Aizen's mask cracked when Dean's bullet struck his left horn. The **STATUS SCREEN** updated:
**DAMAGE DEALT: [0.001%]**
**RECOMMENDED STRATEGY: [RUN]**
Dean ran—straight up the collapsing skyscraper's side, NZT calculating every crumbling handhold. Behind him, Aizen's cero vaporized entire city blocks.
Loki materialized mid-air, grabbing Dean's wrist. "The Hōgyoku's in his *chest*."
Dean's Absolute Calculation highlighted the flaw: Aizen's regeneration cycle had a 0.8-second gap. He ejected the pistol's magazine. "Distract him."
Loki sighed. "I *loathe* this plan."
He teleported onto Aizen's shoulder and stabbed him in the eye.
The scream shook dimensions. Dean leapt, driving the empty pistol into Aizen's sternum—*right as the regeneration flickered*. The **STATUS SCREEN** flashed:
**WEAKPOINT DETECTED: [HOLLOW HOLE]**
Dean's fingers closed around the pulsing Hōgyoku fragment. Aizen's claws severed his arm at the elbow.
Pain was irrelevant. The **STATUS SCREEN** updated:
**ITEM ACQUIRED: [HŌGYOKU FRAGMENT]**
**SP AWARDED: [7000]**
**EMERGENCY PURCHASE: [QUINCY REIATSU GRAFT - 5000 SP]**
A new arm—gleaming silver, humming with reishi—sprouted from Dean's stump. He flexed it as Aizen's jaws descended.
Loki'