Chapter 416

2-in-1 chapter:  Part 4, finally: Extra big chapter!

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But he roughly understood that the man’s position was equivalent to that of a captain in the Gotei 13.

“Bastard, it’s Bangnyfe.”

Kaelith didn’t care, turning to those beside him with a smile: “Little Noelle, Ninny, let’s go. Show me around the Western Division properly, I really don’t know anything here.”

Ninny, half annoyed, said: “I’m not your tour guide.”

Ignored, Bangnyfe was utterly enraged and suddenly reached out to block Kaelith’s path.

“Hmm?” Kaelith tilted his head, looking at him: “Something you want?”

Bangnyfe gritted his teeth: “People from the Eastern Division… your arrogance has its limits. Looks like I need to explain the rules of the Western Division to you.”

“Heh.” Kaelith looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled without saying anything, silently taking a step back.

Bangnyfe froze. Was this him backing down?

So that’s all the Eastern Division amounted to.

As that thought ran through his mind, a smiling face suddenly appeared right in front of him.

“Shoot to kill—Shinsō!”

The sudden release phrase came before Bangnyfe could react. But instinctively sensing great danger, he immediately ducked down.

A white flash shot past his body, the sharp residual force slicing his shoulder, while Shinsō’s blade instantly pierced the Western Division’s signboard, leaving a tiny but clearly visible hole.

It all happened so fast—within a tenth of a second. When everyone snapped back to their senses, Gin Ichimaru had already withdrawn Shinsō, as if nothing had happened.

Bangnyfe turned his head and, upon seeing the tiny hole in the Western Division’s signboard, felt both fear and growing fury.

These guys—were they trying to kill me at the Western Division’s gate?

Nearby, Sullivan’s gaze narrowed, giving Gin a deep look.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that attack just now was probably a Zanpakutō ability unique to the Eastern Division, as recorded in their archives.

But the opponent’s movements were too fast—even she had only seen an afterimage.

Facing Bangnyfe’s questioning, Kaelith stepped forward cheerfully to smooth things over: “Brother Nayev, it’s all a misunderstanding—just a misunderstanding. My comrade thought you were going to spar with me, so he acted suddenly. This is a custom in the Eastern Division; it’s quite common.

You’re not hurt, right?”

Seeing Kaelith’s smiling demeanor, Bangnyfe found himself unable to vent his anger. And Gin’s earlier attack—though brief—had left him deeply uneasy, so he didn’t dare escalate further.

At this point, Sullivan stepped forward to offer both sides an out: “I see. The two divisions haven’t interacted in a thousand years; it’s inevitable that customs differ greatly. In that case, we’ve already prepared a welcoming banquet inside. Captain Kaelith, please.”

Kaelith smiled and nodded to her, pulling Noelle and Ninny along as he walked into the Western Division.

Along the way, he displayed great curiosity, asking about anything that seemed new.

Noelle acted quite dutifully, patiently answering Kaelith’s questions.

Throughout this, Bangnyfe and Sullivan remained equally patient, not rushing him.

That evening’s welcoming banquet was nothing special—just the Western Division laying out a table for drinks while both sides socialized.

The Western Division laid out a banquet table, and both sides drank while trying to build rapport.

This played perfectly into the hands of the bald-headed Eleventh Division members, who immediately dragged the Western Division officials into heavy drinking.

As they drank more, both sides started spouting nonsense, but on the surface at least, relations appeared to improve.

Ninny and Noelle, however, were extremely uncomfortable at the banquet—they had never dined with so many senior members of the Western Division and felt out of place.

Kaelith was also dissatisfied with the banquet, for a very simple reason: he didn’t eat well.

The banquet was lavish, but the food was a disaster. It was either fried potatoes or stewed potatoes, or grilled fish and steak, all horribly prepared and challenging his palate.

Around the middle of the banquet, Kaelith found an excuse to leave and signaled to Urahara Kisuke, who had also eaten only a few bites.

Urahara immediately understood and quietly followed him out.

Once outside, Kaelith said to him: “Starting tomorrow, the task of leading the delegation is yours. Remember what Sōsuke instructed you—find a way to obtain their magic system.”

Urahara squinted slightly, sensing something wrong: “And what about you, Kaelith-san?”

Kaelith smiled: “Obviously, I’m going to tour Reverse London with my two lovely guides. It’s such a rare chance… ahem, no—Sōsuke asked me to figure out a way to bring back a dragon. I have to go out and look around to have any chance.”

Urahara looked at him silently.

Kaelith raised an eyebrow: “What? You think your job is too easy? I did think it was a little trivial for the 2nd smartest researcher.”

