Help! I am bound to Aizen!-Chapter 320

Chapter 320

2-in-1 chapter:

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“Imbecile! What are you saying?”

Kaelith glared fiercely. “Sure, you’ve always had a rebellious streak, dark schemes lurking, all kinds of sinister plots… But we’ve been friends for decades!”

“Even if you forget everything, turn into some mindless idiot, I’ll still keep you around in Las Noches!”

Hearing this, Szayelaporro blinked in surprise. After a brief pause, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Lord Kaelith, you truly are a good person.”

“Indeed! I am the most radiant and righteous hero in all three realms!” Kaelith folded his arms, entirely shameless in accepting his own praise.

To witness Szayelaporro’s end—er, pivotal moment—Kaelith joined him in his lab. He watched Szayelaporro step into a sealed chamber. After a series of beeps, sinister spiritual pressure fluctuations arose within.

Eyeing the empty chamber beside it, Kaelith was reminded of that body-swap device from the very first Pokémon series and how Kojiro had used it… or something along those lines.

Before long, both chamber doors slid open simultaneously. Two Arrancar stepped out.

One had golden hair and a beastlike, razor-sharp gaze.

The other had pink hair, looking much like Szayelaporro before, though with nearly all “powerful aura” gone.

Kaelith checked their strengths.

The golden-haired one was a high-level Adjuchas. The pink-haired one was nearly kicked down from even being an Adjuchas. This meager strength wouldn’t qualify them to join the “Hollow Blade Seven,” much less act as officers.

Watching them, Kaelith sighed.

“Szayelaporro?”

The pink-haired Arrancar looked up at him, frowning in confusion. After a few seconds, he ventured, “…Lord Kaelith?”

“That’s me.” Kaelith nodded. “Remember anything from before?”

Szayelaporro shook his head, clearly muddled.

Seeing this, Kaelith didn’t force the matter. He summoned another Arrancar and told him to look after Szayelaporro, calling Kaelith if anything went wrong. Receiving Lord Kaelith’s personal command, that Arrancar beamed with joy, promising on his life to protect Szayelaporro.

Leaving the room, Kaelith shook his head.

A “mad scientist” turning into a simpleton—who knew if that was good or bad? Anyway, either way he’d still be Hueco Mundo’s eccentric scientist. That much was certain.

From the doorway, Szayelaporro let his raised hand fall, gazing after Kaelith’s retreating figure with an oddly relieved expression.

…

“Hyaah!!”

“That’s no good! I can’t even hear it!”

“You call that a shout for a future Captain?! Again!”

“Hyahhhhhh!!”

“Much better—lots of spirit!!”

Within the Kuchiki family’s courtyard, Kaelith was lounging in a deck chair, giving instructions with a casual wave of his hand.

Not far away, Kuchiki Byakuya clutched a bamboo sword in both hands, continually practicing forward slashes.

That bamboo sword was a special commission Kaelith had asked Mayuri to craft, loaded with two nasty features. First, it had adjustable weight—Byakuya’s Reiatsu triggered an increase of dozens of times its normal mass. Only Kaelith could lower it, so Byakuya was stuck with a punishing heaviness. Second, it continually devoured Byakuya’s spiritual power, leaving him weak and powerless. Under these combined effects, even the simplest slash felt torturous.

“I-I can’t anymore, Yū—I’ve got no strength left!” Byakuya gasped.

From his chair, Kaelith chuckled. “You had enough strength to yell just now.”

“…?” Wasn’t that only because you forced me to yell? Byakuya stared at Kaelith, frustration swirling.

He turned for rescue:

“Father! Say something, please!”

Off to the side stood Kuchiki Sōjun, smiling gently at his son’s plight. “Hang in there, Byakuya.”

No help at all.

Byakuya’s eyes grew dull. He had become Kaelith’s plaything.

After training, Kaelith had the Kuchiki household cooks produce a lavish spread. Three-quarters were his favorites, but the rest were Byakuya’s. Overjoyed by at least that small portion, Byakuya ate with him. Then they headed out together.

They first visited the Sixth Division, then drifted to the First District of Rukongai, sampling street foods and greeting locals in a jovial manner. Finally, Kaelith led them to the Eleventh Division.

Byakuya, still nibbling a chicken skewer, turned expectantly. “Yū, what’s next?”

“Hm. I think it’s about time.” Kaelith eyed the sun overhead, nodding. Then he smiled at Byakuya:

“There are three hours till dinner—time for a manhunt.”

“…?”

Confusion lit Byakuya’s face. Had he heard wrongly?

Kaelith unsheathed his sword.

“You’ve got until suppertime, confined to the Eleventh Division grounds. During this period, I’ll be hunting you. You can flee, fight back, set traps—whatever you want to survive. If you last until dinner, we’ll eat together. If you don’t… well, you become the dinner.”

As he brandished his blade, Kaelith’s grin turned eerie.

Byakuya felt the air thicken, reeking of bloodlust. This was serious!

Without hesitation, Byakuya turned and ran.

“Ze-hahahaha! Don’t run—come face your death!!”

Kaelith charged after him, a dark-crimson aura seeming to spread around them, the air thick with lethal intent.

Passing Eleventh Division members just smiled and watched:

“Big Bro’s training a newbie?”

“He’s going easy—I can tell.”

“Yup, Big Bro’s grown so gentle!”

Byakuya: “???”

Is it me or is the world insane?

