"Ahhh!! AHHHHHH!!!"
Pepe Vacabrada stared in horror at his right hand. The flesh had crumbled away, leaving nothing but exposed bone. His scream tore through the battlefield, raw and desperate.
Watching his own body rot before his eyes—flesh decaying into bone—was a torment no sane mind could endure.
But Pepe Vacabrada had no such endurance.
The sight of his body disintegrating sent him into a total collapse.
Desperate, he threw out his left hand, unleashing five glowing chains of love.
But it was already too late.
Hell Path Pain's expression remained cold and merciless. He gripped the skeletal remains of Pepe's right hand, the black mist clinging to his grip and creeping upward, devouring everything in its path.
Shoulder. Ribs. Legs.
Wherever the black haze spread, flesh and muscle aged into dust, peeling away to expose pale bone beneath—like centuries of decay condensed into seconds.
And then, with a final surge of mist, it was over.
The fog dispersed, leaving only a human-shaped skeleton standing where Pepe Vacabrada had been.
With a brittle crack, the skeleton toppled to the ground.
Bones snapped and shattered on impact. Some, corroded beyond recognition, crumbled instantly into fine white powder.
To those watching, it looked slow and dreadful.
But in truth—it had all happened in the blink of an eye.
From the outside, all anyone saw was Nanaya's Hell Path Pain appear behind his foe… and a moment later, that foe had been reduced to a pile of bones.
The sheer speed of it was almost impossible to believe.
"No… way…"
Matsumoto Rangiku's eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.
None of them had imagined the enemy would be annihilated so brutally, so quickly.
After all, Pepe Vacabrada was a Sternritter—one of Yhwach's chosen knights. Yet he hadn't lasted a single heartbeat.
The truth was simple: the ability of Nanaya's Hell Path Pain was terrifying.
This power had once belonged to Baraggan Louisenbairn, the former king of Hueco Mundo. In the original battles, even the Shinigami had been forced to pay a heavy price—Sui-Feng gravely injured, Hachigen losing an arm—just to bring him down.
By strength alone, Baraggan had stood equal to a captain like Kyoraku Shunsui.
Now, as Nanaya's puppet, his power hadn't weakened—it had grown. His Reiatsu alone felt heavier, darker, even greater than Shunsui's.
Bambietta Basterbine and Doriske Belshi froze as they watched the remains of their comrade collapse into dust. A chill ran down their spines.
Pepe Vacabrada—the Sternritter of "Love"—hadn't even survived a second.
All his flesh turned to bone. Some of those bones reduced to powder.
It was absolute, undeniable erasure.
"Is this really the power of Nanaya? The same man who defeated His Majesty?" Doriske whispered, cold sweat dripping down his face. "This is only a puppet… and even then…"
Hell Path Pain stood before him, unmoving, exuding a pressure like death itself. Doriske's heart seized with dread.
"Damn it!!!"
Bambietta's voice rang out sharp, her eyes wild with fury. Her crimson wings flared open, glowing with destructive power. One after another, burning red orbs materialized and filled the sky.
Her Schrift—the holy letter "E."
Explosion.
Everything her Reiatsu touched became a bomb, primed to detonate.
The orbs rained down, exploding in rapid succession. The battlefield shook with a chain of roaring blasts, buildings collapsing under the relentless storm of fire.
Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes narrowed, while Renji's pupils shrank in disbelief.
They had thought she was only toying with them earlier.
Now, they finally understood—this woman's power was monstrous, rivaling even the strongest captains.
"Huanghuang Gonryō Rikyū!!!"
Despite the terror gnawing at him, Doriske Belshi raised the stolen Bankai. Lightning ripped across the heavens, splitting the air with crackling fury before crashing down toward Hell Path Pain.
And alongside that—three Zanpakutō spirits closed in for the kill.
Hell Path Pain, controlled by Qiye, swung his massive double-edged axe with a cold, merciless motion.
At the same time, his free left hand formed a seal.
"Summoning Technique—Yama!"
The ground split open behind him. From the cracks, a towering figure rose—ferocious and terrifying. Yama, the King of Hell, loomed tall, its mouth gaping wide as it slowly extended a grotesque, purple tongue.
Qiye's gaze locked onto Doriske Belshi. His voice was calm, yet chilling:
"Tell me, Doriske… do you secretly wish to kill Yhwach?"
Everyone knew Yama's ability—it tore out the tongues of liars.
And Qiye also knew this: though the Sternritter outwardly submitted to Yhwach, that didn't mean they were loyal in their hearts.
How could they be? Under Yhwach's so-called holiness, their lives could be snatched away at any moment. Any sane person would harbor resentment, even if they dared not speak it.
But before the King of Hell, lies could not remain hidden.
As Qiye expected, Doriske's face twisted in shock and fury."Damn brat, what nonsense are you spouting!? His Majesty is the King of Quincies! How could I ever harbor evil thoughts about him!?"
Qiye's expression hardened."You're lying."
He said it flatly, eyes like ice.
Inside, he sneered. Just as I thought. If Yhwach didn't have the power to control every Quincy's life, they'd be the first to betray him.
"L…lying!?" Doriske stammered, stunned and confused. He didn't understand at first.
But he understood soon enough.
Behind Qiye, the King of Hell stirred. Its massive purple tongue unrolled like a whip, the tip flattening into the shape of a clawed palm.
As it reached for Doriske, his face twisted in terror. His mouth opened against his will, as if some invisible force was prying it apart.
Then the pain struck.
He felt his tongue being wrenched out, stretched beyond human limits. His eyes bulged, veins bursting in his face as agony consumed him.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
His roar was raw, hopeless. The purple tongue of Yama gripped the tip of his own tongue and yanked with horrifying strength.
It stretched. One meter. Two meters. The pain was unbearable—so severe his body convulsed, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets.
And then—rip.
The tongue tore free.
"Plop!"
Doriske's body hit the ground with a heavy thud. His breath was gone. His body twitched violently even in death, his face frozen in agony, his severed tongue hanging grotesquely.
The scene left the air suffocating.
To die by having your tongue ripped out… stretched until it snapped at two meters long—just imagining that pain made one's blood run cold.
Abarai Renji swallowed hard, his throat dry. His voice cracked as he muttered,"I… I'm never fighting Nanaya's puppets again."
To him, these creations were even more terrifying than Nanaya himself. Each one was a master of torture, merciless and cruel in their execution.
Bambietta Basterbine's eyes flickered with naked fear. Her legs trembled beneath her black stockings as she stumbled back, glaring desperately at the manifested Zanpakutō spirits.
"Stop them! Don't let them chase me!!!"
With that, she turned and leapt away, fleeing with all her might.
But Qiye only sneered, the corners of his lips curling coldly. His eyes followed her with a predator's patience.
"Don't be in such a rush to escape. You still haven't experienced true pain. Without pain… no one can truly understand what pain is."
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