Even though they were essentially one being, Lilynette's shooting ability was far inferior to Starrk's.
Now, Starrk wasn't even the one fighting—it was his gun doing the battle on its own!
Watching his Tengumaru being blocked by the gun, Love was a bit confused. But this wasn't the time to get distracted—battle was still battle.
Lilynette used a Sonído to pull away from Love, continuously firing Ceros at him with her weapon.
But her attacks couldn't land any effective hits at all!
Love merely relied on Shunpo to easily dodge every single shot!
Then, Love donned his Hollow mask, entering a Hollowfied state!
"What's the matter, Starrk? Still not willing to fight?" Lilynette's voice called out.
Finally, Starrk's fighting spirit was reignited!
Looking at Love wearing the Hollow mask, Starrk prepared to fight seriously for once.
He raised both pistols and fired—
But Love just swung his Tengumaru and shattered the barrage with ease, soaring into the sky.
Starrk followed him upward, immediately unleashing a barrage of Ceros Metralleta!
Just as the Ceros were about to hit Love, Rose finally stopped standing by idly.
"Play, Kinshara!"
Rose's Zanpakutō instantly lengthened, transforming into a whip tipped with a golden flower. With one swing, it intercepted and shattered Starrk's energy blasts!
That display even startled Starrk for a moment!
Rose also donned his Hollow mask and whipped Kinshara toward Starrk in a fierce assault!
Starrk quickly leapt higher into the sky—but Kinshara was not something that could be evaded so easily.
The tendrils of Kinshara drew Starrk toward Love, who had been waiting high above!
Love raised his Tengumaru high overhead and yelled—
"Flaming Hammer Strike!"
A giant, flaming spiked club came crashing down from above, slamming Starrk out of the sky!
Forced into a corner, Starrk—driven by Lilynette's encouragement—finally used his ultimate technique!
"Los Lobos!"
His dual pistols transformed into blue spirit energy—and split!
Each fragment of his soul became a ferocious wolf!
This wolfpack embodied Starrk's will...
And also the essence of Lilynette, now vanished.
Love and Rose again donned their Hollow masks and unleashed their Zanpakutōs—but against this soul-formed wolfpack, even double the power proved ineffective!
No matter how many wolves they shattered, they would just reconstitute themselves again!
It gave both Vizard captains quite the headache!
Rose threw Kinshara directly into the pack and shouted:
"Kinshara Sonata No. 10—Sixteen-Petal Rose!"
The long whip spun like a spinning top, then extended and detonated in an explosion of multicolored magic-like light!
It looked like the job was done.
Rose landed next to Love and sighed in relief. "Finally finished!"
But before they could relax, a new wave of wolves emerged from the ruins beneath their feet, biting into their bodies and weapons!
Just as they prepared to fight back, the wolves suddenly exploded!
Despite using Shunpo to escape, they were still caught mid-air by more of the wolves.
A massive aerial detonation followed—
The two captains were blown away, masks shattered, sent crashing like shooting stars into the fake Karakura Town.
Thankfully, the wolves didn't have enough power to kill them.
But the two still had one last trump card—Bankai!
At that moment, Starrk slowly descended from the sky, looking down at the two fallen Vizards.
He was preparing the final blow.
Though it wasn't something he wanted, such was the nature of battle.
But just then—Starrk was suddenly impaled by his own shadow!
The unexpected turn stunned both Love and Rose.
As the shadowy blade withdrew back into the ground, Kyoraku Shunsui slowly stepped out of Starrk's shadow.
Though ambushing wasn't exactly honorable, this strike was a clean hit!
This technique was part of Kyoraku's Shikai—turning children's games into reality!
As long as someone steps into the area affected by Katen Kyōkotsu, they're forced to participate in the game.
All rules are set by the Zanpakutō spirit, and the winner lives—loser dies.
Even Kyoraku himself isn't exempt.
Meaning this power is like a double-edged sword.
But as the wielder of Katen Kyōkotsu, Kyoraku could choose and change the game.
Otherwise, what's the point of being its master?
