bankai. Not to mention the Leader-class that is much stronger than normal Deities.
However, versatility-wise, the two worlds are actually far ahead of Seireitei due to how Magic was much more flexible than Reiryoku. And because Seireitei's path of development centered around martial prowess led by stubborn and old school court, the technological advantages couldn't even be compared, 'And that development was further strangled by the ban on any space manipulation related studies. In fact, if I hadn't established the Research and Development Institute, they would probably still be stuck on swinging their swords, blindly chasing after Hollows from their paths of destruction, and sending messages through birds or errands.'
Of course, this doesn't mean Kisuke was discounting Seireitei's actual development. If it's martial prowess, he's confident that they would be able to take on any faction on both worlds in a straight fight without any problems.
'Now I really wonder what happened after Yoruichi and I 'died' over there. Since Aizen was around, I'm confident that they'll be able to deal with Ywach's 'eyes', but as for actually defeating him, I'm not so sure. Does that world still exist? If it does, I really need to start working on returning and hope that they haven't permanently killed the boss of Quincies.'
Kisuke's quick recollections were cut short when he reached the center of Lolog Lake. He wanted to take this fight on the open sea, but the rage of the barrier won't allow that, 'But this place should be large enough.' Kisuke thought while dodging the remaining golden blades with ease.
Seeing that it's not effective in the slightest, the newly arrived Freya stopped the futile effort and switched her strategy. Raising her left hand, a gigantic purple Magic Circle manifested on top of them. The Magic Circle was so large that it almost encompassed the whole lake known for its size.
Kisuke immediately looked up and tried to analyze the Magic. However, just like from before, it only resembles the Elven Magic a little bit. Still, he was able to get something from it after judging the flow of Magic Power, 'Field type Magic, huh?'
As he expected, the air within the Magic Circle became heavier and something invisible started invading and eroding him starting from his skin. He then looked down and saw the lake become still and turned dark purple with dead fishes beginning to float up, 'Curse Magic? No... This is more akin to Death Magic.'
All of a sudden, Freya spoke, "I should have already been sent back to Heaven... Is this your doing? I'll make sure you regret it." Contrary to her always sultry and passionate way of speaking, her voice right now was as cold as permanent ice just as her entire demeanor.
Freya was genuinely regretting the fact that she ever got involved with him. And now that she knows what sort of being Kisuke really is, she couldn't help but blame herself for sending her own children to a brutal demise, 'So this is fury... I'm not thankful at all...'
Kisuke didn't say anything back and just released his Shikai. Swinging Benihime upwards, Kisuke launched a wide crimson arc towards the Magic Circle. However, the arc only went through and disturbed the circle before the latter completely repaired itself without even interrupting the effects of the Magic, 'Of course it wouldn't be that easy. But it's worth the try, I guess?'
Instantly after, Kisuke felt a threat to his position and hastily used Flash Step. When he stopped ten meters away from his former position, he saw it was skewered by 9 golden rods. Within those rods, Kisuke could see the faint outline of a feather. But he wasn't able to think more about it as another threat loomed and he had to dodge it.
After three subsequent attacks, Kisuke finally refused to dodge and used Hierro to boost his defense. He felt a powerful Teleportation Magic trying to make its influence inside his body but it was naturally rejected. Since this failed, the golden rods instead teleported just a few inches outside of his body and slammed at him.
If it was another person, they would be already impaled by the golden rods but with defensive Hollow skill that was already on par as Aizen's, the rods were just crushed without damaging him in any way. Though the reason why tanked the attack is not that he got tired of dodging but because he felt that Freya already predicted where he would stop.
Freya audibly clicked her tongue in annoyance when she saw Kisuke virtually unscathed and just his attire full of holes, "You aren't a Deity so what are you? A monster from the Dungeon?"
"Regardless of my answer, you still won't stop until you can kill me, won't you?", replied Kisuke while taking off his haori and upper part of his kosode, revealing his well-shaped and chiseled upper body.
Pointing her right palm at him, Freya smirked, "Don't worry. I won't just kill you, but slowly take you apart until you'd wish you're dead."
"That's fine. Nonetheless, please don't expect that I'll be forever passive." Suddenly appearing in front of her, Kisuke mercilessly brought his blade down to her face.
This much was not a surprise attack for Freya and she intended to block it with her cloak. That's where mistakes were made as she severely underestimated the power behind his sword and it was already a bit too late when she realized this.
Without having much choice, Freya turned sideways while flinging her cloak in an attempt to slow it down.
The sword hit the cloak and there was some resistance to it, though it didn't last long. Kisuke's sword continued on its intended path but Freya had shifted her body.
Freya looked down and only then did she see how much she's underestimating him, 'This is getting ridiculous... He parted the lake with a simple swing?'
Thanks to her split-second decision, she was able to get out of harm's way but her beloved cloak was already torn into pieces. Nevertheless, she didn't want to waste the opportunity that was presented to her. Freya extended her hand and formed a knife with it while covering it with highly concentrated Divine Power. She then aimed at his chest, wanting to steal his heart, literally.
