Allen wasn't stupid; he had already used a system artifact that kept ordinary people away from the area.
Renji's power grew so much that it became visible to Allen's eyes. Gripping his Zanpakuto tightly, Renji launched an attack. Allen didn't try to block it with his hand; instead, he used his sword to parry Zabimaru.
"It's heavy…" Allen murmured. At this moment, his Reiryoku was significantly inferior to Renji's, but that was only because it came from copying Rukia's power. If he could use Sklaverei (Holy Slave or Slave of the Saint): a basic Quincy ability to gather Reishi more powerfully and enslave spiritual energy, the very essence of all beings, living and dead... his power would increase dramatically. But doing so would expose him.
"Howl Zabimaru!"
Compared to the previous Renji, this one was faster and many times stronger, though not to a degree beyond Allen's control.
Allen vanished, this time, using Shunpo reappearing behind Renji, who spun around to counter the attack.
"Impossible?!" Renji exclaimed.
Allen struck him with his sword, and Renji, unable to withstand the blow, crashed into the ground, creating a crater and a loud impact.
Amidst the dust, a red light appeared.
"Hado #31: Shakkaho!"
Allen vanished, dodging a fireball made of spirit power but he felt Renji behind him.
"You're not the only one who can use shunpo!" Renji lowered his hands, gripping his sword.
Allen took the attack without flinching, then countered with a hard punch to Renji's stomach, and without withdrawing his hand, Allen extended his palm, which glowed red.
"Hado #31: Shakkaho…"
"Damn it!" Renji cursed before being blown away by the energy explosion.
"You thought you were the only one who could use Kido?"
Allen had observed Rukia using that attack from a distance before. Reproducing the technique wasn't difficult for him, though it was somewhat rough and rudimentary. Still, it served its purpose.
The dust and smoke cleared as Renji spun his Zanpakuto like a helicopter blade above his head. Despite his intense killing intent, Renji managed to maintain a relative calm. His eyes were filled with anger, his mouth was bleeding, and his body was damaged, but the lieutenant was still fit to fight.
A Shinigami is always ready to die. They endure centuries of fighting against monsters that wouldn't hesitate to tear them apart. Thus, they are both spiritually and mentally resilient.
"Die!"
Using centrifugal force, Renji launched Zabimaru at triple its usual speed and with many times the strength of his previous attacks.
Allen closed his eyes, gripping his Zanpakuto with both hands to block the attack.
The sound of metal echoed...
"..." While he remained steady, he was still pushed back; after all, Renji's Reiatsu was several times greater than Allen's as a Shinigami.
Renji flicked his wrist, and Zabimaru acted like a serpent, attempting to coil around Allen. He leaped into the air.
"You're not escaping!" Renji directed Zabimaru to pursue Allen like a homing missile.
Allen swung his sword, releasing a projection toward Renji. Renji's eyes widened as he dodged the invisible slash, which left a gash in the ground beneath him.
Allen landed and planted his sword into the ground.
"..."
From the earth below Renji, multiple spikes emerged like thorns, aiming to impale him.
"Shit!"
Renji used shunpo relentlessly, but every time he stopped, more spikes emerged as if predicting his movements. Renji leaped higher into the sky, yet the spikes followed.
"Take this!"
Exhausted from dodging, Renji counterattacked, disregarding his defense. Zabimaru destroyed the spiritual energy thorns, but a spike pierced his shoulder; the cost of ceasing his evasion.
"Ahh!" Renji felt an incredible pain that did not match that kind of small wound, but he endured it.
Allen drew his Zanpakuto and swung it horizontally at Renji.
"...!"
A crescent-shaped slash of spiritual energy sped toward Renji, hitting him before he could react and causing a massive explosion.
"I'm not dead yet!" Renji emerged from the smoke, bleeding from his arm, and with his shattered Zabimaru.
One might think a fight was over once a Shinigami lost their Zanpakuto, but Renji had an ace up his sleeve. Summoning all his Reiatsu, he held the broken hilt of his still-activated Shikai.
Allen remained unfazed, dismissing his dark Zanpakuto. A new sword appeared at his waist; the one born from Clown Crown. However, this mutation had changed it so much that it was hard to tell if it was still his Innocence.
"..." Allen observed the sword for a second before shifting his attention back to Renji.
Renji's Reiatsu surged as Allen's diminished or rather, it was controlled to perfection, with not a single drop wasted.