Kyoraku calmly explained the rules to Starrk—ambushes might be shameful, but against an enemy, they're just sound tactics.
The current game? Whoever stands higher wins. Whoever's shadow is stepped on loses.
Thus, within the rule's scope, Kyoraku could enter his opponent's shadow freely.
And when standing on higher ground, he gained increased power.
Naturally, Starrk was granted the same privileges.
After explaining, Kyoraku stabbed his blade into Starrk's shadow again. Starrk, grasping the rule, immediately jumped from the water tower to avoid the shadow blade.
As he soared, Kyoraku seized the higher ground again and shouted—
"Slash Demon!"
Had Lilynette not appeared just in time in wolf form, Starrk might've been finished under the rules of that children's game.
But things weren't looking good for Starrk.
He had fought against four captains now—
And not just any captains like Muguruma Kensei—
These were mid- to high-tier captains.
Kyoraku Shunsui was a high-tier captain.
Even Yamamoto himself would struggle against such a combined assault.
What's worse—Starrk's Los Lobos isn't infinite.
Once all the soul wolves are destroyed, Lilynette would vanish for good.
That's why—throughout the battle, Starrk never fought at full strength.
He didn't want Lilynette to disappear.
He didn't want to return to being alone.
Kyoraku paid the wolves no mind, and shouted again:
"Slash Demon!"
This time, Starrk raised his hand into the air.
A sword of condensed Reishi—Lobo Azul—appeared in his grasp!
With it, he easily deflected Kyoraku's slash.
Then instantly Sonído-stepped to higher ground to fight using Kyoraku's rules!
Just as Starrk thought he had the advantage—Kyoraku used the shadow on the building wall to stab Starrk in the foot with Shadow Demon!
Starrk fled the wall—
Only to find Kyoraku already waiting.
Suddenly, the wolves burrowed into Kyoraku's shadow and exploded at point-blank range!
Kyoraku suffered some minor injuries—but in return, almost all the soul wolves were destroyed.
Now, only a few remained... and Lilynette was on the verge of vanishing.
Starrk panicked.
He didn't even notice Kyoraku's next attack from above.
He barely managed to use the last of the wolves to block—
But the explosion completely wiped out the remaining wolves.
Lilynette—was gone.
Starrk was alone once more.
At this critical moment—Kyoraku changed the rules again.
He approached Starrk and used:
"Color Demon!"
Both blades swung toward Starrk.
Starrk blocked them, but Kyoraku suddenly said—
"Gray."
And the wound he left matched the color—barely a graze.
Starrk realized something.
The game's rule was...
Only the one who speaks the color can deal damage—
And the more that color exists on the attacker, the higher the risk of counterattack... but also the greater the damage dealt!
Kyoraku had no gray on him—so the wound was shallow.
But if the called-out color covered a lot of the attacker's body, the damage inflicted on the opponent was immense.
It clicked.
Starrk yelled, "White!" and swung his sword.
Since white was also a dominant color on his body—Kyoraku received a heavy wound across his back!
"Impressive," Kyoraku said, "You really are the Primera Espada... to adapt so quickly."
He then removed his white haori.
Now, black was the most prominent color on his body.
Which also appeared heavily on Starrk.
"Black," Kyoraku muttered—
And with a single strike, slashed through the hollow hole in Starrk's chest.
The damage was enormous. Enough to take his life.
As he fell, memories returned.
Of the day he first met Aizen in Hueco Mundo.
Back then, as a self-evolved Vasto Lorde, Starrk possessed immense power—
But he hated loneliness.
He wandered the desert searching for a companion.
But weaker Hollows perished under his spiritual pressure before even getting close.
He realized—
No one would ever approach him.
No one would be his friend.
So, one day, unable to endure the solitude any longer—he split his soul into two.
The moment Lilynette was born... may have been the happiest moment of his life.
From then on—he was no longer alone.
He gave Lilynette a piece of black cloth to cover herself—
And the two quietly sat, side by side, watching the eternal crescent moon of Hueco Mundo.
"Starrk, what should we do next?" Lilynette once asked.
"Whatever we want," he replied softly.
(End of Chapter)
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