Due to how close they are right now, Kisuke didn't have any time to move. Of course, he was already expecting that she would jump for this kind of opening but he didn't care. Before Freya's hand landed, a patch of skin on Kisuke's chest suddenly turned white.
Freya's expectation of seeing blood was shattered as a loud clang was heard upon impact, "What!?"
Editors:
28th00: Lol, gotta try harder than that to carve his heart out! Purely physical attacks are the easiest to defend, block and invalidate afterall.
While the battle was ongoing, Loki invited the 'guests' in to watch with them, "So that guy even managed to fool you all that you're dead?"
Ottar, the rest of the executives, Mia, and Anya walked in while still checking the 'wounds' they had suffered, "Was that... Just a bad dream?"
As for the members of the Loki Familia, they are glad that they are alive for one reason or another but they still can't wrap their heads around what just happened. They almost had a heart attack when the headless people started standing up before the scene returned to normal, "Loki, when did you notice?" asked Finn.
Loki sat down on the couch and pinned her eyes on the floating monitor, "I was shocked and angry too at first, of course. But that's what I thought he wanted so my thoughts immediately deviated when he sealed my movements and speech. Though 'till the end, I only had a suspicion because adding to the fact that I can't imagine him starting a useless massacre, the town itself was unnaturally quiet. Even if he was able to set up a barrier to isolate the noise, people should have started gathering around when they saw the top of Babel destroyed."
Riveria took a peek at the untouched Tower of Babel and said, "Now that you mentioned it... It was extremely strange, but I only noticed it when everything was already done."
"There are other little details that supported my suspicion but I won't mention those. And don't really have to be hard on yourself since Freya fell for it too, spectacularly at that."
"But shouldn't Freya-sama already know that no one's actually dead? We have her blessing, after all.", Mia interjected with confusion.
"Although what happened on the Tower of Babel was fake, that didn't mean that he really doesn't have the ability to erase someone's soul. In fact, I'm more inclined to believe that he could because that would explain how he was able to sever, or at least block your connection to Freya.", Loki explained briefly, 'Though what concerns me the most was that illusion ability. It's so well made that even Freya who released her Divinity couldn't tell it apart from reality. Even now, I'm still wondering when we fell for it.'
"Anyway, just watch. It isn't every day you all get to see how a God fights."
.
.
.
Freya hurriedly took back her hand and dodged the blade that was coming after her by jumping back. But even then, she wasn't able to get away as the sword emitted a crimson light and released a whistling arc.
"Tch!" Without much choice, Freya released more of her Divine Power and caught the arc with her bare hands, crushing it.
But before she noticed it, her body was already entangled with a blood-red net that extended from Kisuke's feet.
Freya hurriedly tried to break away but the net was too stretchy to cut, 'It wasn't meant to entangle me?', Freya thought to herself. Nevertheless, the bad feeling that was coming from the net didn't decrease instead, the threat only seemed to increase with its unknown use.
Unfortunately for Freya, the time that she used to ineffectively break away from the net was enough for Kisuke to gather his power. Stabbing the net at his feet, Kisuke poured a considerable amount of energy into Benihime, "Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi."
Orbs of fire started sprouting on each corner of the net until it reached Freya.
Freya was horrified at what she's seeing and hastily gathered all the Divine Power she could to protect herself.
A second later, an explosion so loud and so bright it shook the entire lake. The explosion was so strong that those within the Twilight Manor saw a second sun. If not for the barrier that was protecting the region, no building would be left standing in Melen and some parts of Orario would have been destroyed from the shockwave.
"Freya-sama!!!", the members of the Freya Familia couldn't help but shout simultaneously with some of them leaving the Twilight Manor to see what's going on the lake with their own eyes. Since the devastation was covered by thick steam made from the nasty water of the lake, they couldn't see the result of the explosion. However, they are sure enough that Freya couldn't take that without being injured.
Kisuke, although he already knew Freya's situation without looking at her, waved his hand to produce a strong gust of wind that blew the steam away, revealing Freya's scorched and falling figure.
Ottar and the rest shuddered at this sight and were about to rush to the location like everybody else but Loki spoke out to stop them, "There's nothing you can do even if you go there. You'll just be wasting time."
"That doesn't matter. If Freya-sama were going to die, then I'll accompany her to the grave."
Loki peeked at Ottar who refused to back down and was followed by others, "That's incredibly foolish, but if I were Freya, I'd be happy to hear your sentiment, however, don't put a Deity at the same level as you, mortals." The moment she finished her sentence, the air within the entire room became so heavy that it actually became hard to breathe for some.
Ottar turned around and directly looked at Loki, "...So this is a Deity's pride."
Loki didn't say anything back and just returned her attention to the screen.
Ottar became silent for a few moments while looking at the ripple that Freya created when she disappeared on the lake before saying, "None will go. Let's wait here for our Goddess' victory."
At that moment, the sky lit up as Divine Aura covered the area before a golden chariot pulled by two giant gray tabby cats.
Editors:
28th00: Ah, the big fiery explosion implosion. Yeah, that's a nasty one.
Kisuke immediately looked up as soon as he felt a strange presence appearing on top of his head, 'So even the manifestation of the legend is the same? Then I'm more inclined to believe that the names aren't a coincidence.'