"Sorry Zabimaru…" Renji murmured. Then his gaze turned fiercely to Allen, "I don't care who you are or what you are. Your intentions mean nothing to me. But if you hurt Rukia, I won't forgive you! Never!! Higa Zekko!!! (Baboon Fang Bite)."
Renji's spiritual power gathered the shards of his sword, sending them into the sky before they rained down on Allen, each piece carrying the full force and speed of Renji's best strike.
Allen ignored the deadly attacks as if they didn't exist. Opening his eyes, now devoid of anger but radiating a chilling aura, he calmly released his sword.
"Condemn my desire… Divine Comedy."
...
Renji blinked, confused, as his blades were sliced in half. In addition, a deep cut appeared from his shoulder to his abdomen.
"What... happened?..."
Renji fell from the sky... His body landed with a heavy thud on the ground.
Allen walked emotionlessly. His sword glowed with a hypocritical, mocking divine light... like a clown making a godly joke no one laughed at.
The sword vanished, replaced by the black-and-scarlet Zanpakuto. Allen's emotions began to resurface: anger, disgust, jealousy; not feelings imposed by the sword but his own, amplified beyond his control.
Allen approached the dying Renji, his Zanpakuto still in hand. Once beside him, Allen stopped and gazed at him, unreadable in his intentions.
"Allen!" Artoria appeared beside him, grabbing his hand.
"What's wrong Artoria?"
Allen's gaze turned to Artoria, his aura filled with danger but his eyes clear.
Allen is known for being reasonable, acting so impulsively... It was certainly strange.
Makima appeared next to him, studying the Zanpakuto. "It doesn't seem like this thing is controlling him…"
"...?" Allen's eyes opened slightly. Reflecting on his emotions and actions, he realized this wasn't like him at all.
"I'm fine… no, I'm not. Maybe I just felt irritated and jealous…"
"I thought you were being controlled… It's good that wasn't the case," Artoria said with relief. She didn't care if Allen killed Renji, but if he wasn't himself or was being controlled, that was different.
"If I were to be controlled by two swords, Void would have devoured me long ago…" Allen smirked disdainfully. "Although I admit, these swords did influence me, especially this one…"
Allen grabbed the black-and-scarlet sword, its aura shrouded in mystery. It didn't feel malevolent, but it was undeniably dangerous. Allen couldn't understand why his Zanpakuto was this way. Wasn't he supposed to have accumulated enough good deeds for thirty lifetimes?
He stared at Renji for a moment, then knelt to use Chi to heal him. Now calmer, Allen realized killing Renji wouldn't be a good idea. Regardless of anything, Renji was a lieutenant. Killing him would completely shatter any peaceful relationship with the Soul Society, and more importantly, it would make Rukia cry.
...
Rick – So, what now? I suggest burying him in your backyard. Easier to make sure no one finds him…
Maria Hill – Setting aside the implications of that statement, Allen has just cured him. Why would you suggest burying him?!
Rick – Duh, it's obvious that to bury him alive. I'm starting to doubt the qualifications required to be SHIELD's deputy director. *Burps*
Maria Hill – What did you say?!
"I'm not going to bury Abarai Renji… He's a soul... there's nothing to bury…"
Rick – The guy bled like a fountain. If he's got blood, he's got organs. If he's got organs, he's got flesh and bones. Sure, they might be made of different particles, but it's still a body.
"Well, maybe I can bury him, but I'm not going to do it."
Raven – Setting that aside… Allen, your swords are not dangerous?
Felicia – It's true. I know you'll be fine, but for a moment, you seemed out of control…
Gwen – Come back tonight if you're feeling off. There's no need to risk using a power you can't handle.
"I'm fine. This is what it is… It's part of who I am."
Allen understood the feelings he experienced. While the Zanpakuto had amplified them to extremes, they were his own emotions originally.
It's Allen we're talking about. In his fight with Void, he had the chance to rid himself of all his flaws, but he didn't. He didn't believe that a person should long for perfection, nor did he believe a person should lack flaws, because maybe, without flaws, a person would lose his or her reason to exist.
An Allen who smiled all the time, who didn't get upset, who never made mistakes, who seemed like the incarnation of perfection wasn't realistic, nor was it something he even wanted for himself.
Although there was something else...