Urahara’s expression changed immediately and he quickly said: “Rest assured, Captain Kaelith, I will not fail.”

Kaelith was very satisfied with his quick understanding, smiling and patting him on the shoulder in encouragement.

After eating and drinking, they went back to rest.

The rooms prepared by the Western Division were quite decent.

The night passed uneventfully.

The next morning at breakfast, the doors of Kaelith’s delegation quarters were thrown open as Bangnyfe and Sullivan walked in together.

“Captain Kaelith, we’ve already prepared today’s itinerary for your visit. Are you planning to start with… hm? Where is Captain Kaelith?”

Sullivan looked around at the bald heads of the Eleventh Division members and Urahara Kisuke, her eyes widening slightly as she realized Kaelith was nowhere to be seen.

Urahara smiled: “Captain Kaelith has already gone out for a walk on his own. I’m in charge of the delegation—anything you need, you can tell me.”

Sullivan silently turned and signaled to Bangnyfe.

The stylishly dressed commander of the tactical squad immediately turned to leave: “Understood. I’ll find him and keep an eye on him.”

Urahara smiled as he watched this scene and did nothing to stop them.

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Meanwhile, in Reverse London, Kaelith was endlessly curious about everything. Standing before a stall, he exclaimed in surprise: “Little Noelle, what’s this?”

Noelle glanced at the flower in his hand: “That’s a flower that blooms from a deer-dragon’s antlers. It’s an extremely rare medicinal herb that can cure most known illnesses.”

Not far away, Ninny stood with arms crossed, displeased: “Noelle, why are you explaining so clearly? Just give him a vague answer.”

Noelle replied: “Ninny, we’re being paid. We should at least provide service worthy of our guide fee, right?”

Kaelith didn’t mind at all that they were openly discussing how to brush him off—he was genuinely enjoying himself.

The style here was completely different from Seireitei, and it gave him a feeling like walking through Diagon Alley.

Ninny showed no interest, having walked through Reverse London countless times before and long since lost any sense of novelty.

But Kaelith seemed to have endless energy, dragging the two along as he kept exploring.

Along the way, Kaelith really embodied the meaning of extravagance: anything that caught his eye, he didn’t ask the price—he simply bought it all.

Following behind him, Ninny quietly muttered to Noelle: “Hey, do you think he’s some rich fool from the Eastern Division? He really looks like a spoiled second-generation heir… and so rich.”

Noelle smiled at her: “Who cares? As long as we’re making money.”

While they were enthusiastically shopping, a woman’s voice suddenly called out nearby: “Ninny?”

“Hm?” Ninny froze, turning toward the voice, and her gaze immediately hardened.

A tall woman was staring at Ninny with disbelief.

“Meixi? What are you doing here?”

The moment she recognized the woman, Ninny’s demeanor changed drastically—she was clearly flustered.

Their loud voices naturally caught Kaelith’s attention. His gaze swept over the two and he quietly stepped beside Noelle to ask: “What’s going on? Who is she?”

Noelle’s expression grew serious as she answered: “That’s Meixi. She’s part of Ninny’s idol group—they’re very close. But the problem is, as far as I know, Meixi is just an ordinary human. She shouldn’t even be here.”

“Oh?” Kaelith raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

Meixi, standing a short distance away, looked delighted as she said: “I’m so glad, Ninny! I’m so happy to see you. Aili suddenly brought me here and I was very anxious.”

“Aili?” Ninny asked gravely, with a trace of concern.

Meixi nodded and smiled: “Ah, this child.”

As she spoke, a burst of multicolored light flashed behind her, and a slender, gray-white dragon, like an ancient faerie creature, appeared.

Kaelith studied it carefully, thinking: “So this is what they call a dragon?”

The moment she saw the dragon, Ninny completely panicked, shouting: “Meixi! How can you keep a dragon? That’s a serious crime—if the council finds out, you’ll be sentenced to a hundred years in prison!”

She loudly questioned her, then took a deep breath to compose herself and extended her hand: “Meixi, before the council discovers this, hand that creature over to me. I’ll find a way to cover for you.”

Meixi was clearly flustered, shaking her head and stepping back: “No! Aili is my companion. I’ve raised her since she was little. I won’t hand her over to anyone.”

“Do you even understand how serious this is?!” Ninny gritted her teeth and growled.

“Yo, so this is where you all are—I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The sudden voice made Ninny and Noelle freeze. Kaelith turned as well, just in time to see Bangnyfe approaching.

“Tsk tsk.” Kaelith suddenly let out an amused laugh.

Bangnyfe quickly arrived and, the moment he reached them, frowned as he looked around, his gaze quickly locking onto Ninny and Meixi, sweeping between them repeatedly.

As an officer of the Western Division’s Magic Formation Unit, he was experienced—he figured out what was happening almost immediately.

“Dragon keeper? Ninny, do you know her?”

Faced with Bangnyfe’s question, Ninny bit her lip and didn’t answer.

Bangnyfe snorted: “Not answering? Fine. If you can’t do it, then step aside. I’ll personally take her into custody.”

As he spoke, a wave of magic power spread invisibly around him.

The dragon beside Meixi seemed to sense the threat and immediately turned its body, growling low at him.

The next moment, the dragon lunged at him as a blur, but Bangnyfe sneered—his magic power exploded, and with a thunderous boom, the gray-white faerie dragon was sent flying backward.

Under his magic power, the ground cracked like a spiderweb.

Watching this scene, Kaelith lightly touched his chin and thought: “So this is magic… it really is very different from the Shinigami’s Zanpakutō system.”

While he pondered, Bangnyfe had already charged toward Meixi, chanting a complicated incantation under his breath, blue magic glowing at his fingertips.

Meixi, an ordinary human, had never encountered anything like this—her face went pale with fear.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, holding a magic tool that looked like a small bugle, but inverted, resembling a firearm.

With a bang, condensed magic burst from the tool. Bangnyfe grunted, raised his hand to block, and was actually forced back three steps.

It was Ninny.

Even as she struck him back, she darted to Meixi’s side, grabbed her arm, and leapt. A small red dragon appeared nearby, and the two of them quickly took off on its back.

At the same time, Noelle summoned her own white dragon and leapt onto it: “Follow Ninny.”

Just as she took off, she suddenly felt a weight on her back—before she could turn around, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

“Ah, how could I miss out on something like this? Quick—chase them, or we’ll lose them!”

Hearing Kaelith’s voice behind her, Noelle could only sigh and pilot her dragon after Ninny.

On the ground, Bangnyfe snorted coldly: “You think you can escape?”

He waved his hand and summoned an almost fully-grown blue dragon, leaping onto it and giving chase immediately.

The two sides engaged in a fierce aerial pursuit, not shaking him off until evening.

The four landed atop an iron tower. Noelle deployed a barrier: “I’ve masked our spiritual signatures—they won’t find us for now.”

All the while, Kaelith had been carefully observing their use of magic, not getting involved in the actual incident.

Meixi and Ninny stood on the tower, the sun setting as night fell.

As neither spoke, Noelle finally broke the silence: “Ninny, what do we do now? If Bangnyfe reports this, we’ll all be wanted by the council.”

Ninny thought for a while and said: “There’s no choice—we have to get Meixi out of here. She can’t fall into the council’s hands.”

Meixi’s gaze flickered and she said quietly: “Ninny… are you going to abandon me?”

“Shut up! If you’d given me that dragon sooner, none of this would’ve happened!” Ninny snapped at her.

Just then, a strange cry echoed. In a scattering of phosphorescent lights, a gray-white dragon appeared—like a spirit.

“Aili!” Meixi immediately reacted.

The instant it appeared, it pounced, clawing down. Noelle’s barrier shattered on impact.

“That dragon?” Kaelith frowned slightly from nearby. He keenly sensed that the energy within this dragon was immense—as though it were a powder keg ready to explode—completely different from earlier that day.

As soon as the barrier broke, the gray-white dragon lunged at Meixi.

With a crash, a bolt of blue lightning struck down.

The dragon cried out and was thrown back, falling like a shooting star into the depths of Reverse London.

“Aili!” Meixi screamed, her voice full of worry.

Bangnyfe appeared nearby on his blue dragon, shouting: “Dragon keeper Meixi, guilty of a grave crime against the council: sentence—one hundred years. Ninny Spangcole, Noelle Niihashi , as subordinate agents, you aided and abetted her, same crime applies.”

He declared loudly, looking imposing under the night sky.

“Ahem, Brother Nayev, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but now doesn’t seem like the right time to throw your weight around.”

Kaelith coughed and subtly pointed into the distance.

Following his finger, everyone looked over—and froze.

In the moonlit night, multicolored phosphorescent light glowed as the image of a pure, radiant white dragon appeared, almost too beautiful to describe, like something out of a myth, gathering in the moonlight.

This dragon was too beautiful—mortal words couldn’t describe her luminous form. She perched atop a distant skyscraper like a living painting.

Meixi immediately realized and gasped: “That’s Aili! But why has she become like this?!”