Kisuke dodged the angry cats and they went on to continue their journey to the bottom of the lake where Freya is.
But instead of an explosion of power like Kisuke was expecting, only a flash of bright light occurred. Soon after the gigantic Magic Circle that continuously cast 'Death Magic' on the region disappeared, 'Well, it isn't really effective against me so it's just a waste of effort for her. Though the clean-up afterward is going to suck. Do I have a purification tool? I would also have to accelerate the repopulation of marine life.'
Kisuke's worries, however, were proven to be useless because another flash of light emerged from within the lake and this time, the light caused him to feel the warmth of life, a stark contrast to the overwhelming aura of death from earlier. The lake's water returned to its former shine and the marine life was instantly restored to its healthy state. But it didn't just stop at that as the downed trees and vegetation have begun wriggling and fixed themselves.
The restoration didn't stop until the region flourished more than before their battle, 'What a wonderful sight. The 'miracle' of a Deity, huh? How interesting.' Kisuke thought to himself as he watched Freya serenely emerge from the lake without a drop of injury, grime, or water on her body.
But more than her flawless body, what caught Kisuke's attention was the white and gold armor set she's wearing and the lustrous silver kite shield and a short sword that matched her hair. Kisuke thought that the Freya right now, along with her demeanor, was truly a Goddess of War and Beauty that he had imagined. After thinking for a few moments, he concluded that her current equipment right now was the chariot and cats that had just descended.
Kisuke got ready because he knew that this is where the real fight would start, however, his opponent didn't have the same idea and turned her head towards Orario.
Kisuke hastily checked the surrounding barrier and found them to be working as intended, 'She was able to see through it?'
Nevertheless, instead of being disappointed, Kisuke was happy to have found this problem this early on. All in all, he just needed a few more pieces of information from Freya to make the necessary adjustments. He's just worried that the latter won't be cooperating anymore, 'How should I piss her off this time? Should I call her ugly?'
Before he knew it, Freya's shining purple eyes were already locked on him, "Aren't you thinking of something very rude?"
And without hesitation, Kisuke replied, "Yeah. I'm thinking of saying how ugly you are inside and out."
With a response that she was not expecting, Freya almost tripped over nothing. The corner of Freya's eyes twitched before she could say back with a slightly forced smile, "M-my~ So nothing changed for you, huh. You're really pulling my confidence down here."
Freya thought that Kisuke was taking back what he just said when he suddenly gave her a thumbs up and a wink when he actually said, "Don't worry~ I can assure you that you're still ugly on the inside~!"
Freya felt the veins on her forehead pop out but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She has a feeling that only now that she met the 'true' Kisuke. Having a hunch that she would just further be infuriated, Freya changed the topic, "Why did you do this?"
"You're not going to ask how I did this?"
"I want to know that too since it's an ultimate game changer for us Deities if we can use our powers within the Lower World, however, I doubt I could hear an answer from you so at least, I wish to know your intent behind this," Freya recalled the last instance they exchanged words. It was a very memorable day for her because it's also the day that she started doubting her eyes, ultimately pushing her to do the extreme just to validate her already shaking beliefs, "Is it because you're against what I want to happen?"
Kisuke immediately shook his head, "Don't get it wrong. What you're doing was, at most, kidnapping and I'm no hero or law enforcer that would go after you. As for ultimately what your goal is, I have a vague idea though it still isn't my right to step in. As I've mentioned before, I won't force my beliefs on you and just suggest something universal, look through another lens."
"Let's see... As for the main reason I'm doing this, let's say you're standing dangerously close to a line that shouldn't, by any means, be crossed right now so I'm here to stop you and make sure not to do anything similar in the future."
"I see.", Freya nodded in understanding, "I must say, it was really threatening and I have no intention of doing something similar in the future if it incurs your wrath. You had undoubtedly already achieved your goal, but what else do you want? You didn't have to let it reach this point."
"I'm a man of curiosity. I wanted to know what a God can actually do. You could also say that I wanted to test my skills by challenging a Deity since it isn't every day that I could. But I guess this is where the fun ends." Since she didn't have any further reason to continue this fight Kisuke prepared to take down the barrier once Freya severed her connection to her real body, 'It's a shame but it looks like I won't be able to coax her by just pissing her off.'
However, Freya became silent and Kisuke wondered what she's thinking about.
After a few seconds of staring at each other, Freya proposed, "Today is really such a unique day so ending it here would be unfortunate. How about this, if you can defeat me, I would do any one thing you ask as long as it's within my ability."
It was Kisuke's turn to be silent and gave her a stare full of suspicion.
"And when I said anything, I meant it. Whether it's lending you my children or having fun with me for a month or two."
Without pause, Kisuke replied while raising his hand, "I'm sorry but I'm neither interested in either of the two."
"Guh..." Freya staggered, 'He could have at least pretended to hesitate a little.' But what made it worse was the fact that right now, Kisuke is making a face that as if he would even pay her not to do any of those, 'Am I that bad in his eyes?' Freya could feel her confidence plummet.