Allen raised his zanpakuto. One side absorbed the light, seeming like a point of emptiness in the space, exuding a feeling of mystery, fear, and darkness. While the scarlet half gave off the same feeling of danger that Allen emitted before training with Master Oogway.
Oogway – Time is a great ally. You don't need to understand everything today. You don't need to know it all. Living under pressure to understand what you can't will distract you from what you can.
Whis – That sword comes from your soul... but it doesn't define who you are. At least, not in the eyes of most here. We know who you are, so don't worry about making mistakes.
Athena – As the goddess of wisdom, I can confess that even I have made mistakes. I've made decisions I'm not proud of, and I don't know everything... if even I am like this, don't worry about something like that.
Kratos – I don't know how to feel about hearing Athena say something like that... if the Athena from my world were like that, I wouldn't have had to kill her.
Athena – I don't know what to say to that comment...
Hestia – This guy is scary…
Artemis – For some reason, I prefer staying away from him…
Aphrodite – Allen, my lord, I'd rather have those jealous feelings directed towards me ❤️~, lock me in a dungeon so that only you can see me 🖤, and (This user was temporarily banned for overly descriptive and depraved comments)…
...
Things had gotten unnecessarily complicated. Allen observed the "corpse" of Abarai Renji while the advice from Chat and Rick's nonsense mixed in his mind.
As if things couldn't get any worse, the Senkaimon opened to the right of Allen.
Allen felt a Reiatsu from a lieutenant and thought that this time it had to be Rukia, so he smiled. But quickly, he looked at Renji. This clearly wouldn't look good.
"Damn"
"Hey, you must be Allen Walker."
Allen froze when he heard a woman's voice, one that wasn't Rukia's.
With an air of intellectualism and professionalism, Ise Nanao arrived in the human world.
"Who are you?"
Allen, of course, knew who the strict lieutenant Ise Nanao was, but he had to pretend ignorance. He didn't understand why she was here, but it was bad because he didn't know how he would explain the situation.
'Is the neuralyzer an option?'
[Are you asking if a device that alters the synapses of a human brain can be used to erase the memory of a soul?]
'I had to ask...'
...
Nanao looked at Allen in silence, adjusting her glasses. She took a piece of paper from her clothing, unfolded it, and looked at it for a moment.
The paper was a poorly drawn picture of a rabbit with a seductive, drama protagonist-like look, with sparkling stars and a rose in its mouth. Its hair looked like Allen's, at least.
'They don't look alike at all!' Nanao tore up the drawing without changing expression and then slowly descended from the sky.
"I come on behalf of Kuchiki-san, Allen Walker. I know your situation, but you're lucky—I'm a professional. You can leave everything in my hands, and with my intellect, we'll reach the most efficient solution."
The beautiful woman, with a secretary-like air, Ise Nanao landed in front of Allen.
"Urgh…"
Nanao's glasses fogged up, and she lowered her gaze to see Abarai Renji unconscious beneath her feet.
"Allen Walker…"
"Yes, sister…"
"Why is there a lieutenant under my feet?"
"Mmm, because you're beautiful."
Nanao gritted her teeth. "I'm being serious, Allen Walker!"
Allen shrugged. "Because it's his hobby. I'm no one to judge other people's hobbies."
"That doesn't make sense!"
Allen tilted his head. "So, what about your hobby?"
"You're going to make me angry…"
'You're already angry…' thought Allen without saying it. He then pulled out his phone and gave her a complex look. "Sorry, sister. I have matters to attend to... it was a pleasure. See you."
Nanao grabbed Allen by the collar. "Don't try to escape."
"I'm not—I'm just leaving you here with your friend."
"It's the same and he's not my friend," Nanao said in a fit of rage, stomping on Renji and making him spit blood.
"I'm sorry!" Nanao quickly got off Renji and nervously looked at the situation. She and Kyoraku had already put their hands in the fire for this, and now there was an even bigger problem—Allen had defeated a lieutenant.
"Wait…"
Nanao opened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at Allen. This kid had defeated a lieutenant. Even with the restriction in place, there shouldn't have been such a display of skill. 'No, no, no, now's not the time to be amazed, Ise Nanao. We have the lieutenant of Kuchiki Byakuya!'
"Hey!"
Nanao pointed at Allen, who was trying to escape again. "Do you understand your position? Your existence could get Kuchiki Rukia executed!"
"What?!"
