"Qiye, you're here!!"
When Sui-Feng saw Qiye, her eyes widened in surprise. Relief washed over her face, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart.
The other Shinigami present reacted with the same emotion. Their weakened spirits suddenly burned brighter. In their current state, where the power of the Shinigami had been severely diminished, Qiye's arrival was nothing short of vital. His support could turn the tide of the battle.
Even though Qiye had no Soul-Slaying Sword of his own, his strength was overwhelming. His sheer power alone was enough to change what had been a hopeless, one-sided massacre into a fight where the Shinigami finally had a chance.
"It's him... the one who defeated Aizen Sōsuke... the one who even managed to wound His Majesty..."
The faces of the Quincy shifted instantly. They had prepared themselves for a long war with the Shinigami, devoting a thousand years to creating the Star Seal, a weapon meant to crush their age-old enemies. To them, the Shinigami had been their only concern.
But none of them had predicted this—this sudden human who appeared out of nowhere and struck down their King.
Now that Qiye stood before them again, the shock in the eyes of the Quincy was unmistakable.
Under the gaze of both friend and foe, Qiye casually patted the Black Rope Heavenly Punishment Mingwang beneath his feet. A smile tugged at his lips as he spoke, his tone light despite the chaos surrounding them.
"Dealing with those Soul-Slaying Swords is a bit troublesome... but I didn't show up too late, did I?"
"Of course not!"
Sui-Feng's smile returned, her tense shoulders finally relaxing. She exhaled deeply, as though her lungs had been frozen for too long. Her eyes briefly flickered to the icy flower that had imprisoned her.
"That... thing..."
Qiye tilted his head, as though remembering something. Then he stretched out his hand. A fan suddenly materialized in his grip—white with a crimson edge. Without hesitation, he lifted it and fanned the enormous ice flower that had bound Sui-Feng.
The air howled.
A storming wind roared into existence. But what came next defied all logic—out of the icy gale erupted searing flames. The fire didn't weaken in the cold; instead, it devoured it. The raging inferno blazed across the sky, swallowing snowflakes, melting ice, and reducing the towering icicles into nothing more than streams of vanishing vapor.
The frost imprisoning Sui-Feng's body gradually cracked, melted, and then completely disappeared.
The snowflakes that had been falling moments before dispersed like smoke, vanishing without a trace. Even the water in the very air seemed to evaporate, as though scorched out of existence.
"ABU!"
In an instant, Sui-Feng flashed across the battlefield and appeared at Qiye's side. Her sharp eyes landed on the strange fan he held, a mixture of curiosity and unease flickering across her face.
"Qiye... that fan of yours..."
Her voice trailed off, heavy with suspicion. She was afraid of what he might say next.
If Qiye told her that the fan was a Soul-Slaying Sword, it would be a nightmare. With his overwhelming strength, if a Soul-Slaying Sword created for him were to rebel, it wouldn't just endanger the Soul Society—it would put the entire world at risk.
"This?"
Qiye waved the fan casually and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. This isn't a Soul-Slaying Sword. It's a divine weapon—something I created myself."
The explanation was simple, but the meaning behind it was immense.
When Qiye had ascended beyond the Six Paths, he had gained the power to create things at will. Whether it was granting Menos Grande the ability to use ninjutsu, or crafting weapons far beyond the reach of Shinigami and Quincy alike, his abilities now surpassed natural law.
Hearing his words, Sui-Feng's expression softened. Relief swept through her, and she nodded.
"So it's a divine weapon... I see."
She was familiar with the concept. After all, the Soul Society already had examples of such things. The Sōkyoku execution platform was one of them—a divine weapon with the destructive force of a million Soul-Slaying Swords.
Not far away, another voice spoke up, this one hesitant and strained.
Watching Qiye and Sui-Feng sit calmly atop the Black Rope Heavenly Punishment Mingwang, Komamura Sajin could no longer hold back his question.
"Um... about my... Heavenly Path..."
"You mean this big guy?"
Qiye turned his head and glanced down at the massive creature beneath him. He gave it a friendly pat, as though apologizing to an old companion, then laughed.
"Ah—sorry about that. Things were pretty urgent just now, so I kind of just threw him over here."
Komamura's face twitched. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
The Black Rope Heavenly Punishment King was not just any weapon. It was the largest and heaviest Soul-Slaying Sword known in all of Seireitei, a weapon of tremendous weight and significance.
And yet Qiye had just "thrown it over," as though it were no more than a spare wooden staff.
Before Komamura could find the right words, Qiye added, his tone turning sheepish:
"Ah... and, well... there's one more thing. I may have used a bit too much force earlier and... sort of broke your sword. You don't mind, do you?"
Komamura's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. He spun his head toward the Black Rope Heavenly Punishment King in disbelief.
Sure enough, the once indomitable blade was now riddled with spiderweb-like cracks, running deep through its surface. A jagged gap marred the edge of the blade itself, proof that Qiye's casual handling had caused irreparable damage.
It looked as though the massive weapon had been crushed by nothing more than the palm of a hand.
The Shinigami standing nearby were speechless.
"...Unbelievable..."
To think that a weapon considered the most destructive after Bankai could be shattered so casually—it was a sight beyond reason.
