Chapter 430

2-in-1 chapter:

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The Shinigami formed squads, arranging themselves into a unified defensive formation, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Years of specialized training, the unity of spirit from top to bottom, and the added advantage of the Hollow-reishi-suffused battlefield…

All these factors combined, producing a breakthrough in their effectiveness.

More and more Quincy, after passing through the initial stage when their spirit energy had been abundant, were easily cut down by the Shinigami once they could no longer replenish their strength from the air.

Some, trying to gamble for survival, forcefully absorbed the reishi around them that contained Hollow-taint; without the Shinigami even needing to act, these Quincy collapsed on their own, coughing blood.

High above, Kyōraku Shunsui swung his broad blade, easily repelling the pink-haired female Quincy who had tried to ambush him.

Adjusting his straw hat, he looked down at the battlefield.

This battle was far easier than he had expected.

It was not that the enemy was weak—far from it.

Even in such a desperate situation, the Quincy still managed to achieve five-for-one casualties.

If conditions had been equal—or worse, if from the very start the Shinigami had never even discovered the existence of the Wandenreich—the outcome would be unthinkable.

In his heart, one thought kept surfacing.

It seemed as if this war was never meant to look like this.

The battle should have been cruel beyond imagination.

Many of the people he knew were originally meant to die in this war.

Each time those images flashed across his mind, Shunsui felt a deep helplessness.

Fortunately, no matter how real such imaginings felt, they were not reality.

Reality was that everyone was still alive and well, and victory was within reach.

Gripping both blades, his fighting spirit surged!

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Streaks of blue light shot in from the distance, merging into Yhwach’s body.

Sensing the steadily swelling power radiating from Yhwach, Kaelith felt a sudden twinge of emotion.

No wonder Sōsuke had said that with Yhwach present, the Sternritter were nothing to fear.

From the beginning of the war until now, the one who had slain the greatest number of Sternritter was Yhwach himself.

As Captain-Commander, shouldn’t he award him an MVP medal for that?

Casually shattering the spirit arrows Yhwach had fired toward him, Kaelith lifted the corner of his lips.

No problem.

Even if Yhwach absorbed all those subordinates, Kaelith could still suppress him.

Whether it was his naturally unmatched body, or the spirit forged through countless trials in simulated battles, Kaelith stood far above Yhwach.

What he had to do next was simple.

With this fist, he would utterly destroy Yhwach!

Kaelith stepped forward, his aura climbing higher with each breath.

But at that moment, he suddenly halted, as if sensing something.

A voice resounded by his ear.

No— not a voice.

A phantom will, signaling directly to him.

[Do not kill him. Let him come up.]

Come up?

Come to where?

Kaelith frowned slightly.

The next instant, his expression changed.

He realized where the voice had come from.

It was from the Soul King’s Palace!

He knew the five of the Royal Guard better than anyone.

This voice, without doubt, had not come from them.

The only kind of being able to span the vast distance between Seireitei and the Soul King’s Palace, sending its will clearly to his ear despite never having communicated with him before…

Kaelith was taken aback.

Yhwach… you certainly have some influence.

What trick had he used, to make that being intercede for him personally?

Though he did not understand the circumstances, Kaelith barely hesitated. He drove a fist toward Yhwach.

Even if the heavens or the Royal Guard themselves begged today, Yhwach would die by his hand!

Between Yhwach and Yamamoto lay a blood feud a thousand years deep.

Such hatred could never be resolved by a mere handshake.

If it had been him—crippled, forced to lie bedridden for a millennium before regaining strength—the very first thing he would do after recovering his power would be to strike back with full force.

Therefore, Yhwach must die.

*BOOM!!!*

Kaelith’s fist collided with Yhwach’s blade.

The terrifying force distorted the very space around them.

Yhwach clenched his teeth.

He had not expected Kaelith’s power to be so overwhelming.

Even after absorbing so many subordinates—including two of his Schutzstaffel—he still could not surpass him.

There was no choice.

Though losing all his men was a pity, compared to the great cause he had to fulfill—the ambition to change the world—this sacrifice was necessary.

Staggering back several steps, he spread his arms wide.

A horrifying wave of power rippled throughout all of Seireitei.

He was about to perform Auswählen, reclaiming the power of all Quincy.

With these regained powers, he could shatter the thousand-year prophecy and seize back his complete strength ahead of time!

Across the various battlefields, Sternritter locked in desperate combat with Shinigami suddenly widened their eyes.

Feeling the strange throbbing in their chests, shock filled their faces.

Auswählen…

They had not been defeated, so why were they being chosen?!

“Your Majesty!! Don’t do this!!!”

“I can still fight! I can still fight!!”

“Graaaahhhhhh!!!”

Amid the desperate shouts of the Sternritter, the battle suddenly came to a halt.

Within the First Division, Yhwach narrowed his eyes, staring at Kaelith with a trace of puzzlement.

Though Kaelith had been completely dominating, his movements suddenly grew stiff. This should have been the perfect chance to press the attack and expand his advantage, yet he stopped.

From his stance, it was clear he intended to continue fighting—but his body refused to obey, frozen in place.

Sensing something, Yhwach turned his head toward the distance.

At some point, a figure cloaked in white Quincy robes had appeared. The hood concealed their features, only a pair of faintly glowing eyes visible beneath the shadow.

It was this figure releasing a strange power that bound Kaelith in place.

“Pernida…”

Recognition flickered in Yhwach’s expression.

