"You... are really... damned!"
Pernida hissed in a broken voice, its large eye fixed on Masatsuki Aozaki. Its voice sounded like the murmur of a child in a dream, making it hard to decipher.
"How interesting. Your learning ability is quite impressive, but why are you only starting to learn now?"
A slight smile curled Masatsuki's lips, his gaze flickering with curiosity.
"If you had evolved sooner and become strong enough, you wouldn't have ended up in my hands, would you?"
His tone carried a trace of regret, as if lamenting Pernida's wasted potential. Yet, a question arose in his mind.
"Could this learning ability be part of your Schrift?"
"So every time you deactivate your power, your state resets?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, curiosity gleaming within them. Masatsuki's gaze turned greedy—just like the way Mayuri Kurotsuchi had looked at him earlier. He observed Pernida with interest, bombarding it with questions.
But Pernida remained silent. Its massive pupil flickered slightly—perhaps out of disdain to answer, or maybe its limited vocabulary made it incapable of responding to such a complex conversation.
Receiving no reply, Masatsuki could only shake his head in resignation. He let out a small sigh as the greed in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a contemplative expression.
"Pain!"
A voice suddenly rang in Masatsuki's ears.
Pernida's eye glared at him, its body trembling as it spoke haltingly:
"A mere Shinigami... truly... deserves death... I will execute you myself..."
Masatsuki's lips curled into a smirk of disdain.
"...Have you been learning bad habits from Gerard?"
With a sneer, the flames flared up violently, intensifying the fire consuming Pernida.
He scoffed. "You really don't learn anything good—only the bad."
A little creature like Pernida daring to challenge him? A brat like this needed proper discipline!
"You really don't learn anything good!"
At that moment, Pernida spoke again.
This time, it perfectly imitated Masatsuki's tone.
Masatsuki's smirk deepened.
"Oh? Now you're mimicking me? Guess you're not entirely hopeless—you've finally realized you should learn from the right people."
He chuckled, eyeing Pernida with curiosity, as if inspecting some rare treasure.
"Relax. I won't kill you—at least, not yet. But I'm not letting you go either."
Masatsuki licked his lips.
Absorbing the Soul King's left arm was not something he wanted to rush.
While Kidō was effective against Pernida, it was far from weak. If Pernida activated its Schrift—"C" for Compulsory—then in close combat, it was practically unbeatable.
Any solid object that came into contact with its nerves, whether alive or not, would fall under its control.
Unlike the Soul King's right arm, which was more accommodating, Pernida was openly hostile toward him.
Absorption would require direct contact, and if he were to be countered during the process, the consequences would be disastrous.
With that thought, Masatsuki casually waved his hand.
The swirling flames surrounding Pernida split open.
A perfect opportunity!
Pernida's pupil trembled violently as several red nerves shot out from the gap, lunging straight at Masatsuki.
But Masatsuki had anticipated this.
With a sneer, he swung his blade.
The Banshō Senran in his hands erupted into blazing flames, and the scorching fire-forged katana cleaved through the oncoming nerves.
In an instant, the tentacle-like appendages were severed.
A moment later, the vortex of fire sealed shut again, once more trapping Pernida within!
"Despicable... Shinigami!"
Pernida's eye widened suddenly, as if its very being had been deceived.
It now fully understood—the Shinigami had intentionally exposed a weakness earlier, all to lure it in.
"Thank you for the gift, Pernida."
Masatsuki Aozaki responded with a smile.
"But this isn't nearly enough. So, please continue to stay here."
"No need to rush. One day, I'll put an end to your suffering."
...
"The Almighty... what an enviable ability."
In the underground training grounds, Masatsuki Aozaki lay in the hot spring, staring blankly at the white light above, lost in thought.
To be honest, from firsthand experience, the Quincy were undeniably strong.
Compared to them, the average strength of the Gotei 13 Captains was far inferior.
The Quincy were no ordinary opponents—they had to be handled with caution.
Masatsuki recalled all the intel he had on the Wandenreich, but suddenly realized that his memory of them was already growing hazy.
He needed more detailed information. Otherwise, he might end up making a fatal mistake.
That was the conclusion Masatsuki reached after careful consideration.
And so...
"Roka, come with me."
In the distance, a black void slowly opened.
Masatsuki stepped out of the hot spring, got dressed, and waved at the approaching woman.
Turning, he headed underground, with Roka following closely behind.
The two descended to the first basement floor, where numerous cells lined the space.
Masatsuki stopped in front of one.
Roka looked up, her gaze falling on two young girls sitting on a soft bed.
The black-haired girl had her eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
The green-haired girl, on the other hand, was watching them cautiously.
Roka hesitated for a moment.
Girls like these... they didn't seem like the type Masatsuki-sama would normally harm...
After a few seconds of contemplation, she furrowed her brows and asked,
"Are these the Quincy you were talking about?"
Masatsuki nodded.
"That's right. They're Quincy."
Roka studied the two girls more carefully.
Thanks to Masatsuki's influence, the intellectual level of Las Noches had risen considerably compared to Baraggan's reign.
She knew that for Hollows, Quincy were even more dangerous than Shinigami.
When a Shinigami killed a Hollow, it was a form of purification.
But when a Quincy killed a Hollow, it was absolute eradication.
Their souls weren't cleansed—they were erased entirely.
Masatsuki walked up to Bambietta and Candice, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Let me introduce you. The one on the left is Bambietta Basterbine. The one on the right is Candice Catnipp."
Roka turned to Masatsuki and asked,
"Masatsuki-sama, what do you plan to do with them?"
"Roka, I need you to get them talking."
"Get them talking?"
"Simply put, interrogate them. I need to know everything they know about the Quincy."
Masatsuki grinned, then turned toward the two Quincy girls, his tone laced with amusement.
"Now that introductions are out of the way, let me introduce you to this lovely lady here."
He gestured toward Roka.
"This is Roka Paramia, the medical officer of Las Noches."
Then, as if in passing, he added:
"Oh, and by the way, this young lady once served under a certain mad scientist."
At those words, Roka remained impassive.
But Masatsuki's expression gradually turned cold.
In truth, 'serving under' was a gross understatement—Roka had been nothing more than an experimental subject, enduring relentless torment.
If given the chance, Masatsuki would drag Szayelaporro Granz straight out of Hell.
And then, he would personally let Mayuri Kurotsuchi conduct some delightful scientific experiments on him.
...
On the other side, at the mention of "mad scientist," both Bambietta and Candice visibly tensed.
Their bodies trembled slightly.
Immediately, their minds flashed to the unsettling memory of that deranged pervert who had wanted to dissect them.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake