With a single strike, Lod had annihilated a colossal monster that towered over a hundred meters and possessed destructive power comparable to that of a cruise missile.
Coulson stood in stunned silence, overwhelmed by what he had witnessed.
A Soul Reaper...
This being was far more terrifying than the creatures known as Hollows, even surpassing the superhumans he had encountered before, who were already formidable adversaries.
With unmatched individual strength, mysterious magical abilities, and power that delved into the realm of souls, Lod was clearly beyond SHIELD's capacity to manage or control.
Coulson found himself at a loss for words.
As an experienced SHIELD agent, he deeply understood one thing: unchecked power inevitably invited catastrophe.
The world is inherently chaotic, consisting of two opposing forces—good and evil—which, while adversarial, is equally indispensable. Absolute good is unattainable, and so is absolute evil. SHIELD's purpose is to balance and mediate between these extremes.
Just as every superhero has a nemesis, SHIELD did not aim to eradicate evil; instead, it sought to stabilize the balance between good and evil.
However, the emergence of this Soul Reaper had disrupted that balance.
As Lod began to walk away, Coulson struggling to ignore his severe injuries, called out desperately.
"Wait! Soul Reaper!"
He forced himself to his feet, enduring the pain. "I'm Phil Coulson, an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. On behalf of humanity, I sincerely thank you for eliminating that monster!"
Hearing the lengthy introduction, Lod froze for several seconds before responding with a puzzled expression.
"You're from... what division?"
"You can call it SHIELD," Coulson replied, showing no surprise at Lod's reaction. After all, no one Coulson had met in his twenty-year career ever remembered SHIELD's full name in their first meeting.
"Alright, SHIELD," Lod said with a faint nod and a polite smile. "There's no need for thanks. What do you want from me?"
Seeing Lod's seemingly approachable demeanor, Coulson felt a bit relieved. After gathering his thoughts, he said, "Soul Reaper, SHIELD exists to protect humanity by neutralizing all threats and anomalies. Regarding that monster earlier, may I ask you some questions?"
"I refuse," Lod said with a slight smile. "Whether SHIELD or humanity, what do they have to do with me? You protect the living, and we protect the dead. That's all."
Coulson hesitated. He knew Lod was right; SHIELD safeguarded the living, while Soul Reapers appeared to govern the deceased. There was no inherent connection between the two. Why should Lod answer his questions?
But this wasn't the result Fury wanted, nor was it what Coulson wanted.
"I don't think it's that simple!" Coulson insisted.
"Oh?" Lod's eyes narrowed slightly, and a trace of impatience flashed across his eyes. "Then how do you think it is?"
Coulson immediately realized he was treading dangerous ground. Lod's displeasure was evident, but he could not back down.
"Forgive me for being blunt, Soul Reaper, but that monster you just destroyed was a direct threat to us! How can we not address this?"
Lod hesitated briefly, a hint of annoyance crossing his face. "It was merely an accident."
Coulson caught that fleeting moment of exasperation and saw an opening.
"Accident or not, similar incidents have occurred dozens of times this year alone," Coulson pressed. "These events have caused billions in property damage and, more importantly, hundreds of human deaths. Shouldn't we, as protectors of the living, have a say in this?"
Coulson's words struck a nerve. He had not only noticed Lod's emotional shift but also turned Lod's earlier dismissal against him.
But Lod remained unfazed.
"You will question me?" Lod's eyes narrowed, his voice chilling, as he released a small wave of Reiatsu.
The overwhelming force pressed Coulson to the ground instantly, crushing him under its immense weight. It felt as though he was drowning in the bottom of the sea, suffocated by an invisible pressure.
"No... no..." Coulson gasped and answered. "You misunderstood... I didn't mean to question you!"
"Hmph." Lod gazed down at Coulson coldly. "For a mere human, your audacity knows no bounds."
Realizing the gravity of his situation Coulson swallowed his pride.
"We mean no harm, Soul Reaper. We only wish to talk," Coulson said cautiously.