Pernida Parnkgjas, the Sternritter’s strongest weapon, a member of the Schutzstaffel.

As one of his elite guards, Pernida’s strength was beyond doubt. But that was only when measured against ordinary Shinigami captains.

Kaelith’s existence was on an entirely different level. How could a mere member of the Schutzstaffel restrain him?

Then realization struck. Yhwach recalled Pernida’s true form.

A thousand years ago, during his negotiations with Ichibe Hyōsube, Ichibe had offered him a remarkable gift so that he could understand the true nature of the Soul King.

That gift had been the “left hand of the Soul King.”

Upon receiving it, Yhwach finally grasped the reality of the world. He learned the Soul King was not some exalted monarch but a pitiful husk imprisoned for eternity.

He realized that if the Soul King were slain and his power seized, the Three Realms could be unified once more, freeing all life from the suffering of death, granting them eternal existence.

In such a world, pain and fear would vanish, and all beings would live with courage.

To remind himself of this conviction, Yhwach had not absorbed the Soul King’s left hand. Instead, he had given it a portion of his own power, granting it sentience.

Thus the Soul King’s left hand had become a separate being—becoming a Quincy.

The Schutzstaffel member, Pernida Parnkgjas.

Now, feeling the terrifying waves of power radiating from Pernida, Yhwach was astonished.

This strength far exceeded what he had bestowed.

It was also beyond what the Soul King’s left hand should have been capable of.

Without a doubt, the power Pernida now wielded came from the Soul King himself.

The Soul King was aiding him?

Why?

Though the reason eluded him, Yhwach did not let the chance slip.

Gripping his sword in both hands, he surged toward Kaelith, intent on driving the blade straight through him.

Clang!!!

Mid-charge, two figures descended from above, crossing their blades to form an unyielding barrier that caught Yhwach’s strike.

Yamamoto Genryūsai. Kurosaki Ichigo.

Their swords locked together, holding back his advance with overwhelming force.

“Yamamoto Genryūsai…”

Yhwach’s face darkened as he pronounced the name, each word heavy.

“Heh… the very same.”

Yamamoto bared his teeth in a menacing grin.

With a twist of his blade, flames roared to life, and he swung upward in a reverse diagonal slash at Yhwach.

Yhwach released his weapon, abandoning the blade of reishi as he leapt back.

A thousand years ago, Yamamoto Genryūsai had been the strongest beneath the realm of the Transcendent.

Though a millennium had passed and the old man still had not crossed that final threshold, the aura surrounding him was no weaker than in the past.

And the spiky-haired boy beside him—his pressure was no less.

Judging by the reishi clinging to the youth… it was likely Haschwalth had fallen to him.

For the first time in ages, Yhwach felt a prickle along his scalp.

What kind of monsters had Seireitei birthed?

He had only slept for a thousand years. How had Seireitei changed so drastically?

Suddenly, sensing something else, he turned his head in another direction.

A man in a black cloak approached calmly, Zanpakutō in hand.

Seeing Yhwach’s gaze fall upon him, Aizen smiled.

“As expected of the Quincy King. Even though I concealed my presence as best I could, I still failed to deceive you.”

“…”

Yhwach’s brows furrowed slightly.

The moment he looked at this man, a strange feeling rose within him—as though some change had begun in his very body.

While he pondered, Aizen raised a hand and removed the hood from his head.

!!

In that instant, Yhwach could not help but feel a surge of bitter frustration, as though fate itself had mocked him.

This man— The power radiating from his body actually surpassed Yamamoto’s.

“So that’s how it is... Haschwalth’s power didn’t reach me because you blocked it.”

Yhwach spoke in a low tone.

“I truly didn’t expect that, besides Kaelith, there would be another Transcendent in Seireitei.”

“Those who can’t keep up with the times often say things like that,” Aizen replied with a faint smile.

Yhwach fell silent.

There was something especially irritating about the way this seemingly mild-mannered man spoke.

Successfully diverting Yhwach’s attention, Aizen turned his gaze toward a figure not far away, one cloaked entirely in a white mantle.

Among everyone present, that figure attracted his interest even more than Yhwach himself.

There was no match for it in the Sternritter profiles Bambietta had provided.

And yet, the force currently interfering with Kaelith proved that this being's power was far from ordinary.

Aizen raised his right hand and opened it mid-air.

The Right Hand of the Soul King—

Stillness.

Under the activation of his immense spiritual pressure, black patterns surfaced along his arm.

The power of the Soul King's right hand surged out toward Pernida.

Sensing the force coming from Aizen’s arm, Yhwach’s expression shifted slightly.

The right hand of the Soul King.

A thousand years ago, he had taken the left hand from Ichibē Hyōsube—and had searched ever since for the right.

He never imagined he would see it appear here.

Now certain that Aizen possessed the right hand of the Soul King, a heavy feeling sank into Yhwach’s chest.

It had taken all the power of the left hand to suppress Kaelith—and if that suppression was now being disrupted by an equivalent force, Kaelith might break free.

But what shocked him even more was what happened next.

Just as Aizen’s power enveloped the left hand of the Soul King, a terrifying surge erupted from the latter’s body.

The power of the right hand was shattered effortlessly—dispersed into the air.

The shockwave was so powerful that it shredded the white cloak wrapped around Pernida, revealing its true form.

What lay beneath the cloak was not human.

It was a pale, massive hand. Black chains hung from its fingertips, and in its palm was a large eye—with two golden pupils staring outward.