Ninny stared in shock at the beautiful white dragon and murmured: “A Fairy Tale Dragon… it’s actually a Fairy Tale Dragon…”

Hearing an unfamiliar term, Kaelith immediately asked: “What’s a Fairy Tale Dragon?”

Bangnyfe’s expression grew grim: “The ancestor of the dark dragons, designated by the council as permanent targets for extermination. They’re named after fairy tales. There are seven: Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Honest Woodcutter, Mermaid Princess, Gingerbread House, Bremen Town Musicians, and Cinderella.”

“Sounds impressive. Which one is this?” Kaelith asked.

“Cinderella,” Bangnyfe said solemnly. “Her form perfectly matches the records: invisible dragon scales, six claws, transformation under moonlight… anything hidden beneath her plumage will be utterly destroyed.”

He turned to Ninny and Noelle: “Your trials are suspended. A Fairy Tale Dragon has appeared—hunting it is now the top priority. We’ll work together to kill it.”

His gaze briefly paused on Kaelith but he ultimately didn’t ask for his help.

First, it was a matter of Western Division pride—he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Second, Kaelith had shown no combat ability so far. He had acted like nothing but a carefree playboy from start to finish—there hadn’t been a hint of power from him.

Bangnyfe even suspected he was just some second-generation aristocrat sent from the Eastern Division on a gilding mission.

“Get ready. You two feint, I’ll strike!” Bangnyfe barked.

At the same time, Cinderella completed her transformation. As she spread her wings, starlike ashen dust scattered, and wherever it fell, it exploded on contact. In an instant, the entire area became a sea of fire.

“Ninny!” Noelle leapt onto her dragon and flew straight toward Cinderella.

Ninny also moved in from the other side.

The two women raised their horn-shaped magic flutes. Magic instantly surged into them, and as they blew into the flutes, clear magical ripples appeared around Cinderella, binding her like ropes.

“Good, she’s restrained.” Joy flashed in Ninny’s eyes.

But the next moment, a dragon’s roar erupted—ash-like phosphorescence gleamed—and amidst continuous detonations, the magical ropes snapped.

Explosions spread outward, engulfing the two women and their dragons in an instant. With pained groans, they crashed from the sky, badly wounded.

But the time they bought was enough for Bangnyfe to complete his preparations. His figure instantly appeared above Cinderella’s head.

Chanting strange incantations, the sky turned a deep azure as multicolored magic rained down from above, wrapping Cinderella as though she were painted into an oil painting.

Panting, Bangnyfe smiled faintly—this was his strongest attack: a forbidden spell of the council. Not even a Fairy Tale Dragon could withstand it.

Yet before his smile fully bloomed, terrifying draconic pressure erupted. At the very center of the painting, cold gleams flashed—Cinderella simply tore the painting apart.

Then he noticed countless phosphorescent lights surrounding him.

Boom!

Thunder seemed to crack the sky itself as Bangnyfe plummeted to the earth, leaving a crater.

Ninny and Noelle dragged their injured bodies to his side. He was still coughing blood, his upper body nearly covered in burns, struggling to climb from the rubble.

When he saw them, he rasped: “We failed… we can’t take down a Fairy Tale Dragon ourselves. We must return to the council—gather everyone for a joint hunt—immediately.”

Ninny’s expression was grave. She looked up at the dreamlike white dragon, trembling inside.

So beautiful. So terrifying.

This was an ancestor dragon.

Just then, a voice spoke nearby: “No need for that. It’s just a dragon—just watch.”

The three of them turned in unison—it was Kaelith. No one knew when he had come down from the iron tower.

Noelle seemed to realize what he intended and her face changed: “Don’t act rashly! That’s not something a single person can fight!”

Kaelith smiled: “Ah, little Noelle, are you worried about me? I’m so touched. But no need—I haven’t done anything these past two days, and it seems you’ve all underestimated me.”

Before they could respond, his figure suddenly disappeared.

In the next instant, like a phantom, he was in front of Cinderella. No one present saw how he moved.

One strike!

No tricks, no fancy moves—just a fist, already hammering down as soon as he clenched it.

The world rumbled. The space within several hundred miles seemed to freeze, everything slowed—except this one punch.

Boom!

The sky exploded. A bolt of lightning split the night in two. Cinderella howled but made no sound.

Her figure reeled backward. Phosphorescence scattered, and before she hit the ground, her dreamlike form completely vanished.

Below, the three stared up in shock.

It was over?

The ancestor dragon, a nightmare to the entire Western Division, had been defeated by a single punch?

Bangnyfe gasped and looked downward.

In horror, he realized that beneath that earth-shaking blow, the skyscraper where Cinderella had perched wasn’t even damaged.

To be continued

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