"Numerological Grafting…"
Shuren heard Saito Furofushi's voice and paused.
Before he could react, a searing sensation exploded across his entire body.
Green smoke curled up from his skin, and the smell of cooked flesh hit his nose.
A moment later.
Pain surged through his body!
His skin began to blacken and char, as though set on fire.
"Ghh—!"
Shuren gritted his teeth in agony, eyes full of disbelief.
What the hell was going on?
He endured the pain and looked at Saito's hand still resting on his shoulder.
Then—
He saw something even more bewildering.
Saito's charred skin… was turning pale again?
Wait a minute…
Shuren's eyes narrowed. He had a theory.
He immediately backed away from Saito Furofushi.
But—
The pain didn't fade!
His skin still burned!
He would never have imagined that, as someone who specialized in flame attacks, he'd one day suffer from being burned by fire.
How?
It was like... he was the one engulfed in flames now.
And Saito…
She clearly wasn't even affected by the attack!
Shuren stared at her.
So...
Did she do it on purpose?
Was this connected to what he was experiencing?
Just as he began piecing it together, Saito's cheerful voice rang out from within the fire.
"Hey~"
Shuren's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
Saito continued in a playful tone, "This temperature's too low. Should we go borrow some from Old Man Yamamoto?"
She sounded genuinely disappointed.
This wasn't enough to test the limits of Numerological Grafting.
What she wanted was to see if she could transfer fatal damage.
But Shuren… was too weak.
Old Man Yamamoto?
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni?
Shuren's lips twitched, the pain almost forgotten for a second.
She was comparing him to the Captain-Commander of the Soul Society?
Ha…
What a joke.
Still…
Saito's carefree tone made him suspicious again.
Was this woman really treating his flames like a hot spring?
Even if he wasn't on Yamamoto's level, it shouldn't be this bad, right?
Grimacing, Shuren cut off the flames.
The next moment.
Saito's figure emerged from the fire.
Shuren's eyes widened slightly.
She was completely unharmed?!
And—
As the flames vanished, so did the burning pain in his body.
His eyes narrowed.
So all that damage earlier…
Was his?
He'd taken the full brunt of it in her place?
After a quick mental calculation, Shuren arrived at a terrifying conclusion.
So…
Saito's ability—Numerological Grafting—really let her transfer damage to him?
While he stood frozen, Saito planted one hand on her hip and casually held her Zanpakutō in the other.
"Hey, do you have anything stronger? Hurry up and use it."
Shuren stayed silent.
If he was right…
Then attacking Saito meant hurting himself?
What kind of shameless, absurd ability was this?
He glanced at the smug grin on her face.
Absolutely shameless!
He opened his mouth to speak.
"Saito Furofushi, I'm here to—"
Too bad...
He was dealing with Saito Furofushi.
She frowned and instantly vanished.
Before Shuren could finish, she appeared in front of him and slashed.
He had no choice but to shut up and defend.
But…
Because of what he just realized, Shuren didn't dare counterattack at all.
Off to the side, Taikon and the others watched in stunned silence.
Shuren—the same arrogant, self-important figure they followed—was now getting beat down and running away like a coward.
This…
Was this really Lord Shuren?
Could he really lead them out of Hell?
Doubt began creeping into their hearts.
Meanwhile…
Saito looked at Shuren's pathetic attempts to dodge and snorted.
"You're the one who wanted to escape Hell?"
Shuren didn't answer. He just kept dodging her relentless attacks.
Saito curled her lip in disappointment.
She could already tell he'd guessed part of her ability.
But so what?
After their earlier exchange, a connection had already formed through Numerological Grafting.
From now on, as long as she wished, she could freely shift any damage she took to Shuren.
In fact…
She could even hurt herself and send it all to him.
Hmm…
Wait—
Saito's eyes suddenly sparkled.
That's it!
This was the right way to use Numerological Grafting.
Mark first, then—
She stopped swinging her blade.
"?"
Shuren noticed and frowned.
Though confused, he was relieved she'd stopped.
But what happened next made his heart stop.
"Wait—!"
He raised a trembling hand.
"What are you about to do?!"
Surely not…
Saito paused, then gave him a bright, gentle smile.
Then stabbed herself in the chest.
Squelch—
She blinked.
There was no pain.
But—
"Urgh—!"
Across from her, Shuren buckled, legs trembling as a gaping wound tore open over his heart.
The pain of having his heart pierced wracked his body.
Blood gushed out as he clutched his chest, eyes wide in horror as he stared at Saito.
It was true.
Every bit of damage Saito took…
Was reflected onto him!
Ridiculous!
What kind of absurd ability was this?!
Saito narrowed her eyes, staring at him like she'd just discovered a new toy. She glanced at her own body, as if deciding where to stab next.
Shuren, sensing her twisted glee, panicked.
Without hesitation, he forcefully compressed his spiritual energy.
This woman…
She was a total pervert!
There was no way he'd keep entertaining this!
Boom!
Shuren exploded in a burst of spiritual pressure.
Self-destruction!
As long as he was in Hell, he could be resurrected.
Better to die than to keep getting tormented by Saito's bizarre ability.
Taikon: "?"
Wait… what about us?!
(To be continued.)
***
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