"Talk?" Lod chuckled with disdain. "What could you possibly offer?"
"Cooperation!" Coulson exclaimed. "You protect the dead, and we protect the living. Together, we could safeguard the entire world!"
Lod's gaze remained indifferent as he sneered. "Unfortunately, you're not qualified to negotiate with me."
Before Coulson could reply, Lod raised a finger to his forehead.
"Bakudō #1: Sai."
An invisible force bound Coulson's arms behind his back and sealed his lips.
"Goodbye, human," Lod said. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, leaving Coulson in the dust.
For Lod, this was merely the first step in his plan.
Deceiving SHIELD required patience, especially when dealing with someone as cunning and paranoid as Nick Fury. Known for his involvement in numerous secretive operations, Fury was a master manipulator and strategist.
To convince Fury that Soul Reapers and the Soul Society were real, Lod needed to project an aura of ancient mystique, overwhelming power, and untouchable authority.
After all, humans are drawn to what they couldn't easily grasp.
---
The sound of something crashing echoed loudly in the SHIELD Triskelion Headquarter.
Hearing the news that Coulson had been gravely injured, Nick Fury let out a string of curses and threw a $3,000 coffee cup, then stormed into the medical bay.
When he entered the room, he saw Coulson lying on the bed, wrapped entirely in bandages like a mummy, with only his eyes visible. He was completely motionless.
"How are you holding up?"
Seeing that Coulson was still alive, Fury finally let out a small sigh of relief.
Though Fury was the director of SHIELD, he had superiors in the Council and subordinates who served as spies. Trusted individuals were few and far between, and Coulson was one of them. The thought of losing him because of a mission made his heart ache.
"I'm fine, Director," Coulson said in a hoarse voice, his eyes moving slightly. "Just a few broken bones, but the mission failed."
"A few bones, huh?"
Fury's expression turned grave as he replied, "Mission failure isn't important right now. What matters is that you're alive. There will be other chances."
Even though Coulson made it sound trivial, the reality was far more serious.
On his way to the medical bay, Fury had reviewed Coulson's medical report, and it was horrifying.
Over 50% of Coulson's bones were fractured due to external pressure, with several ribs puncturing vital organs, causing severe internal damage. By all logic, injuries like that would have killed him long before rescue could arrive due to massive internal bleeding.
Yet somehow, Coulson survived.
It seemed as though some mysterious force had protected his damaged organs and was slowly repairing the injured tissues, keeping him alive long enough for help to arrive.
It was nothing short of a miracle, something current human science could only describe as unexplainable.
Fury suspected Coulson's survival might be related to the mysterious "Soul Reaper."
"You should rest well," Fury said, reassuring Coulson before returning to his office.
Despite his severe injuries, Coulson had managed to submit a report. It contained a detailed account of the incident and some theories regarding the Soul Reaper.
Fury picked up the report and carefully went through its contents.
---
CLASSIFIED - Level 8
Code Name: Soul Reaper
Gender: Male
Age: ~25–30 years old
Appearance: Short silver hair, blue eyes, East Asian descent (illustrated portrait attached).
Personality: Appears calm on the surface but exhibits high arrogance and disdain toward humans.
Abilities: Capable of casting spells referred to as "Kidō" by chanting specific syllables. Known spells include two binding types and one offensive type.
Assessment: Though resembling a human in appearance, the target should not be treated as one. Exercise extreme caution in communication and interactions.
Note 1: When questioned about the topic of "Hollow," the target displayed anger and slight panic, dismissing it as "just an accident."
Note 2:.The creature "Menos Grande," a towering over 100 meters monster, with devastating capabilities and energy-based destructive beams, was slain by the Soul Reaper through unknown means.
---
The thoroughness of Coulson's report reaffirmed why Fury considered him one of his most reliable agents.
After a moment of contemplation, Fury picked up the phone and said, "Tell Natasha to wrap up her current mission and return immediately. I have something critical for her to handle."
---
Meanwhile, at the store called "Seireitei," which Lod had named it three days earlier.
