Lucius had a hand in his pocket as he dodged and weaved through their attacks, his Infinity making sure none of the blows aimed at him even managed to graze him.
Hm, in terms of Reiatsu, he had more than them, but not by much. The main reason he was dominating them right now was how much more skilled he had gotten with his technique.
Years of training until his hands gave out.
He trained every day, pushing himself to the limit, and whenever he had the chance, he challenged Nell to battle, pushing himself even further. He went into His Majesty's Vasto Lorde program without his Zanpakutō and trained for months in there. He even went to the Menos Forest and fought that Shinigami His Majesty had captured but let live, using him as a means to test his soldiers.
He had done a lot.
That was all to say, compared to himself twenty years ago, his current self was more than double his past strength—maybe even ten times stronger.
Anytime he reached a plateau, His Majesty would graciously boost his potential, forcefully pushing back his limits.
He was Sin level in all but name.
As Byakuya used his sakura petals, Lucius simply stood still as the petals rushed toward him.
"Bakudō #81. Dankū."
"Hadō #33. Sōkatsui."
As Lucius blocked Byakuya's attack, he heard an attack coming from behind him—by the sickly old man.
He turned around and simply... slapped the attack away.
"Is this the best Soul Society has to offer?"
Before the old man could answer, Lucius used Shunpo to appear in front of him and, with the back of his hand...
SMACK
The old man was sent flying, crashing through multiple buildings.
Lucius lazily raised his sword in the air.
CLANG
Looking up, he locked eyes with Byakuya.
"Too slow," were the words from the Lesser Sin as Byakuya Shunpoed away.
'It's like he has eyes in the back of his head... Stay calm, Byakuya. When you attacked him earlier, that defense of his was down. Which implies, if he receives sufficient damage, the shield will go down.'
"Did I give you permission to doze off?"
BAM
CRUNCH
Byakuya barely had time to react before he was punched so hard in the gut that his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head.
Spit and blood flew from his mouth.
Lucius felt some bones in there. The boy was probably going to have some serious head problems because of him.
How fun.
Byakuya lay on the floor, gasping for air. He could feel his ribs poking into his lungs as he watched Lucius walk toward him, his sword lazily held in his hand.
The man slowly made his way toward Byakuya, raising his hand and launching thousands of sakura petals at him.
None of them reached him.
They all stopped mere inches before touching him.
As Byakuya raised his head once more, he felt Lucius' boot press down on it.
"So, you are Byakuya Kuchiki... the next heir to the Kuchiki noble house... I expected better from you... Well, that was my fault for expecting anything from your kind."
Lucius used his boot to raise the boy's head slightly, gazing into his eyes.
A very angry noble stared back at him—a man who would stop at nothing to kill him.
Cool.
Yet, he refused to speak or say a word.
His Majesty had no need for the boy, so Lucius simply tossed him aside. He would kill him later.
"Hadō #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō."
Lucius turned around, coming face to face with a massive attack—as if Goku himself had just fired a goddamn Kamehameha at him.
He gripped his sword.
SLINK
Everything went quiet...
The attack never reached him.
...
...
Ginrei stood—missing an arm. His attack, along with his left arm, had been cut off.
Looking behind him, a very thin line extended far into the distance—everything in its path had been sliced clean through, stretching for over a mile.
'His ability allows him to cut through space... What a troublesome ability.'
The old man knew that from now on, he needed to be serious. If he didn't want to end up dead.
Though... he had already lost an arm.
Which meant he was now weaker than before.
Which wasn't good news, since even with two arms, he was already getting majorly fucked.
"It's time to end this," the Sin said calmly. Taking out his blade, he placed it in front of him.
"Bankai... Devour all existence, Nihil Aeternum." /{Bankai... Mugen Shokukyo.}
As those words left his mouth, the world around them changed.
What seemed to be space itself surrounded Lucius.
The man raised his sword.
And then...
...
...
No explosion.
No sound.
Nothing.
Everything was just quiet.
Birds that had been flying in the sky suddenly fell—blood leaking from their eyes, their brains utterly fried.
Ginrei had blood pouring from his nose, eyes, ears... from every pore in his body.
The man... had gotten a lobotomy.
Behind him, a massive slash mark stretched for more than thirty miles.
A lot of Shinigami became Kit-Kat bars that day.
With a lifeless look in his eyes, the old man's lower half collapsed to the ground.
His upper half remained standing—his hand still gripping his sword.
Lucius took a deep breath, turning his gaze toward the child.
Taking out his blade...
{Report: Sin: Yammy is unconscious and in need of backup.}
"I have to do everything myself," Lucius sighed.
Looking at the teen one last time, he turned away.
It was lucky to survive now.
Next time they met, it better be stronger than that.