Among those who are watching, everyone was speechless with each of them having a differing impression of the conversation, except for Loki, who's laughing her ass out loud, "Fuhahahaha! I've never thought Freya could make a face like that! Way to go, Ki-tan~! It's an achievement never before seen even in Heaven!"
"Though I'll admit that it's a very appealing proposal.", Kisuke continued, "But what price do you want from me?"
"Your experience."
Editors:
28th00: Kisuke really has no reason to even want to sleep with Freya. He's not really lustful either though. Freya just ain't that special. And man, does that have to BURN!
Kisuke thought about it for a bit and said, "You want to go through my memories?"
'But even then, that wouldn't count as 'experience'.' Kisuke thought to himself that's why he's not sure what she exactly wants. Though he already has a vague idea what she's going to say next and he's already not liking it.
"You just said that it would be a good idea to experience the world from a different lens, so if I win, not just your memories, but your feelings and what you're going through on that exact instance. You could say it's the first step towards that wonderful advice of yours."
Kisuke's smile disappeared and without any word, he snapped his fingers, activating another barrier that would slightly distort the images that are going out and block the sounds entirely.
Freya looked around and tried to figure out what the barriers were for. However, she was already expecting this and didn't ask about it. Instead, she raised three of her fingers and said, "Then how about three favors from me?"
Kisuke massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Then five? I believe that's more than sufficient price."
Kisuke then raised his head and looked at her. He knows that she couldn't really blame Freya but he still couldn't help but feel disappointed, "You don't have any idea how enormous the price you're asking for. Even if you raise all of your fingers, that would be nowhere enough. And even if I can assure my victory, I can't just devalue my experience like that. After all, even I have a pride that I want to keep."
This time, Freya raised her brows in wonderment. Although she knew she's asking for something steep, she didn't think that the latter would still not allow it even with all the favors she could offer, 'Is he undervaluing my favors or is he overvaluing his few years of experience. I won't deny that he's truly a unique existence and his experience could be said the same, however, an agreement or contract of permanent nondisclosure could be made so anything about him would still be safe with me. To think that we couldn't even reach that part...'
'But since he blocked the sound from going out, this at least meant that negotiation is still on the table.' Freya thought about it for a moment and instead of making an offer of her own, she asked, "What do you suggest I should put on the line?"
"You."
"...Huh?" Freya wanted to believe that she heard him incorrectly.
"Only when you can offer your whole self that I'll think about it.", Kisuke clarified.
Freya glowered at Kisuke's preposterous words, "If you wanted to refuse, you could just have said it. In what world some experience and that of a single person could become equal to one of the highest seats of this world? Do you know how ridiculous your words are just now?"
Of course, Kisuke knew that no matter how precious his experiences are, there's no way it could be equivalent to Freya's life in her own eyes. With that said, he himself still believes that his experience is more valuable than Freya's entire being, but he wouldn't be able to negotiate with the greatest possible benefits if he doesn't start high. More than his pride, the safety of those around him takes priority.
'She could easily prove the value of her existence, but how should I prove mine?', Kisuke thought about it while Freya silently waited for his answer. As much as she wants to dismiss Kisuke's claims, there's a nagging feeling that makes her want to continue listening.
After a little bit, Kisuke finally made a move and took out a blue polished crystal card etched with various runes and patterns from his inventory and placed it on his forehead before closing his eyes. Freya watched in curiosity and saw that the card slowly changed its color until it was red and the writings on it turned golden.
'This should be enough for a teaser. I should be able to at least get her cooperation for most things.', thought Kisuke as he opened his eyes and said, "Within this card is a portion of my memories. Sadly, I have no way of including what I'm feeling at that moment, as of now. But this should give you a rough idea of what you're asking for."
Kisuke then threw the card towards Freya after saying, "But I'd like you to promise first that you won't reveal anything that you'll see."
Freya caught the card and inspected it for a few moments and deciding, "I promise on my name that I won't reveal whatever I'm going to see.", the moment those words left Freya's lips, her whole body glowed but that shine also instant went away, "How do I use this?"
Kisuke nodded in satisfaction and answered, "Bring it on your forehead as I did and inject your aura into it. Just make sure that you don't reject anything that comes from it or most of the information would be lost."
Freya was suspicious, but she could at least tell that Kisuke wasn't lying. After hesitating for a few seconds, Freya finally did as Kisuke instructed and in the next instant, she was taken to another world.
'This is...' Freya was taken aback but immediately calmed down after figuring out that it was just a fake world created through Magic. She looked around the barren land and what initially caught her attention were the two strange men standing and facing each other from a certain distance.
Freya wanted to move closer but found out that she can't move anything aside from her head. She looked down and saw the familiar green motif eastern attire and wooden sandals, 'So I'm standing in his place.'
Now that she knew she couldn't do anything else, Freya refocused her attention to the men that seemed to be gearing to fight each other, 'I wonder what's so special about this?'
Of the two, Freya first looked at the man in white that seemed to sprout multiple butterfly wings stacked together on his back. But as she narrowed her focus, she shuddered at the concentrated aura that was around the man. The intense unknown aura that Freya felt made her want to hurl and flee the scene, 'W-what's that!?' She only stopped her attempt when she recalled that this is just a memory and she couldn't even move in the first place, 'If it were me in my original body, I would be hurt just from prolonged contact with that thing.'
