While Nell was busy beating some ass, somewhere else across the Seireitei...
Belial and his Lesser Sin were weaving chaos wherever they went. They had just finished slaughtering about 50 or so Shinigami from the 8th Division.
Zommari should be taking care of the Stealth Squad right about now, and Ryouma should have used that distraction to slip into the noble estate and retrieve his son.
Hm. War truly was fun.
Sure, they had lost some people, but that didn't mean shit. That just meant those who died were weak. Plus, with the gates of Hell open, Hell Hollows were flooding the battlefield. Though it seemed His Majesty only had access to the first gate of Hell, meaning the ones pouring in weren't too strong... however, there were a shit-ton of them.
Like, a couple hundred thousand.
If Belial had to guess, it was around 300k or so. That was a lot of Hell Hollows. And all of them had submitted to His Majesty.
Of course, they had. His Majesty was great.
Belial tossed the body of another Shinigami into the Garganta. This would do for His Majesty's research on souls—and for making some wonderful Nephilims.
Nice. The amount of shit they were gaining from this far exceeded their losses. And even if all the Sins were slain, they'd respawn in Hueco Mundo. So, this war... Gabriel wasn't even taking it that seriously. This was just a message to Soul Society—basically, you don't mess with my people.
Barragan could never, in his wettest dreams, ever hope to crush Soul Society like this. Belial had absolute faith that His Majesty would beat the Royal Guard when they came down.
Considering it had only been, what, an hour? And Soul Society was already losing members left and right, he gave them, like, six more hours before shit hit the fan.
Belial could be seen clashing against Shunsui Kyoraku.
Shunsui Kyoraku, ever the laid-back gambler, found himself with a losing hand.
His Shikai clashed against a force that should not exist—Belial Cabrón, the Sin of Envy.
"Man, you're a tricky one, huh?"
Shunsui weaved between attacks, his dual blades flashing. The game of shadows and misfortune dictated his every move—except...
Something was wrong.
Every strike that should have been fatal missed by a hair's breadth.
Every attack that should have been inescapable had a gap, an opening—an imperfection.
"Tch."
Shunsui narrowed his eyes. This wasn't just luck. This was deliberate.
Belial smirked, eyes gleaming with jealous amusement. "I hope you're not just realizing it now, Captain."
Every attack Shunsui launched carried an imperfection.
A blade swing? Too shallow.
A thrust? Slightly misaligned.
Even Katen Kyokotsu's game rules warped against him.
"You cheat," Shunsui chuckled, wiping blood from his lip.
"I improve," Belial corrected, mimicking Shunsui's own movements. "It's only fair, isn't it? If you can play games with reality, then so can I."
And with that—
He struck.
The two clashed over and over again, BZZZT—BOOM! Sonido and Shunpo fighting for dominance, each technique trying to prove its superiority. While Shunsui could win by using Bankai... his teammate was right there.
So, he was forced into Shikai.
He was forced to hold back.
Meanwhile.
Komamura, the titan of loyalty and honor, was in trouble.
No—he was losing.
Lázaro grinned, sharp teeth bared, his body constantly shifting, regenerating, consuming itself, and reforming.
"Damn Hollow..." Komamura growled, swinging his massive blade.
It cut deep—too deep.
And yet.
Lázaro didn't fall.
The wound sealed almost instantly.
The Hollow's emerald eyes flashed, his jagged grin widening. "You can't kill me, perrito."
Komamura's teeth clenched. That was the problem.
He was strong. But Lázaro healed faster than he could cut.
Every wound inflicted was devoured and repurposed.
Every injury Komamura delivered was swallowed and turned into fuel.
"This is pointless," Lázaro mocked, stretching his claws. "Oh? Getting mad, puppy? You gonna do something about it? C'mon! Show me those fangs!"
Komamura snarled.
And then—
His Bankai erupted.
Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō towered over them, colossal and undeniable.
Lázaro grinned wider. "There it is."
Then—
He placed his hand on the dog's chest and, with a smile on his face, he used his ability...
And stole the man's speed.
"Huh?"
The massive warrior became slow.
Too slow.
The enormous blade swung, but Lázaro simply stepped aside, effortlessly dodging.
"Oh noooo," Lázaro mocked. "Is the big, bad warrior too slow?"
Then—
He punched Komamura in the face.
Hard.
Then again.
And again.
For a full minute.
Komamura was reduced to a glorified punching bag.
Then—
Finally bored of his opponent, he plunged his hand into the man's chest, ripping out his heart.
Komamura staggered.
Blood erupted from the wound, splattering across the battlefield.
Lázaro licked his lips. "Mmm. That was nice."
The dog had been taken care of way too easily. Sad. He expected more of a challenge from the mighty Gotei 13.
Well, a good chunk of their Captains were Hollowfied a hundred years back or so. Not exactly 100—closer to 50. Chances were, the incident happened while Gabriel was still human.
Looking at the still-beating heart in his hand, Lázaro smirked. How fun. He licked the blood. Hm. Tasty.
Feeling a bit disrespectful, he placed the heart in Komamura's limp hand.
"Here you go, buddy," he teased.
He didn't see the dog as a threat... though, just in case—
The sound of piss could be heard.
...
...
"Been holding this one in since this morning. Jeez," Lázaro muttered, putting his meat back in his pants.
Yes.
He had pissed on his opponent.
Because fuck his pride.
And maybe because he found some joy in it.
Who knows?
Plus, he was a dog. Wouldn't be the first time he got pissed on.
"Maybe His Majesty might need him," he mused, kicking Komamura, who—somehow—was still alive.
Even with his heart ripped out.
"You are a durable one, ain't ya?" Lázaro chuckled, kicking the dog's head like a football.
Then—
He turned to Shunsui.
Well, enough fooling around.
Time for some jumping.
Shunsui, mid-dodge, saw Lázaro approaching.
"Oh, that's not good."
"Oh, it's worse than that."
Lázaro grinned.
Belial smirked.
"Let's have some fun, huh, Captain?"
Shunsui exhaled. "I assume Komamura's—"
Lázaro stretched. "The puppy's all tuckered out."
Shunsui sighed. This was about to get rough.
And then—
They jumped him.
Shunsui dodged Belial's copied techniques.
He parried Lázaro's endless, savage strikes.
He avoided Belial's reality-breaking counters.
But—
It wasn't enough.
A blade sliced his leg.
A fist slammed into his gut.
An attack he thought was perfect? Belial twisted it into failure.
A move he thought he avoided? Lázaro lunged and caught him anyway.
The game was rigged.
And Shunsui Kyoraku was losing.
A/N
The dog was left nearby and alive, because they needed to make sure Shunsui wouldn't use his bankai, they also especially fight near a bunch of shinigami and if Shunsui try to run the school right there, so he couldn't leave.