Nanao adjusted her glasses. "How do I explain it? She gave powers to a human. That's already worthy of life imprisonment, and now that human has killed a lieutenant."
Allen frowned, then sighed and walked over to Nanao. "I'm sorry, Sister Nanao. What should I do?"
Nanao, stunned by Allen's sudden sincerity, saw his clear eyes, and a kind of maternal instinct activated within her.
"No... don't worry... I already told you that I, Ise Nanao, am a professional woman... leave everything to me."
"Hey… wh… what? You… are…"
As Nanao puffed out her chest, Renji woke up. Allen quickly hit him in the head, knocking him out again.
"What are you doing?!" Nanao shouted, seeing the absurdity of knocking a lieutenant unconscious again.
"Sister, if this guy wakes up, we're screwed."
Nanao opened her mouth, but it was true—Renji wouldn't hesitate to report to Kuchiki Byakuya.
"Tsk, this is bad…" Nanao sweat profusely, even with her strong mentality; she couldn't help but bite her tongue. With no other option, Nanao turned to Allen with hope. "Allen Walker, do you have any suggestions?"
Allen looked at Renji. "We could bury him."
"…"
"…"
Rick – The best option is always mine. *Burp*
...
Allen carried Renji on his shoulder, following Nanao through the park. Luckily, there weren't many people around, and though Allen looked like a weird guy who liked to lift his arm stupidly...
"Are you sure we're not going to bury him?"
"Shut up! How could you even suggest that?"
Because of Nanao's shouting, Renji regained consciousness once more. He freed himself from Allen and moved away, ready to fight to the death once again. However, he froze in disbelief when he saw Nanao beside him.
"Ise Nanao."
"I'm sorry." Nanao, also a lieutenant, saw that Renji was weak. She used Shunpo and hit him in the stomach reflexively.
"Uhh, why you?!" Renji spat blood and fell to the ground, looking dead this time.
Allen and the Chat watched in shock as Nanao turned to Allen with a desperate face, not believing what she had just done. She pointed at Renji and trembled, and Allen nodded twice.
...
On a hill hidden on the outskirts of Karakura, the sound of two shovels echoed in the darkness of the night.
Allen and Nanao were digging a suspicious hole in the ground. No one would think this was legal, especially with Renji wrapped in cloth and tied up with ropes nearby.
Nanao had a strange look. 'Why am I digging a hole to bury a lieutenant when I came to the human world to check on a human's condition?'
Nanao's perception of reality was altered. On the other hand, Allen put his shovel aside, then used a towel on his neck to wipe nonexistent sweat and took a sip of water from a bottle before offering it to Nanao.
"What are you doing, fool?!" Nanao grabbed Allen's clothes. "Do you have any idea what we're doing?!"
Allen blinked. "You were the one who suggested we do this…"
Nanao had never felt so frustrated, and that's saying something, considering she had to deal with Kyoraku every day.
Seeing Nanao's state, Allen decided not to bother her anymore. He grabbed the shovel and started digging again. Nanao, with a lost look, did the same.
"By the way, what's your zodiac sign, big sis?"
"Are you seriously asking me that while we're burying a body?!"
"Well, I thought this might revive the atmosphere…"
"…"
"Okay, that was a bad joke…"
The hole was finished, and Allen looked at Renji. "You were a good opponent. Rest in peace, Abadeia Ranji."
"Hey, you mispronounced his name on purpose, didn't you?" asked Nanao, adjusting her glasses.
"No no"
Allen ignored the question and tossed Renji into the hole.
"Hhh!" A groan was heard, but they both ignored it.
Nanao muttered a spell while placing several seals over the spot.
Of course, Renji wasn't dead, nor were they planning to abandon him in the middle of nowhere. Nanao would bury him with a very strong restriction Kido. Renji, being a lieutenant, wouldn't die so easily. This would give them some time to think of a better plan.
Of course, this plan might be one of the worst, as their actions classified them as criminals deserving of execution.
...
Yoruichi, who had watched the entire scene from beginning to end, was completely shocked.
Then she saw Allen toss Renji's body into the hole and couldn't help but laugh.
"Pfft, that kid is so funny, even in situations like this~"
===
A/N Yeah, they still haven't fixed my internet, it's a general fault in my area, so I can only do this with my phone.
[Nanao went from victim to accomplice very quickly.🍷🗿]