She then turned her eyes to the other one who seems to be a young man with bright orange hair and wears a similar attire as Kisuke, just black overall. Contrary to the white man, this young man doesn't emit anything. It's as if he's not even there.
Freya couldn't observe any further as the young man started talking, "Let's get started, Aizen. I'm gonna finish this in a blink of an eye."
Although the language was unknown to her, Freya could understand him without any problem and just attributed it to her standing in Kisuke's place.
"...Finish this in the blink of an eye... I see... Now I understand, Kurosaki Ichigo. I understand the reason why you no longer possess Reiatsu. It's not that you've lost it, but you discarded it.", the white man named Aizen started talking.
"I do not know what method you used, but you converted all of your Reiatsu into physical strength. Arm strength, leg strength, grip strength, throwing strength, running strength. You discarded your Reiatsu in order to dramatically increase all of your body's capabilities because you gave up on the idea of fighting me with Reiatsu.", spreading his six pairs of butterfly-like wings, Aizen's aura further intensified, "However, you should abandon all of your hope. I will show you that even this strength that you placed all your faith in is far below that of my own."
Editors:
28th00: Ah, the climactic battle. Yeah, if that doesn't sell it, nothing would.
Kisuke didn't have to wait long until Freya finished the memory. Since it's just a bunch of information, the card was able to transfer everything within just a few seconds before it disintegrated into ash, permanently destroying any records after its one-time use.
Kisuke was about to say something to start the negotiation but held his words back when Freya looked at him with eyes filled with fear, 'Err... Was it that bad? Since the only thing I did there was seal the temporarily weakened Aizen, she must have been terrified by both Aizen and Kurosaki-san.'
And Kisuke was right, mostly.
The moment the battle started, Freya could only silently stare in fright as the terrain changed with each of their clashes. It is not to say that Gods aren't capable of such feats, but to obliterate an entire mountain with something as casual as a simple swing of a sword was beyond her realm of understanding and possibility.
In addition to the blinding speeds that she could barely catch with her eyes and instant teleportation that's impossible to predict, Freya, even at her full strength and original body, would just be a mere child in front of them.
And that became even more apparent when the white man used a spell that encloses the target within a dark void. Just from the fluctuation from it, Freya presumed that she would be reduced into a mangled piece of meat if she were to be trapped within it.
When Aizen transformed into a monstrous being, Freya could feel the aura around him disappear. But a few moments later, she figured out that it didn't disappear but Kisuke couldn't perceive it anymore.
At that point, her mind already stopped working as the battle raged on.
After the whole thing, she mostly forgot what she had seen because of three key moments that occupied everything in her head, 'W-what was that? Is something like that even possible to exist?'
In the end, she didn't know what she's even scared of the most. Whether it's the last attack of the young man that seemed to not just physically cut the target but also their 'past, present, and the future, the monster that survived it, or the man who's capable of sealing such a being, she didn't know what terrified her the most.
'A final attack that's capable of cutting the fabric of reality itself... A monster that survived an attack that could even kill immortals with ease... And a man that the monster viewed as his equal and was able to seal the latter... These powerhouses that shouldn't exist are within his memories... I see... So that's how it is...'
As she managed to rearrange her thoughts and calm herself down, Freya finally had the time to properly look at her opponent. Kisuke then noticed a shift in how Freya looked at him. At first, Freya looked at Kisuke as a mortal. No matter what he does, it's still within the realms of mortals. After their fight, she finally viewed him as a threat and an equal. But now, Kisuke couldn't exactly tell how it changed yet again as it was a mix of various emotions.
Even Loki was startled at how Freya changed in front of him, 'What happened to her? What are they talking about?' Though that change wasn't noticed by anyone else.
However, what happened next almost made Loki kick the table away if not for her immediate self-control because others might notice her reaction, 'WHAAAAAT!? WHY DID FREYA BRING THAT DOWN!? WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING OVER THERE!?'
On the screen, everyone could see Freya raising her arms up before summoning a white orb that emitted a faint light. On the surface was a symbol that looked like interlacing lines that formed a three-point shape. Ever since the sound disappeared and their lips blurred out, everyone has been wondering what the two are talking about and that curiosity only increased with the appearance of the orb, "Loki-sama, do you know what that orb is?", the Elf Hedin asked.
"A Divine item. There's no point in further explaining what it really is.", Loki kept her calm as she answered but more questions kept popping up in her head on why Freya brought down her own 'heart', 'Just bringing it down already risks her of disappearing forever. What on earth really happened for her to take on that risk without any hesitation?'
"What is that?", asked Kisuke after guessing that it wasn't an item used for battle.
"My everything.", Freya looked at him with a small smile, "My heart. Take this, and I'll be yours, forever."
Kisuke was taken aback. He honestly didn't expect that Freya would agree to his first term. However, he was still suspicious of the veracity of her words and kept quiet.
Guessing what's on his mind, Freya continued, "You can confirm it, Loki."
And Kisuke did as she has said
"What is that?", asked Kisuke after guessing that it wasn't an item used for battle.
