Ifrit heard it... the soul of every single soul that he had consumed—all of them asking for control, all of them trying to take over him.
He held his head in pain, his power wavering from very high to incredibly low.
Gabriel, however, was in no mood to watch this. Without giving the man any time to react, he struck him again.
And another...
Two of them, landing back to back for a total of three Black Flashes—or rather, his Abyssal Fracture. The purpose of this technique was to sever the ties between the anchor soul and all the others within the body.
Abyssal Fracture was useless against Gabriel, as he only had one soul and his control over it was flawless. However, against Hollows—who had thousands of souls ingested within them—it was devastating.
This move could also sever a Shinigami's link with their Zanpakuto. Gabriel didn't know this yet, but if this technique was used against a being that wasn't a Hollow, it would outright destroy their soul—shattering it completely.
That was for the future. His current self had grown used to using this technique, landing blow after blow.
Out of ten punches, only one of them carried Abyssal Fracture. Meaning, with his current mastery, only one out of ten would land with that effect.
And he would have to be completely locked in to ensure it landed—otherwise, his chances dropped to 1/100. A pretty big drop.
Ifrit, feeling all of those souls wishing to consume him, could feel his end. He could feel himself dying.
"I refuse," he declared, his fire power surging beyond anything he had ever reached before. His flesh burned like no other, and the temperature all around him spiked by 5600 degrees Celsius.
"If I die, I'm taking you with me," Ifrit roared, his flames threatening to consume everything in their path.
"AHHHHH!!!"
The fire erupting from Ifrit's body was so hot and potent that it even burned itself... Yes, the fire was burning fire.
Gabriel watched as Ifrit transformed into a miniature sun, an explosion waiting to happen—something akin to another Hiroshima. And yet, he couldn't help but grin.
He knew if this move landed, he would probably die. Yet, he had that same shit-eating grin on his face.
"Give it your all, old fuck. I don't wanna hear any complaining when I'm done with you."
Gabriel's skin hardened like never before, layering itself with so much armor that it became completely fire-resistant.
Without hesitation, Gabriel rushed at Ifrit, clashing with the beast.
"You won't leave here alive!" Ifrit declared, grabbing Gabriel and holding him tight as he prepared to blow his load—I mean, explode.
Remembering his promise to his dad, Gabriel refused to die like this.
As Ifrit's body reached peak heat—
The beast exploded.
It was just like Nagasaki all over again.
The sun came crashing down on Hueco Mundo once again, reducing an area of roughly two miles to nothing but dust.
With Ifrit's burned corpse in the center.
POV Change
Gabriel could be seen three miles away...
For those wondering how he got so far so quickly—the answer was quite simple.
...
He molted. The tough, hardened skin he had created? Yeah, he just left it behind, burrowed himself in the sand, and slithered away at full speed.
Sure, he was down to about one-fourth of his power, but he was alive.
Ifrit, however, was dead.
The man had poured the last ounce of his will into that attack. He had incinerated every last soul within his body for that final move.
Sacrificing his very essence—everything that made him who he was.
Like a big "fuck you" to Gabriel, Ifrit had refused to be consumed.
Wasn't he just one prideful Hollow?
He was beaten.
He would hear a female tomboyish voice say, "Easy prey."
Looking up, he saw a deer—Apacci—followed by a lion—Mila Rose—and a snake—Sun-Sun.
He felt no threat from them. As he looked at them, his wounds began to heal.
Casually, he tossed three balls into his mouth—all three were the souls of transfigured Gillians. The energy surged through his body, restoring him to full strength.
Tilting his head to the side, he realized something.
He had never seen female Hollows before.
Sun-Sun watched as his wounds healed.
Wait, hold up... wasn't he just tired a moment ago? Was that just bait?
"He's weakened. There's no way he can beat all three of us," the lion said.
Neat. A talking lion.
"I have no interest in eating you," Gabriel said calmly, transfiguring his soul to return to full strength.
"There's no way you're still at 100% after such a fight!" the deer exclaimed.
"Stalkers... creepy," Gabriel retorted.
"I am NOT your goddamn stalker!"
Okay, she had a temper.
"Fufufu, aren't you just easy to tease?"
Gabriel didn't say much—just watching the three girls talk amongst themselves.
Then, he jumped back as a strike from the lion barely missed him.
Hm. It seemed like she was trying to kill him.
"Stay still!"
The fuck kind of logic was that? Was she expecting him to just take it?
He effortlessly avoided each and every one of her blows without fighting back.
He didn't feel like eating them.
He felt no hunger for them.