North Rukongai, District 80: Zaraki.
It was the farthest edge of the northern Rukongai, and like all districts beyond the 50th, it was governed not by laws or order, but by chaos. Calling the place lawless would be putting it mildly. There was no law. No governance. Only survival.
And even among all the 80th districts across North, South, East, and West Rukongai, Zaraki stood out as the most feared, the most forsaken.
The reason was simple: the legend of a "man-eating demon" had circulated here for centuries and never once faded.
When Seff had first left the Western 80th District and made his way to District 50, it had taken him over two months. But now, from the 45th District of Western Rukongai to the 80th District of the North, it had taken him less than a week.
That alone was proof of how far his strength had grown in such a short time.
From the very moment he laid eyes on Zaraki from afar, no, even before setting foot in it, Seff had not once relaxed the slight furrow in his brow.
"Seriously… every place has its own flavor of good, but the bad ones? They're all the same…"
He walked through ruins, desolate, broken, lifeless. The thick stench of iron clung to the air around him, inescapable.
The earth beneath his feet was not brown, but stained dark red.
Over the centuries, every inch of this land had been bathed in blood. If this weren't the afterlife, Zaraki would've long since earned its place among the most infamous cursed places in existence.
And yet, despite his constant frown, Seff couldn't help but feel a tinge of anticipation.
Even though Yui had insisted that the intel was accurate, Seff had always believed in what he could see with his own eyes. And just from the scenery alone, before even encountering the so-called "man-eating demon," he could already tell, this was no myth. This was real.
Had this news come a little later, Seff would've already departed for Seireitei. But since he received the intel just after setting off, it didn't matter whether he arrived early or late, he chose to come here first.
In his heart, he hoped, prayed, even, that these two weeks (a week to come and a week to return) would not be wasted.
Unlike the chaos-ridden 80th District of the West, where you had to be on constant alert for someone trying to stab you in the back with a rusty blade, Zaraki felt… silent. Too silent. Oppressively silent.
From the very first step he took into this district, Seff hadn't seen a single living soul.
But he saw bodies, strewn along the roadside like trash, many freshly killed.
And judging by the wounds, these weren't the result of prolonged combat. Most had been taken out with one or two strikes. Clean, efficient, fatal.
In that sense, whoever did this… wasn't so different from Seff himself.
So he picked up his pace.
He could feel it, the pull of something deep within Zaraki. A shifting tide. A wind that spoke of violence.
It was a bloodlust so thick it might as well have been a storm. And although the specifics differed, the core of it resonated with something deep inside him.
That was what led him onward.
Before even seeing the man, Seff's eyes began to sting.
He wasn't sure what Shinigami called this sensation, spiritual perception, instinct, something like that. But what he felt in that moment was like standing before a roaring inferno, a presence so immense it threatened to burn the entire world away.
It was overwhelming.
Raw, unfiltered power that dwarfed everything Seff had fought before, whether Hollow or human.
Unconsciously, a smile crept onto Seff's lips.
A rare smile.
No, to be precise, it was a smile that had never once appeared during any of his past battles.
Wild. Exhilarated. A grin born from his craving for a worthy opponent. A battle that wasn't one-sided. A true clash. And the thrill of cutting down such an enemy.
His feet moved faster on their own. By the time he realized it, the long blade he usually sheathed at his side was already in hand.
The wind screamed as he sprinted. Silver arcs of light cleaved through air and stone alike. With every step, trees splintered, ruins collapsed, and anything in his path was sliced clean through.
And then, he saw him.
The legend. The man-eating demon of Zaraki.
He was tall. Towering, even. Bare-chested except for tattered pants, his body was a fortress of muscle, not for show, but forged for combat. Every inch of him was scarred from past battles. A roadmap of violence.
Seff's presence seemed to stir him. Or perhaps it was the sound.
The man roused from where he lay napping beneath a tree. Confused at first, he opened his eyes.
But the moment he laid eyes on Seff, he sprang up like a beast awakened. In one swift motion, he kicked his massive sword into the air and caught it as it spun.
"Well, well… You look like you'll be fun."
The man's face, grotesque, menacing, stared directly at Seff. He looked like a man in his prime, with long, tangled hair like an unkempt forest of weeds, as if it had never once been combed.
A scar ran down the left side of his face, from his forehead all the way to his chin. Whatever battle had caused it, whatever weapon, it should've killed him. But he'd survived.
The blade in his hand was jagged, serrated. Unlike Seff's pristine weapon that shimmered with polished menace, this was more a saw than a sword.
He didn't look human.
He looked like a beast.
And Seff? Seff was prey. The man's eyes said as much. Even if Seff turned to flee now, the man wouldn't let him leave.
His mouth opened wide in a vicious, manic grin.
Unleashed bloodlust erupted from him like a wave.
"Then let me give you one good cut!! Don't you dare die from the first hit!!!"
Laughing madly, he raised his blade high and charged, swinging without hesitation or question.
But Seff, in response, only narrowed his eyes.
And then, silver light.
A flash.
A burst of red followed.
On the man's body, from left shoulder to right hip, a clean, deep gash split his torso.
Blood gushed like a torrent.
The mighty man, who had just raised his weapon for the first strike, collapsed.
With a heavy crash, he hit the ground. Blood pooled rapidly beneath him, spreading wider and wider across the blood-soaked earth of Zaraki…
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