Episode Fifteen: Black Flames

Di Chun’s words were laced with unrestrained arrogance and pride, but he had the strength to back them up. Possessing the spiritual pressure of a captain and formidable close-combat skills, all of this ensured that Di Chun would become a leading figure in the next generation of the Court of Pure Souls.

But right now, Nagajiro was not concerned with that.

Spiritual pressure… Has it increased?

Fully alert after his lightning was swallowed, Nagajiro keenly sensed that Di Chun’s spiritual pressure was actually showing signs of growing stronger.

No, that’s not it…

He narrowed his eyes slightly, overturning his earlier thought. A Soul Reaper’s spiritual pressure doesn’t suddenly surge past its limit, unless he’s been hiding his true strength all along. But given Di Chun’s personality, he’d never do that. Which means…

Has he recovered the spiritual pressure he used up?

“You seem to have noticed something,” Di Chun interrupted Nagajiro’s silent analysis.

“The ability of Chaos Flame is to decompose anything fueled by spiritual energy and absorb it to replenish my own spiritual pressure,” he said, stroking the flames dancing ceaselessly on his body—flames devoid of any heat. With an offhand flick, he brushed the fire from his fingers, his smile growing ever more sinister.

“Your ability is completely suppressed by me.”

“Be a good boy and die for me!”

Gripping his sword in both hands, Di Chun pounced at Nagajiro with a flourish.

“Tch…”

Nagajiro gritted his teeth. The tip of his rapier crackled, emitting a jagged arc of lightning. With a deft flick of the sword’s flexible blade, he sent a bolt of lightning slashing horizontally at Di Chun.

With a loud crack, Di Chun, utterly dismissive of Nagajiro’s attack, swept his blade and shattered the lightning into fragments.

The broken currents drifted through the air, some landing on Di Chun’s body. The feeble electric tingles barely registered with him. He cared for nothing but tearing Nagajiro—the man all Soul Reapers were now talking about—into pieces, to prove his own might.

Undaunted, Nagajiro tightened his grip on his rapier and charged straight at Di Chun.

“Die!”

Confident in his own strength, Di Chun raised his blade to cut Nagajiro down. Yet suddenly, a wave of paralysis swept over his body, freezing him in his tracks.

With a hiss, the rapier—wreathed in lightning—left a long, deep gash along Di Chun’s ribs.

“Lightning is good for more than just hurting you,” Nagajiro said, turning as he raised his sword, striking an odd, duelist’s pose.

“It’s over!”

“Don’t underestimate me!” Di Chun roared.

His aura flared to the fullest, and the paralysis vanished in an instant. Relying on his powerful physique, he turned and blocked Nagajiro’s attack with his blade.

Black flames crept from Di Chun’s sword onto Yanlingmaru, greedily devouring its lightning.

“Damn it!” Nagajiro was forced to increase Yanlingmaru’s power, and with a jolt of lightning, he shook the black fire from his blade.

But the moment the flames made contact, they had already begun to siphon his spiritual energy. And in the time it took for Nagajiro to disperse the fire, Di Chun’s depleted spiritual pressure was restored once more.

“So it all starts over again… What a detestable ability.”

He had barely managed to restrain Di Chun, and now he found the man’s battle prowess was even greater than he’d imagined—not only overcoming the paralysis with brute force, but using the sword’s flames to instantly recover his spent spiritual pressure.

“How disappointing. Is this all the strength you can show?” Di Chun sneered, his disdainful expression quickly replaced by a look of manic excitement.

“No matter. I’m not here to fight the you that stands before me now, anyway.”

“…What do you mean?”

A chill of foreboding crept into Nagajiro’s heart, and he frowned.

“I know perfectly well—you once fought Shigekuni Yamamoto with power many times greater than you have now.”

“That’s the strength I want to challenge.”

With a flourish, Di Chun swept his flame-wreathed sword behind him, his bloodthirsty grin growing even more savage and intense.

“Come on! Show me your true power and let’s have a real fight!”

So that’s it.

Nagajiro let out a helpless, bitter laugh.

How unlucky.

He’d thought only he and Yamamoto knew about the battle with his other personality, yet apparently that wasn’t the case. Although he had no idea how Di Chun had learned of it, the man didn’t seem the type to gossip, so there was no need to worry about the matter spreading.

But Nagajiro was troubled by something else.

His other self had been sealed away by Yamamoto. Whether he had the power to break that seal was irrelevant—he had no intention of doing so.

Nagajiro had no confidence he could control the power of his other self.

“I’m sorry, Di Chun…” Nagajiro’s voice was unusually low.

“I can’t agree to that.”

“Huh? Why not? Using that power won’t kill you, will it?” Di Chun whined, clearly dissatisfied.

He’d noticed Nagajiro’s change in demeanor, but his mind was so fixed on fighting that overwhelming power that he didn’t bother to think it through.

“I’m sorry, but if I really used that power…”

Nagajiro’s expression darkened, a chill of killing intent flickering across his face.

“I might actually be killed.”

Killed by Lord Yamamoto’s own hand…

He had no intention of becoming Yamamoto’s enemy, just as in the original tale—Nagajiro had always served loyally at his side, and that was his pursuit in this life as well.

He didn’t seek fame or glory. To live as himself was enough.

“I see. Then it’s truly unfortunate for you…”

Di Chun, realizing Nagajiro really wouldn’t unleash that overwhelming power, gave up on his insistence. But that didn’t mean he was ready to stop fighting.

“If you won’t use that strength…”

He swung his sword, trailing black flames through the air, his killing intent sharp as ice.

“Then I’ll be the one to kill you.”

Nagajiro had foreseen this outcome and wasn’t surprised. He raised Yanlingmaru, every sense alert to Di Chun’s slightest move.

“You know full well the gap between our strength. If you’re not going to use your true power…”

Spiritual pressure exploded from Di Chun, thick with resentment and a chilling aura, like a beast fixing its prey with cold, merciless eyes.

“Then you’ll die with that power sealed away.”