…

That evening, after dinner, Kuchiki Sōjun took a lantern and set out to visit his father. On the way, he spotted two figures emerging from the shadows. Sōjun blinked, then gasped:

“Byakuya?!”

He ran forward to see his son dressed in the Shihakushō, covered in blood, injuries everywhere. Quickly confirming the wounds weren’t fatal, he turned to the man behind him:

“Yū…what happened? Were you attacked?”

Kaelith tilted his head.

“Really, now—who in the Soul Society besides the Old Man is capable of carving him up right under my nose?”

“Then Byakuya…”

“I did it,” Kaelith said simply.

“…?”

Sōjun’s eyes widened, uncertain he’d heard correctly. Looking between Byakuya and Kaelith, he asked, “Was…was this training? Did you have to take it that far?”

Kaelith fixed him with a quiet gaze.

“Sō-sensei, time doesn’t wait on us. The era is reaching its end. The Wandenreich might strike any day. If Byakuya can’t handle me, he’ll be done for in a real fight with the Quincy.

Their cruelty leaves only one outcome.”

Though Kaelith didn’t specify the outcome, Sōjun understood.

He opened his mouth, finding nothing to say. But Byakuya raised a hand, cutting him off:

“Father—do not worry. To guard the Kuchiki Clan, to protect you and Mother, these wounds are nothing. And…I trust Yū. If he says this is needed, then I’ll follow it.”

Sōjun blinked in mild astonishment. Then came a swirl of emotion, complex and reflective.

Yes—once, in the Shin’ō Academy, he’d watched Yū with that same sense of devotion. But after marriage and fatherhood, he’d grown soft, so that when Kaelith pushed Byakuya, his first reflex was to question if it was necessary.

He flushed with guilt.

Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Kaelith smiling kindly.

“Relax, Sō-sensei. If that day truly comes, I’ll be on the front line. Unless I go down, no one else is seizing the chance to save the world.”

With a soft snort, Kaelith pulled his hand back and headed toward Ginrei’s room. Opening the door, he recalled something and turned back:

“I’ll go first. Don’t you come in ‘til I say so.

“No peeking!”

He flashed a warning glance at father and son before shutting the door. They exchanged confused looks.

Whose house was this, anyway?

…

“Mn…kid, you again?”

Hearing the door open, Kuchiki Ginrei turned his head.

“That ‘again’ is a bit off, like you’re tired of seeing me,” Kaelith replied, raising an eyebrow. “I, Kaelith the lovely boy, who is beloved by everyone—just think how many adorable ladies out there dream of snuggling me?”

Ginrei snorted. “I’m no lady. Or are you charismatic to men as well?”

Kaelith froze, mind flicking through the Eleventh Division’s daily scenes. After a few seconds, he shuddered and shook away certain disturbing images.

“Let’s skip that, shall we… Let’s do our usual experiment.”

He began sticking various patches and devices onto his arms and chest. Ginrei watched, perplexed.

“For days now, you’ve been trying all sorts of things on me,” Ginrei said. “I know my own body best. Healing me is pointless. Not even Captain Unohana or the Royal Guard can fix me. Why keep this up? It’s all in vain.”

Kaelith just shook his head, saying nothing. One hand pressed Ginrei’s arm while the other fiddled with the equipment. Aizen had made this device as user-friendly as possible, just a few buttons; the more complex data would be stored for analysis later.

It was already Kaelith’s fourth time doing this.

As the screen beeped repeatedly with red X’s, Ginrei thought back to the previous three visits—always the same result.

Eventually, after who-knows-how-long, when Ginrei was on the verge of dozing off, a green checkmark finally appeared.

Kaelith grinned.

“Got it.”

“Got what?” asked Ginrei, opening his eyes. He was truly curious now. His body, old and worthless, had no advantage in being revived as a living corpse. Even if they turned him into a war machine, Kaelith alone could best him many times over.

Kaelith let out a satisfied laugh.

“Rejoice, old man! For I, Kaelith, have just completed the Soul Society’s first-ever ‘Heavy-Reishi Purification Device!’”

“Heavy… reishi purification?”

Ginrei frowned. He understood about heavy reishi—once a Shinigami reached Third-Class Spiritual Authority or higher, their spirit particles changed into a dangerous form that couldn’t just cycle back into the worlds. He was painfully aware that after his death, a ceremonial funeral would consign him to Hell. He accepted it intellectually, but it still felt depressing.

Now, hearing Kaelith, he gaped:

“Wait…you mean—?”

Guessing his thoughts, Kaelith laughed in delight. frёeωebɳovel.com

“Exactly as you’re thinking! From here on, when a captain-level soul perishes, no more special funeral rites, no more Hell.

“With my device, even a captain can be purified back into ordinary reishi and rejoin the cycle!”

“!!”

Ginrei’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Kaelith had more to boast, but seeing Ginrei’s tears, he paused.

“Thank you.”

Looking at the man he’d first met as a boy, who now wore his own white haori, Ginrei spoke softly, voice heavy with sincerity:

“Kaelith-kun… Once upon a time, I offered to make you a new great noble in exchange for your care of Sōjun. You refused me. I assumed that was youthful pride, something you’d regret eventually.

“Only now do I see. A ‘great noble’s’ name may be the pinnacle of honor for us—but for you, it’s nothing at all, is it…?

He slowly sat upright.

“If Sōjun can call you his friend…that is truly a blessing.”

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