"My everything.", Freya looked at him with a small smile, "My heart. Take this, and I'll be yours, forever."
Kisuke was taken aback. He honestly didn't expect that Freya would agree to his first term. However, he was still suspicious of the veracity of her words and kept quiet.
Guessing what's on his mind, Freya continued, "You can confirm it, Loki."
And Kisuke did as she has said, securing a telepathic path to Loki, [Loki-sama, mind telling me what's on her hand right now?]
But Loki remained silent even after waiting for a minute or two. Her reluctance became obvious to Kisuke so he added, [I'll tell you what's going on later.]
Loki was silent for a few moments but eventually spoke, [...A Deity's heart. More specifically, Freya's heart.]
[So that's the source of her power? You can take it out?]
[No... That's different from our Divine Core. It's something that usually sits on the deepest depths of our souls. It's something more important to us than our power. Destroying that won't kill Freya, instead, what makes Freya 'Freya' will cease existing. It'll regenerate over time, but it'll never be the same.]
[I get it. That's her will, ego, and consciousness.]
[You better keep your promise.]
Kisuke didn't say anything else to her and terminated their connection, "Since you took it out, I assume that you're betting with it?"
Freya nodded, "Certainly."
"I've never thought that you'd agree so easily."
Freya chuckled and said, "I'm of the same opinion, but after what you showed me, it would be an injustice to you. Though I do have an additional condition."
"What is it?"
With a beautiful and radiant smile that could capture anyone's heart, Freya responded, "Regardless of the result, I'd like you to take me on a date~ Somewhere far from here."
'So that's what tipped the scale.' Of course, Kisuke knew how not to accept her words at face value and easily found out the hidden meaning behind them. Since he already concluded that Deities of this world can't leave because of the shackles known as the 'Heaven', 'freedom' for them was an impossible thought. For Freya, just being presented with the possibility of shaking off these shackles and experiencing a world beyond her recognition and imagination was enough for her to bet her life on.
Kisuke thought about it for a little while before giving a reply while scratching his head, "You do know how strict your 'parents' are, so I can't really promise. But you can count on me to give it some effort if that's fine with you."
Contrary to how Kisuke predicted she would respond, Freya nodded happily and said, "That's more than enough~!"
'How desperate are you!?' Kisuke internally thought as he realized how important 'freedom' is for these bored Deities, 'Though it might not just be Freya, if the others want something similar, I can use this as leverage.'
Editors:
28th00: Hestia would absolutely want to follow, so would Artemis.
Freya placed her 'heart' on her chest and fused with it, "Now that the terms have been established, let's do our best."
After confirming both of their oaths, Kisuke prepared himself. But before they could start, Freya added, "A prolonged battle between us would only uselessly exhaust us both so here's another proposition. If you can take on my strongest attack, I'll admit defeat. How about it?"
Kisuke didn't think too deeply about it and nodded, "If that's what you want, then I have nothing against it." Out of all the remaining things he wanted to measure, it's her maximum raw power.
Freya's smile deepened as she released the shield and sword from her hands. The weapons momentarily transformed back into cats before they transformed once again. This time, as a pair of metallic silver wings on her back, emitted motes of glittering light.
Kisuke could feel the surrounding Magic Power rush towards her and be converted to Divine Power just as fast. If not for him manually keeping the barriers, it would have been destroyed a long time ago. He then saw her raise her right arm once again and felt something descend once more.
As he looked up, Kisuke saw a 10-meter long and 4-meter wide pure white armored boar dashing straight to Freya with a loud roar that one could never believe came from a boar. Halfway through, however, the boar began shrinking until it became a sleek and gleaming white spear that landed on Freya's hand, "This is Hildisvíni, my most prized and most powerful weapon. It's also a weapon that wouldn't lose to Gungnir or Mjolnir."
Freya then lowered her stance and pulled back her arm that's holding Hildisvíni, getting ready to throw it at Kisuke, "Unlike Gungnir that always strikes true wherever the target is, however, mine would only go in a straight line."
"Then I guess it won't stop at any obstacle and would pierce through anything.", replied Kisuke with a chuckle and relaxed his control over his power, letting it quietly run wild inside his body. If he wanted to release the vast majority of his Hollow powers, controlling his base power would only limit it. Even though there's just a paper-thin division between his Shinigami and Hollow side, it's still a cliff-like separation.
He already concluded that he could fuse these two powers and without any doubt, he'd attain power that of a transcendent like what he had always wanted. However, he didn't choose to do so because he had a feeling that he would just throw Hougyoku's final efforts into trash. More than that, he also has an inkling that he might lose Benihime like how Aizen lost his Zanpakuto despite keeping its powers.
He doesn't exactly know what he's waiting for, but he's willing to use any time to bid for that exact moment that he could break through the invisible barrier of his existence as he wanted, 'I feel that I still need to go through many things before I could reach that state. I just wish I would never be backed into a corner that I would have to resort to something irreversible.'
Freya, on the other hand, also felt Kisuke's aura shift and stopped speaking to focus. The memories that Kisuke showed didn't reveal anything pertaining to his real strength, 'If he had to stand on the sideline as those two battled, I can assume that he's not on the same level.'