After entering the store, Lod didn't rest but instead went straight into the storage room at the back.
This storage room, part of the shop itself, was a small, ten-square-meter space with creaky old wooden floors that groaned underfoot. Normally, he wouldn't store anything important there.
In the center of the room, he crouched down and lifted a relatively new floorboard, revealing a deep hole beneath it. Without hesitation, he jumped in.
After several seconds of falling, he found himself in a vast, open area.
The space was surrounded by jagged rock formations, dense green vegetation, and a steaming hot spring, making it an idyllic environment similar to a scenic tourist spot.
This was the underground training ground that came with a rare golden card—the one linked to Kisuke's secret playground. In Bleach, Yoruichi and Ichigo had trained here to unlock Bankai.
However, Lod didn't linger and instead used Shunpo to head toward a large cave.
The cave, five meters in diameter, plunged nearly a hundred meters straight down. Its walls were smooth, offering no footholds or climbing points.
"Help me!"
"Please, no!"
Screams echoed faintly from the depths below.
Standing at the edge, Lod jumped in and descended to the bottom.
The cave's lowest level was pitch dark, devoid of light or sound.
This isolation and darkness could drive anyone to madness, but Lod was unaffected.
At the bottom, he found a blond-haired young man lying motionless on the ground, bound hand and foot like a corpse.
The man's chest bore a broken chain extending outward—a Chain of Fate. When alive, this chain connected the soul to the body, but once severed, it meant disaster.
If the chain was forcibly cut, the soul would begin to decay, leading to one of two fates:
Either becoming a Shinigami.
Or turning into a Hollow.
"Help… help me…"
The blond man, whose name was Morrison, looked at Lod with hatred before his expression quickly turned to terror.
Morrison had been the leader of a gang, guilty of countless heinous crimes. Lod had dragged his soul from his body, severed the Chain of Fate, and thrown him into this pit called the Abyss of Despair.
Here, souls gradually fell into corruption and became Hollows.
The Gillian that Lod had recently slain was the result of hundreds of corrupted souls merging in this very pit.
"Please, I beg you!" Morrison cried, falling to his knees. "I don't want to become one of those monsters. Please save me!"
But Lod only looked at him with cold indifference.
He felt no pity for someone like Morrison.
To Lod, such people were more useful in death. Their value lay in becoming experimental fodder.
In Lod's eyes, everyone carried a purpose.
For scum like Morrison, that purpose was to serve as his test subject.
"Don't worry," Lod said with a faint smile. "Soon enough, you'll be just like them."
As his words fell, Morrison froze in place and looked down at the karmic chain on his chest. The chain was writhing.
What should have been lifeless metal was now moving as though it had come alive.
A sickening crunch echoed as countless tiny mouths appeared along the chain, gnawing at it with an almost maddening frenzy.
The final erosion came swiftly and more violently than ever before.
"Aaahhh! No! Stop it, stop it now!" Morrison's face twisted in sheer terror as he screamed hysterically.
The chain emerging from his chest began to transform into voracious demons that devoured the very link representing his life.
In the past few days, Morrison had seen it happen countless times to his subordinates. Each time their chest chains were consumed, they turned into monstrous beings with white masks and gaping holes in their chests.
"Save me! Please, save me!" he begged, his voice breaking with despair. "You monster!"
His screams turned into pained wails, and his eyes burned with venomous hatred.
"Arghhh…" Morrison's body contorted in agony as the chain tore open a black void in his chest.
Then, a thick, white liquid erupted from his ears, nose, throat, and eyes, covering his face like a mask.
'Oh?' Lod observed the scene with visible interest instead of interference. 'He's already descending, yet his soul remains intact.'
Ordinarily, when a soul fell into Hollowfication, its essence would shatter and reassemble somewhere else, completing its transformation into a Hollow. The process always ended with the formation of the white mask and the hole in the chest.
But Morrison's transformation was unusual. The mask and hollow hole appeared first, yet his soul had not fragmented.
This meant he was resisting, clinging to a sliver of hope.
