Thinking this over, Starrk looked at Katerea Leviathan and the others with a trace of pity in his eyes.
Being targeted by Aizen... was never a good thing.
Based on his understanding of Aizen, Katerea and the others were likely in serious trouble.
As for whether…
Katerea and the rest could escape from Aizen Sosuke's hands...
Well...
It would be difficult.
And...
There was no option other than escape.
After all...
Katerea Leviathan was likely the strongest among them.
But...
When she fought against him, she only had a slight advantage.
Just from that alone, it was clear—she was nowhere near Aizen Sosuke's level.
On the other side—
Aizen didn't place any hopes on the Espada. He gave a simple order.
"I want it."
"Yes!"
Tosen Kaname's figure instantly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already behind Katerea Leviathan.
His Zanpakuto, after Shikai, emitted a faint misty glow, and a slash imbued with sonic waves cut directly toward Katerea's neck!
Aizen quietly observed the scene, his eyes focused, eager to see the manifestation of that energy—
And...
Whether it truly surpassed spirit particles.
How far could it go?
Tosen Kaname didn't need explicit instructions. He fully understood Aizen's intent—
Force Katerea Leviathan to show more of her abilities.
That thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't hold back.
If she couldn't even dodge an attack at this level, she wasn't worth Lord Aizen's attention.
Buzz—
The sound of insects intensified rapidly.
Katerea Leviathan's instincts kicked in, chills ran down her spine.
A magic circle burst open behind her.
Crash—
The roaring sea echoed in her ears.
Moments later, a shield formed from seawater blocked Tosen's blade.
The slash struck the water violently, leaving behind a white gash.
But...
That was all.
The strike had no chance of cutting through the seawater.
Soon, the blade's power was dispersed completely.
Seeing that, Katerea let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The attack had been so fast she barely had time to react.
But...
She relaxed too soon.
Buzz...
Suddenly, her mind blanked for a moment before quickly coming to her senses. She pulled away and frowned, staring at Tosen.
Just now...
What had that been?
"Suzumushi Isshiki: Kyōmei (Cricket 1st Movement: Resonating Echo)."
Tosen calmly spoke the name of his technique.
His face remained emotionless.
Because...
The essence of this technique was to send hypnotic soundwaves into the enemy's ears.
But...
It only confused Katerea Leviathan for a split second. Other than that, it had no further effect.
Of course.
At their level, even a momentary opening could be fatal.
But...
She had already taken it seriously.
Realizing that, Tosen stayed silent for a moment.
Just as he thought, Katerea, now prepared, wasn't affected again.
"The same trick won't work twice!"
Katerea raised her chin slightly, her eyes filled with pride.
She had quietly used magic to block the sound from reaching her ears.
Her gaze swept over Tosen's continuously buzzing Zanpakuto, eyes narrowing.
Sound?
So it's a sound-based technique...
This world is... interesting.
That sword...
In the main world, it would definitely be considered a man-made sacred artifact.
The key was...
Almost everyone in this world who had power seemed to own one.
Mass-producible sacred artifacts?
The Zanpakuto system had to be taken back to the Peerage.
On the other side—
Tosen had no idea what Katerea was thinking.
After seeing that his Eliminating Insects technique no longer worked, he silently switched tactics.
"Suzumushi Nishiki: Benihikō (Cricket 2nd Movement: Crimson Flying Locusts)!"
Crash—
The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp screech echoed through the air.
Dozens of blade-like strikes appeared at once, rushing at Katerea from all directions.
Seeing this, Katerea curled her lip in boredom.
"More of these boring moves?"
She casually waved her hand, and several sea-blue magic circles unfolded along the incoming attack paths, blocking every single blade.
Even though they struck with force, they couldn't break the circles.
"I mean…"
Katerea taunted, "Your moves are worse than that eyepatch guy's over there."
Aside from the initial surprise attack and those sonic waves entering her ears, the rest of his abilities were just standard offensive spells.
"…Eyepatch guy?"
Upon hearing that title, Starrk's eyes twitched slightly.
After all this fighting… and she didn't even remember his name?
On the other side.
Tosen remained unaffected by the mockery. His face showed no reaction.
His objective was clear.
Assist Lord Aizen in analyzing the characteristics of the energy in Katerea Leviathan's body.
So...
If his Shikai wasn't enough...
"Bankai."
"Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Kōrogi!"
Buzz—
The moment he finished speaking, a massive ellipsoid barrier rapidly formed.
In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Katerea Leviathan.
And then...
Katerea narrowed her eyes.
Her vision...
Started to blur.
She blinked several times to clear her sight, but then—everything went pitch black.
And not just vision...
Hearing and smell vanished too!
So…
This was the barrier's effect?
Katerea quickly made a guess.
On the other side.
Tosen floated silently. Looking down on Katerea, he declared,
"Within this barrier, your sight, hearing, smell, and even spiritual pressure perception will be completely stripped away."
"You have only your sense of touch left. Use it... to feel pain."
His tone was cold, as if he had passed judgment.
And it was true.
What Tosen revealed confirmed Katerea's suspicions.
But...
Spiritual pressure perception?
Hmm...
That must be what they call it.
But...
She didn't have any spiritual pressure.
What about her magic power?
Would that be affected too?
Thinking this, Katerea reached out with her magic...
And then—
She made a strange expression.
(To be continued.)