Chapter 145: Endless Sea Of Blood
Looking at the flowing black flames on the blade in Ichigo's hand, Fiander was so surprised he nearly leaked his own energy.
"Is something wrong with Kurosaki-kun?"
Inoue asked suspiciously while lying on the ground.
"I'm not certain. Just watch patiently."
As Fiander's voice fell, the Zanpakuto with black flames swept away all surrounding obstacles and slashed directly at Jilianka's body.
Jilianka, formed by pooling blood, was instantly split in two. The damaged wound portions were still being burned by black flames—in a short time, showing no signs of regeneration.
"Damn it!!"
Countless streams of blood poured into Jilianka's broken body, attempting to repair the injury caused by Kurosaki Ichigo. Mainly, he himself hadn't expected that Kurosaki Ichigo, whom he'd chased like a cornered dog, seemed to suddenly awaken and could now harm his body.
Seeing his attack was effective, Ichigo struck while the iron was hot, cutting Jilianka's body into four pieces again with a horizontal slash. A jet-black pillar of flame erupted from the ground instantly, burning Jilianka's remnant body to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
"Success?"
Ichigo was momentarily overjoyed when suddenly the sand beneath had turned into a bloody swamp at some point, and countless attacks stagnated in mid-air.
Because Jilianka's body dissipated, Inoue and Hollow Ichigo, also resumed movement. Seeing that Ichigo was about to be attacked by their opponent—
Inoue's eyes transformed into transparent white pupils, and white light overflowed from them. When she clasped her hands together, a massive light sphere transformed into countless small rays and flew forward, forming a huge cocoon before Ichigo that blocked the fatal attack.
Under the light cocoon's protection, Ichigo landed slowly from the air, smiled at Inoue and said: "Thank you, Inoue!"
"It's nothing. Please be careful, Kurosaki-kun— his true body is about to be revealed!"
With Fiander's mental power blessing, Inoue could clearly perceive the massive energy body stirring beneath the bloody swamp, slowly condensing.
"Yes, I know!"
At this moment, Hollow Ichigo, who'd been playing a background role, walked to Ichigo's side somewhat speechlessly: "Have you mastered that ability just now?"
Seeing Kurosaki Ichigo skillfully using the black flames, Hollow Ichigo spoke excitedly.
"No! It seemed to appear spontaneously. When we were attacked before, even when I was about to die, I couldn't awaken this flame's power."
"And strangely, even though we couldn't release Reiatsu, this power is still usable here."
Ichigo frowned as if pondering this matter's ins and outs.
"That's excellent—I've been holding back for so long."
Hollow Ichigo swung his fist fiercely, saying excitedly: "We were beaten so badly before because we couldn't use Reiatsu."
"It's fine now. You have this power—you don't need to fear him at all."
At the moment they conversed, huge bubbles began continuously emerging from the bloody swamp.
As the "glug glug" sounds grew louder, the entire bloody swamp seemed to boil. After a moment, a massive horn emerged from the bubbles.
"Here it comes!"
With Inoue's exclamation—
A demon-like monster, several hundred meters tall, slowly crawled out from the bloody swamp.
"What... what kind of monster is that?!"
Hollow Ichigo spoke with eyes wide open in disbelief.
"ROAR!"
Following Jilianka's furious roar, the stench of blood rushed toward Kurosaki Ichigo and the others head-on. The violent air wave blew away large portions of surrounding sand.
"Is this the monster's true body?"
Gripping Zangetsu tightly, Kurosaki Ichigo stared at Jilianka before him with round pupils.
"Finally revealed. Find a chance to get close to him, Inoue."
"If he escapes, once he develops a mentality of mutual destruction with Kurosaki Ichigo, I'll have no chance to save him."
"Before that, find a way to deal with him."
Fiander's voice rang in Inoue's heart.
"I understand!"
Inoue nodded subconsciously, then addressed Kurosaki Ichigo: "Kurosaki-kun... and the white... Kurosaki-kun?"
Because she didn't know what to call Hollow Ichigo, Inoue spoke with hesitant tone.
"Just call me Hollow Ichigo."
Hollow Ichigo gave Inoue an annoyed look, then patted the back of his head and said to Ichigo: "Hey, since your strength has recovered, lend me some."
"What are you going to do?"
Before Ichigo could react, Hollow Ichigo suddenly extended his hand and inserted it into Ichigo's body, slowly pulling it out under Ichigo's astonished gaze.
A white Zangetsu suddenly appeared in his hand.
"Hehe, I can't let you fight alone!"
Hollow Ichigo sneered, carrying the white Zangetsu on his shoulder.
Seeing Hollow Ichigo's arrogant appearance, Ichigo touched his stomach and found no injury where the hand had passed through. He couldn't help feeling surprised.
"That's it! Mortals!"
"I've had enough of endless entanglement with you. Now offer me your soul!"
Jilianka glanced at the three below with blood-red eyes, extended his massive palm, and a blood-colored trident appeared in his hands.
"Wave of Blood!"
As Jilianka swung the trident violently, the blood beneath his feet suddenly rose like monstrous sea waves, overwhelming those below.
"Hey hey hey! Are you kidding me!"
Panic appeared on Hollow Ichigo's face— the powerlessness and despair ordinary people feel facing raging waves perfectly suited their situation.
"Get closer to Inoue!"
"Use the protective shield formed by magic to protect yourselves, and don't let your bodies touch the blood—it can corrode souls."
Hearing Fiander's words, Inoue responded in her heart, raising her hands slightly as white light appeared in her palms.
CRASH!!
The moment the huge wave fell, three transparent masks instantly covered their bodies, blocking the fatal blow.
At this moment, the boundless desert had been covered by Jilianka's Blood Law. The originally desolate desert had instantly transformed into an endless sea of blood.
Seeing his attack was blocked, Jilianka wasn't angry but directly thrust the trident into the blood sea beneath. At this moment, countless whirlpools and tornado columns formed by blood water emerged above the blood sea.
Facing the monstrous divine majesty, Ichigo stared at Jilianka without any hesitation in his eyes.
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