He could still find salvation if, within his inner world, he managed to discover his Zanpakutō and awaken as a Shinigami.
'Not bad,' Lod thought, nodding with satisfaction. 'Looks like I've found a decent test subject.'
Stopping Morrison's transformation had never crossed Lod's mind because it simply wasn't necessary.
Morrison continued screaming as the white substance consumed most of his soul, the hollow mask on his face growing clearer by the second.
A loud boom erupted from the pit, sending shockwaves and dust flying everywhere.
Lod stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the smoke-filled scene ahead. 'Now, let's see what you've become.'
Suddenly, the Reishi in the air began to boil violently, creating a restless and oppressive atmosphere.
The dispersing smoke revealed Morrison, who was clad in a Shinigami uniform identical to Lod's, and was holding a standard Zanpakutō in his hand.
Lod's eyes lifted slightly as a faint smile crept onto his face. "So, you really became a Shinigami, huh?"
The uniform and blade confirmed it—Morrison had successfully overcome Hollowfication to become a full-fledged Shinigami.
"This… this is power!" Morrison roared with rage, his voice shaking from the overwhelming surge of strength coursing through him. "I'll kill you!"
He stomped on the ground, and the impact caused the earth beneath him to shatter as he launched himself like a missile toward Lod.
"Die, demon!" he screamed, swinging his blade with all his might, consumed by the thought of vengeance.
The strike landed not on Lod but on a light, fluttering garment.
It was Shunpo Kōtsū, an advanced Shinigami technique that allowed one to leave behind a piece of clothing to escape an attack, similar to a Naruto's Substitution Jutsu.
'Gone?' Morrison muttered in shock, realizing Lod was now standing calmly behind him.
"Die!" Morrison bellowed, whirling around and slashing at Lod with everything he had.
Clink!
To his horror, the blade stopped mid-swing, it was caught between Lod's fingers.
"That's… impossible!" Morrison stammered, unable to believe he had put all his strength into that strike yet couldn't move the blade an inch.
"There's no need to be surprised," Lod said, his calm smile unwavering as he held the blade between his fingers. "The difference in our strength is far greater than you can imagine."
Shinigami battles were contests of Reiatsu.
Morrison was a novice, barely possessing tenth-rank Reiatsu, while Lod's sixth-rank power was leagues ahead.
"I don't believe youuu!" Morrison screamed, veins bulging as he used all his strength to pull the blade free. Finally, he managed to wrench it loose, but his wild and untrained swings were clumsy and desperate.
"Die, die, die!" he shouted repeatedly, hacking aimlessly like an enraged animal.
Lod sighed, He was feeling bored. He had hoped Morrison would release his Zanpakutō, but the battle proved disappointing.
"Let's end this," he said, raising his blade.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura," Lod commanded as he released his Zanpakutō.
The blade fell from his hand, its steel disintegrating into a cascade of shimmering cherry blossoms. The pink petals swirled around him like a mesmerizing ocean.
"What… is this?" Morrison murmured, entranced by the breathtaking spectacle.
He didn't realize that each petal was a razor-sharp fragment of a blade, more lethal than he could imagine.
"Fall," Lod said, his fingers closing with deliberate finality.
The cherry blossoms surged forward like a tidal wave, enveloping Morrison in a whirlwind of destruction.
In moments, the swirling petals reduced his flesh, bones, and spirit to shreds.
The petals reassembled into a sword, returning to Lod's hand as he looked at Morrison's lifeless, mutilated form.
"Thank you, Morrison," Lod said quietly. "Your transformation into a Shinigami provided me with a medium-quality soul."
"So… this was your plan all along," Morrison muttered, his voice faint and dying.
Yes, it had been his plan from the beginning. Whether Morrison became a Hollow or a Shinigami, it made no difference to him. The outcome had always been predetermined.
"What am I… to you?" Morrison asked, his fading eyes locked on him.
"A tool," Lod replied coldly. "As a tool, you were adequate."
And with that, Morrison disappeared, his futile struggles ending as Lod's experiment came to a close.
(End of Chapter)