The main reason Freya proposed this kind of battle is to increase her chances of winning. Although Kisuke isn't on the same level as those ridiculous 'monsters', she couldn't forget Aizen's last words to Kisuke and how the former was tricked into receiving a sealing spell without his knowledge. She knew that if it's a normal battle, Kisuke's 'superior intellect' would take her down as it prolonged.
But even if she was able to force him into receiving her most powerful attack, she's still not very confident that she could win so in addition to her spear, she commenced employing her Magic to augment her spear further.
As the greatest and most powerful practitioner of Seidr Magic, Freya's forte isn't about the manipulation of elements nor the conjuration of mysteries, but the discerning the flow of time and working within its structure to bring about change, which was done by symbolically weaving new events into being. The sole reason why Freya could see through Ichigo's 'Mugetsu'.
That's also the reason why she was so terrified of that attack and the being that survived it. It's because 'Mugetsu' doesn't bring any changes, instead, it brought forth 'nothingness'.
After charging the Hildisvíni with as much power as she can, Freya diverted the rest of her Divine Power to her Magic which resulted in a golden Magic Circle behind her, infinitely more complex compared to everything that she has shown until now.
Borrowing and converging all the future that she saw into one event, Freya locked Kisuke into one singular result of him being pierced through by the spear powered by all the realities that she saw.
As Kisuke looked at this, a single drop of cold sweat ran through his back and he thought while his movements were being restricted by some invisible force, 'I've never thought that she would suddenly pull out a reality-warping spell. I could understand the restriction of my movements, but where the hell is this additional power coming from!?' From his point of view, it's as if multiple Freya's were stacked together, raising the power gathering within the spear exponentially.
And Kisuke's wild guess was correct. After collapsing the possible futures into one, the Freya of that timeline didn't disappear but temporarily migrated into Freya's position. It is a Grand Magic with power so great that it would render Freya's Divinity almost nonexistent for a period of time after this instance and further stay on the Lower World would risk her of its dangers since she wouldn't even have enough Divinity to return to Heaven if her avatar were to be killed.
In the event that Freya did actually die in this state, her consciousness would scatter without the guide of her Divinity. While she won't truly die, it would take countless years before she could wake up again.
This is truly her everything in one attack.
While it didn't normally happen, Kisuke became excited at this sight, 'Looks like gaining power meant one wanting to test it every now and then. Although only slightly, I can understand how Kenpachi feels all the time.'
Freya saw a deep smile crept on Kisuke's face and couldn't help but be bothered by it, 'Underestimating me?', she thought and said, "Be careful. I won't be able to receive my reward if you were to die."
"That looks really powerful... But I think I would have to disappoint you with an anti-climatic ending."
Freya didn't say anything else and just threw the spear saturated with Divine Power, "Hildisvíni!!!"
But before the spear could leave her hand, Kisuke disappeared and suddenly reappeared in front of her. For a split second, however, she thought an entirely different person appeared as the man in front of him had light blonde long hair that reached his hips. But that's the least surprising as he also grew a white angular horn pointing upwards on the left side of his head along with eyes with the blackened sclera and golden pupils.
Before Freya could react any further, Kisuke raised his left arm that was coated with Hollow material that reached his shoulder and grabbed the tip of the spear with his bare hands.
Freya watched her spear and Kisuke's hand made contact with unbelieving eyes. Releasing a bright white light, the shockwave that resulted from the collision of two forces instantly disintegrated all the barriers around, including the 'eyes' that were capturing their image. It didn't stop there as another wave of shockwave blasted almost half of the lake's water into space.
Thankfully, Freya's spear was pointing towards the vast sea as most of the force left that way and Melen and Orario were spared from total destruction.
Thanks to the disappearance of the barriers, Freya's massive Divine Aura spilled throughout the entire region, catching all the Deities' attention within it and making all of them release their own Divine Aura before making haste towards the source, except for Loki who's patiently waiting in her seat and Ouranos who couldn't leave in the first place as he had to strengthen his 'prayers' so this Divine Power wildly spreading wouldn't reach the depths of the Dungeon.
Normally, most of the Gods would have already recognized the source of Divine Aura as Freya, however, another unknown aura that was much more terrifying distorted any recognizable parts of the former. This unknown aura that was as strong as a Deity's aura if not stronger is more of a reason why everyone was scrambling to get to the lake. They wanted to know what ungodly being could be compared to a God.
.
.
.
Despite the blinding light, Freya could still see clearly what's going on and could only watch in disbelief as her spear's power slowly dissipated until there's only 1/100000 of it remained, leaving only some bleeding cracks on Kisuke's arm.
Freya's remaining Divine Power was exhausted and her armor, wings, and spear disappeared in a flash of light, returning where they came from, leaving behind the naked and unmoving Goddess to fall from the sky while muttering, "So you're just as ridiculous as them... I was scammed..."
Kisuke swooped her in while taking out a spare green haori and wrapping her with it before scooping her on a princess carry, "That's not my fault and I'm not on their level. Not yet, anyway."
