Gabriel's curiosity had been piqued, so after maybe kissing a snake for a bit too long—saliva interlocking and all—he decided to check on his prisoners. If they had no info, he could study their bodies.
He was interested in that Kido stuff. He hoped those Shinigami knew some Kido spells that he could use.
He had a shit ton of power already—like, a lot. Too much for him to even remember how many abilities he had.
Alongside that, he had a lot of resistance to those types of abilities, so he was fine for the most part.
He made his way to his lab.
The door creaked open, and Gabriel stepped inside.
Five Shinigami, bound and restrained, sat in the center of the dimly lit room. Their eyes widened at the sight of him. Terror. That was the only way to describe what flickered across their faces.
Sure, he looked human—dark skin, curly hair, the remnants of his Hollow mask being his horn, which seemed to resemble a crown on his head.
Speaking of which, maybe he should give his crow messenger a power to help him better. Maybe shadow clones... either that or the ability to become intangible, or teleportation.
The clone seemed more plausible, though, as he could share vision with them, and when they exploded, all the info they had would return to him.
Yes, a clone power, alongside an ability to go intangible... yes, that would be glorious.
While he was thinking that, the Shinigami were almost shitting themselves.
His mere presence was suffocating. The air felt thick, oppressive—as if existence itself refused to breathe in his presence.
Gabriel smiled. Not a kind one. Not even a mocking one. Just... a smile. He was going to have fun with them.
"Alright," he said casually, hands in his pockets. "Let's start simple. Why were you attacking humans?"
One of the Shinigami, a defiant-looking bastard, lifted his head and sneered. "I'd rather slit my own tongue than tell you anything."
Oh nice, this made it so much easier for him.
Gabriel blinked. Then sighed.
"Oh, you're one of those."
Before the man could react, Gabriel's hand was on his chest.
And then—
Agony.
The Shinigami let out a blood-curdling scream as his very soul was forcibly twisted, melted, reshaped, and burned in a process so grotesque that words failed to describe it. His essence was torn apart and crudely reconstructed over and over again in an unholy cycle of birth and destruction.
The others could only watch in horror as their comrade's body convulsed, his flesh warping like something out of a nightmare.
And then—
SPLAT.
The man's body collapsed into a disgusting, wet heap on the floor—a puddle of gore and shattered spirit particles.
Behind Gabriel, the Gates of Hell creaked open.
A massive, skeletal hand shot out, its fingers wrapping around the twitching remnants of the Shinigami's soul.
The remaining prisoners? Pale. Silent. Shaking.
This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.
For years, there had been whispers of a Hell Hollow that had escaped into the human world. They thought it was dead.
The fifth noble family, a family that had been the guardian of Hell's gates for thousands of years, had sent their best man to the scene.
Whatever had left Hell must be killed.
That thing must not be allowed to infect the balance.
Was this... him?
If only they knew—death meant nothing to him.
Before they could even process what had just happened, Gabriel casually snapped his fingers.
The corpse on the ground twitched. Then, in an unnatural, jerky motion, it stood up.
Its skin had turned pitch-black. Its eyes were empty voids.
Gabriel tilted his head. "Tell me, minion. What do you know?"
This ability was proving useful.
The newly resurrected shadow servant bowed his head.
"I was ordered by the Tsunayashiro family to hunt down those humans."
Gabriel's expression didn't change. "Why?" Wasn't that one of the five... four—the Shiba had peaced out—noble families or some shit?
The minion hesitated. "I don't know."
Gabriel's gaze darkened. "Who does?" He needed answers.
The shadow pointed at the leader of the group.
Gabriel turned his eyes toward the man, his expression void of emotion. Then, slowly, purposefully, he began walking forward.
The leader panicked. He thrashed against his restraints, eyes darting between the bloodstained floor and the monstrous being approaching him.
"I-I'll speak! I'll speak!" he shouted.
Gabriel... smiled.
He placed a single finger against the man's lips.
"Shhh."
The Shinigami's pupils shrunk to pinpricks.
Because he knew—his fate was sealed.
When Gabriel had asked them to talk and one dumbass decided to act tough, you only got one chance. Against a man who found more value in you when you were dead, not talking was not an option.
Him asking you to speak was not because he wanted the info from you. You might think killing yourself by drinking poison or biting down on your own tongue would help, but no—anything that went to Hell belonged to him.
He basically had complete dominion over souls, so when he asked them to talk, this was their one chance of getting out of there alive. Lobotomized, maybe, but alive nonetheless.
Gabriel reached out his hand and touched the man's chest.
And then—
His body twisted and broke, every bone snapping one by one as his flesh peeled apart like a grotesque flower of gore.
He didn't even have time to scream.
His soul was obliterated.
And yet—his Shinigami body remained.
Gabriel snapped his fingers once more.
And the corpse rose.
Now a servant, the former leader kneeled before Gabriel, awaiting his command.
Gabriel's voice was calm. "Tell me everything."
The shadow obeyed.
"Tokinada Tsunayashiro sent us."
Gabriel frowned. "And you were targeting... humans?"
The servant nodded. "Humans with pieces of the Soul King."
Gabriel paused.
His golden eyes narrowed.
The Soul King?
He didn't give a single damn about the Soul Reapers' politics, but now they were attacking humans? And those humans... had Hollow power?
That meant—they were under his protection. Maybe he could use this—to offer those humans protection, and if Tokinada attacked those humans, that would be a good enough reason for war.
He hoped the Shinigami weren't that dumb, but if they were... well, fuck them.
{He would use this chance to run the fade with Adyneus once more}... who the fuck was that?
And why the fuck did he say his name?
Why did that man's name get him excited, like it was the only person in the world holding him back? As if he wanted to devour that man.
As for Tokinada...
If Tokinada Tsunayashiro wanted to play a power game, then so be it.
He'd eradicate the entire bloodline.
...Except for one.
His gaze turned to one of the remaining Shinigami, a woman trembling at the edge of the group.
A slow, cruel grin stretched across his face.
She would be his informant.
A simple lobotomy, a bit of soul-warping, and she would become his perfectly obedient pet.
From now on, every order she received from the Tsunayashiro family... he would know.
And when the time was right—
He'd burn their house to the ground.
A/N....Dont mind the little slip up, it mean nothing. I say as Gabriel is basically Sora opposite and by the time this chapter out, it should have been revealed what Sora is.