Chapter 279: Murder

Heading towards the village, H'el, feeling somewhat satiated, finally had the energy to assess his condition.

This body, composed of spirit particles, felt just like flesh and blood—experiencing hunger, bleeding, and fatigue. H'el pressed a finger into his arm, feeling the changes in the blood, vessels, and fibrous layers beneath the skin.

Unfortunately, this body lacked microscopic vision or x-ray vision; otherwise, he could directly observe the molecular structure of the spirit particles forming the cells.

At present, he was slightly weaker than an ordinary person. The only special attribute he possessed was his exceptionally fine control over energy—a nearly innate talent reflected in his ability to sense and manipulate his own body with precision.

'This is the spiritual power of a Shinigami.'

As H'el walked, he extended his palm, concentrating spiritual particles into a small glowing orb.

He meticulously observed the state of his cells, entering a semi-meditative state while walking. He could feel the special energy emanating from his body, which he then gathered and controlled.

His control was so refined that he easily identified the limits of his own spiritual power and could channel it as he wished.

According to what H'el knew, Shinigami could not absorb spirit particles from the environment.

Shinigami power stems from internal practice and developing their own spiritual energy. Techniques like Zanpakutō releases, Kidō (binding and destructive spells), and healing arts all derive from internal spiritual power.

In contrast, Quincy had an exceptional ability to harness external spiritual energy.

H'el realized that his potential as a Shinigami was unremarkable in this body. He could sense that Rangiku and Gin had far superior potential, which greatly surpassed his current form.

It's no surprise that Gin would eventually become the lieutenant of the 3rd Division, and even with part of her soul extracted by Aizen, Rangiku still managed to become a lieutenant. Their Shinigami potential was indeed extraordinary.

However, they currently lacked the knowledge to harness their potential and draw out their inner power, appearing weak and childlike.

H'el released the spirit orb in his hand, dispersing it into the tiniest particles that were nearly invisible, scattering around him.

He tried to use his own spirit particles to sense and control the external spirit particles around him.

But as soon as he dispersed them, he felt his own spirit particles dissipate rapidly, soon vanishing completely and merging into the environment, making control impossible.

"I need to learn the rules and techniques to control spirit particles."

H'el mused to himself.

The Seireitei has existed in the Soul Society for over a million years, so there was no need for H'el to figure out this new spirit energy system on his own.

Learning this new energy system and then innovating to develop his own system was what he should be doing.

With this thought, H'el stopped obsessing over discovering the methods of using spirit particles by himself. He retained some spiritual energy, noting that his body's health and the restoration of his spiritual power were closely linked.

After walking for about three to four kilometers towards the village, he saw a well-trodden path leading directly to the wooden fence of the village.

The village had the look of old, impoverished Japanese housing. The wooden frames and thatched roofs were the most common form of construction. The houses were open, with raised floors and deep eaves, indicating that while the villagers were poor, they still had some wooden structures.

At this time, a scrawny man wearing an open hemp robe and with a short sword at his waist was lazily sunbathing on a grinding stone platform at the village entrance.

In his daze, he saw H'el approaching the village and snapped out of his lethargy.

After blinking several times to make sure he wasn't imagining things, he was overjoyed.

"Haha, a strange kid has come to the village. Fuke's reward has come knocking on my door."

Thinking of Fuke's reward, the man felt a surge of excitement and quickly sat up, putting on his straw-woven wooden sandals. With a long, horse-like face grinning widely, he walked toward H'el.

As he hurried towards H'el, he noticed Gin and Rangiku following behind. He immediately recognized them as the children who had escaped from the village. His grin widened, and he rushed towards H'el, aiming to subdue him first and then capture the other two, ensuring he received Fuke's full reward.

Gin and Rangiku, following closely behind H'el, stopped in their tracks when they saw the man.

They recognized him as one of the members of the gang that captured children, and both had previously escaped from the chaos, not daring to return to the village.

The horse-faced man was half a head taller than H'el. He hurriedly ran up to H'el and aimed a kick at the child's chest.

H'el calmly sidestepped, taking two steps forward to stand right in front of the horse-faced man. As the man wondered why his kick missed a mere child, H'el used his toes to kick the man's other knee.

"Ahhhh!"

The horse-faced man's knee buckled, causing him to lose control and half-kneel in front of H'el. H'el extended his left hand, formed a fist, and pointed his index and middle fingers, stabbing them toward the man's eyes.

The man's vision filled with the approaching fingertips, so close that he could see the fingerprints and smooth nails in detail. Then, the fingers plunged into his eyeballs.

H'el pulled his fingers out, extracting both eyeballs, which dangled from the man's face.

"My eyes! My eyes!"

The man screamed in agony, rolling on the ground in fear, clutching his dangling eyes, trying desperately to push them back in while wailing.

In fact, eyeballs don't have pain receptors.

His screams were mostly due to the terror of losing his vision and the tactile sensation of his eyes being punctured and pulled out of their sockets.

Rangiku and Gin, witnessing this from behind H'el, were struck with fear and shock. They had never seen an adult dealt with so swiftly and effectively.

As the horse-faced man rolled on the ground in terror, H'el spotted the short sword at his waist. He walked over, kicked the sword out of its sheath, and caught it mid-air. With a swift motion, he threw the sword, precisely lodging it into the man's throat.

The man gurgled, unable to scream, as blood poured from his mouth. Clutching the sword in his throat, he died.

Hearing the screams, villagers peeked out, saw the scene, and quickly slammed their windows and doors shut.

"You bastard! What are you screaming about?!"

Inside the village, some of the man's comrades, hearing the screams, strode out with heads held high.

°°°

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