Editors:
28th00: He does have a habit of scamming people, I won't deny
With a small pout, Freya took out her 'heart' and brought it close to his chest, "I would have asked for more demands if I knew it would be as one-sided as that.", But before the orb could touch Kisuke, multiple intricate barriers covered the object, "Aren't you being too careful? This thing would do anything to you."
Kisuke nodded and said, "That's true... At least, that's what you believe is the truth. However, you didn't create Heaven so there's no way for you to actually know everything there is to it about Deities. Whether there's a hidden truth or not, it doesn't hurt to be careful."
"I guess you reached this level because this is how you do things." After the barriers were fully established, Freya pushed the covered orb and it disappeared in Kisuke's chest, letting it sit on the outermost corner of his soul.
Kisuke and Freya disappeared from the lake and a few minutes later, numerous concerned and curious Deities arrived at the shore of the Lolog lake, only to witness the devastation that they have left but nothing else.
After using Flash Step a few times, Kisuke and Freya arrived at the room where the executives of both Loki and Freya Familias gathered and each one of them was looking at them with trepidation. Not because of the battle which ended they didn't see because everyone's memories have already returned to normal. It's largely because of Kisuke's current appearance, closer to a monster more than a human he claims to be.
Kisuke ignored them for a moment and asked Freya, "Can you stand?"
Freya nodded and Kisuke gently placed her down. She didn't wait for anything else or even greeted Loki and her children. Freya just started walking towards the exit while beckoning her children, "We're done here. Let's go home."
Everyone from the Freya Familia kept what they were thinking to themselves and followed their Goddess without any questions. Out of everything that has transpired, they are just glad that she's safe and sound. It was also then that they noticed that despite her apparent weakness, her steps are light as if an invisible burden has just left her shoulders.
While they were leaving, they came across Gareth's group that has been trying to enter the area since earlier but thanks to one of the Loki Familia members who came out with them to explain the situation, no clash happened.
It also didn't take too long before Kisuke's rampant power calmed down and slowly returned to her previous form. After changing his clothes through Magic, Kisuke tipped his hat towards Loki and said, "Well then, Loki-sama, everyone. Thank you very much for your reception but I won't be staying long. I hope you have a good day."
"Wait. You haven't fulfilled your promise."
"Ah, that. It's really nothing special. Freya-sama wanted my 'experience' and I showed her some of my memories. She then used her orb as a stake."
Loki clicked her tongue and sat back down, "That's essentially telling me nothing by leaving out the most important parts!"
"But I've fulfilled my promise so I don't have any other duty to answer your curiosity." Kisuke didn't say anything else and directly disappeared in a blink of an eye.
"...Loki.", Finn called out to her.
Loki was able to easily figure out what's on everyone's head and said, "What? You're bothered by the form he took?" Since Loki knew that they couldn't possibly tell the difference between Freya's aura and Kisuke's aura, their attention was caught by Kisuke's inhuman form.
Silence from the surrounding was all the answer she needed and she couldn't help but sigh, "How is he any different from Filvis? And besides, many Gods themselves have horns on their original bodies and some of them even have extra limbs and eyes."
Loki then stood up and left the room, intending to catch some rest. But unlike Freya who left on a happy note, Loki is feeling disappointed that her children seem to be not at all capable of escaping the common knowledge that they have despite being presented with evidence, 'Fighting monsters all these years and avoiding conflict with people seems to have taken a bad influence in their minds. Even though they knew that people are much more capable of evil compared to unthinking monsters...'
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.
As soon as Kisuke exited the city, Yoruichi appeared beside him, "Why did you come to watch? Were you that worried?" Kisuke jokingly asked.
Unexpectedly, however, Yoruichi nodded seriously.
Kisuke stopped walking and faced her, "Hmmm?... Why?"
"Aika gave me a heads up. She didn't know what it was but she told me that something dangerous might happen to you. Since we can't really categorize her ability anymore, I couldn't take that warning lightly."
"Dangerous...?" Kisuke resumed walking but his mind was running at full speed, trying to find a clue what that danger could actually be. Alas, despite spending some time contemplating on it, he couldn't think of anything. Though that itself is a clue since it meant that he either can't sense this danger in the first place, overlooking something, or something beyond his control was moving.
And considering that Aika felt it on himself, there's only one that comes to his mind. Tapping his cane, Kisuke sent a thought, 'You're awake, huh? Since when? And why are you hiding it?'
Though he was just guessing and tricking her to reply, Kisuke indeed got a response, 'Because I was bidding for my time.'
'Since you responded, does that mean you gave up? What for anyway?'
With a lighthearted tone, Benihime replied, 'Examination~'
Kisuke was startled and stopped walking which prompted Yoruichi to ask in concern, "What's wrong?"
"Thank you for coming... Looks like I was really in danger..." There's only one instance that Benihime referred to something as 'Examination' and that's when he tried to achieve his Bankai. Due to his Zanpakuto's nature and ability, he almost died before passing her test. And until now, he firmly believed that Benihime would have been fine with it even if they both perished that day.
Editors:
28th00: Ah, the crazy psycho-hyper-yandere Zanpakuto spirit! She's made up of all his crazy.
Goyya: Same with Kyouraku's Zanpakuto