"You truly deserve to be called... elder," one of them whispered under their breath.
The air around them seemed almost peaceful, the Shinigami relieved by Qiye's presence. But that fragile atmosphere shattered instantly.
Far in the distance, several Quincy—including members of the Sternritter—watched the scene unfold. Their faces darkened, their composure breaking into livid rage.
"That damned bastard... how dare he ignore us!"
Kielge Opie's eyes burned with fury. Unable to contain himself any longer, he launched forward, charging at Qiye without hesitation.
"I am not that worthless failure Aizen! I will avenge His Majesty with my own hands!"
The other Quincy watched his reckless move. Their expressions flickered—some with doubt, others with cold calculation—but none of them moved to stop him.
Instead, another voice rang out.
"Let us see for ourselves..."
It was Äs Nödt, his sharp gaze fixed on Qiye. His words cut through the tension like ice.
"The one who injured His Majesty... was it nothing more than luck while His Majesty's true power slept? Or do you actually possess strength worthy of respect?"
As he spoke, Äs Nödt and several other Sternritter summoned their spiritual bows. In perfect unison, they drew back their strings, gathering Reishi, and loosed a volley of arrows toward Qiye.
Sensing the sudden shift, Qiye tilted his head lazily. His eyes gleamed with amusement, not fear.
"Quincy..." His voice was calm, mocking. "Your king has already fallen to me. And yet you still dare attack me? Do you truly have a death wish?"
Kielge Opie's fury only deepened. His face twisted into something feral, veins bulging with rage.
In his left hand, he gripped a gleaming blue Quincy blade. In his right hand, he clutched the Star Seal that had stolen Bankai. Power pulsed from it, unstable and terrifying.
"Watch your tongue, human! Do not speak so casually of His Majesty in front of me!"
His voice rose to a roar.
"His Majesty is fully awake now! You will regret ever underestimating him!"
Then, in one seamless motion, he unleashed his fury.
"Holy Arrow of Destruction!"
And at the same time, the Star Seal in his right hand pulsed. Brass petals bloomed outward like a nightmare flower, forming the shape of Hirako Shinji's Bankai.
"Bankai—Sakashima Yokoshima Happōfusagari!"
Twin forces surged forth—the endless hail of blue arrows from his left hand, and the deadly, reality-warping power of Shinji's stolen Bankai from his right.
The battlefield trembled.
The faces of the surrounding Shinigami paled instantly. The sight of Shinji's Bankai invoked terror in their hearts, memories of confusion and helplessness resurfacing like scars.
"Everyone—stay calm!" Kyoraku Shunsui's voice cut through the chaos, stern and commanding. "Don't engage! Do not attack recklessly!"
His warning carried weight. He feared that if anyone else acted, they would fall prey to the same devastating effects of Shinji's Bankai.
The situation had grown far worse than expected.
No one had imagined that the Bankai stolen by the Quincy could actually be wielded by them, let alone against the Shinigami themselves. The battlefield had tilted even further into despair.
As tension coiled tighter, Sui-Feng moved to leap forward. But Qiye stopped her with a swift motion, pulling her back gently into his left arm.
"Calm yourself," he said with a grin, his right hand lifting slowly. "I'd rather not get stabbed twice today."
Then his voice rang out like a decree.
"Sage Art: Yin Release—Thunder Judgment!"
A burst of divine light erupted from Qiye's hand. Blinding arcs of lightning roared into existence, splitting the sky apart. Like the wrath of heaven itself, the storm of electricity surged forward, swallowing the rain of arrows and disintegrating them in an instant.
The impact was devastating.
Kielge's eyes widened, pupils shrinking in horror. Desperately, he brought the stolen Bankai against his chest, trying to shield himself.
"—!!!"
The explosion thundered across the battlefield.
The blast hurled Kielge backward like a ragdoll, his body rocketing through the air as if shot from a cannon. He tore through wall after wall, stone and wood collapsing in his wake, until his body finally crashed deep into the ruins of the Fourth Division.
A choking cloud of dust and rubble rose, shrouding the area.
Amid the debris, Kielge's body crumpled. He coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood that splattered across the shattered stone. His hand clutched at his chest.
When the dust cleared, the Shinigami and Quincy alike could see it clearly—the gaping hollow carved into his chest.
Blood flowed freely, trickling down his torso and staining the gravel beneath him scarlet. Through the wound, his heart was visible.
But it was incomplete. Half of it had been obliterated, and the remaining half no longer beat.
"...Impossible..."
His voice was hoarse, trembling, barely audible.
"To leave... such a wound... with one strike..."
His mind reeled in disbelief.
I am a member of the Sternritter. One of His Majesty's chosen. My strength is among the greatest of the order. His Majesty himself granted me a Schrift...
"How... could I fall... to a single move...?"
The thought echoed in his mind as his vision darkened.
His voice weakened, the disbelief still etched into his expression. His chest rose one last time... and then stilled.
Kielge Opie, Sternritter, Slayer of countless Shinigami, fell lifeless among the ruins.
Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, locked in eternal denial of the reality before him.
The Shinigami who had witnessed it all froze in silence.
They stared at his broken body, their faces pale and stricken with fear. For a moment, no one spoke, as though the world itself had been stunned into quiet.
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