Chapter 226: Situation Within the Wandenreich
Yhwach left with the Sternritter, Äs Nödt.
He moved in a hurry, as if he had only stopped long enough to toss out a few casual instructions before vanishing into the white corridors of the Wandenreich. The way his robe trailed behind him made it feel like he was going to deal with something personally.
Ichigo understood immediately.
Aizen had probably arrived to stir the pot, right on schedule.
Since Ichigo had been captured, Aizen naturally needed to display anger and reasonable action on his side. Ichigo was not worried about Aizen's acting at all. Aizen had played his role for over a hundred years without anyone seeing through him. Every step was clean, decisive, flawless.
Ichigo was worried about his own.
He had the theory. He had the knowledge. He had the plans drilled into his head until he could recite them in his sleep.
What he lacked was practice.
Now that he was walking beside Bambietta, inside the heart of the enemy's lair, his thoughts churned like a storm. He could not even keep his breathing steady.
He had infiltrated the Wandenreich.
Now what?
Should he trigger self destruction, declare the mission complete, and blow the place apart?
No.
Aizen had said Yhwach and the Quincy could still be saved in the end. Blowing them up immediately felt excessive.
Even as a clone, Ichigo's mind was his own. His logic, his morals, his instincts, they were not any different from the main body. He did not want people to die. He did not want disaster and suffering to become the price of victory.
That was why he had chosen to stand with Aizen in the first place.
If he, as a clone, simply went boom, then what was he?
Even now, Ichigo still wanted a world where people could live well.
His dream had always been simple, protect his family.
If his family could not live well, if they could not live equally, then what would he be protecting?
In the past, he had made choices. He had protected them. But those were choices made with his back against the wall. He had never had a way to deal with the rot inside Soul Society and Seireitei. Some of the people tied to that rot were his comrades. Some were even his friends.
He never had the courage to cut into that sickness.
So he had never truly been a person of Soul Society. He was its hero, yet he lived in the human world with Orihime and his friends, keeping distance from the affairs of the dead.
But now he had power, and he had knowledge that could change everything.
The question was how.
All Quincy souls were linked to Yhwach. His shadow existed in every Quincy mind. They were extensions of his power. No matter how far they cultivated, if the influence of Auswählen could not be concealed and changed, then there was no saving them.
And the worst part was simple.
If Yhwach was pushed into a corner, he would activate Auswählen.
Before that, he would check the state of every Quincy soul.
Without a major battle, there was no chance to install safety valves in the souls of an entire race.
And even if Ichigo could, would the Quincy accept his goodwill?
Some Quincy had proven they could sacrifice family for justice, but that was after Yhwach went mad and the world burned. In this current situation, why would they trust a Shinigami like him?
He was not Aizen.
He was not good with words.
What was he supposed to do, clap his hands and shout, Listen to me?
"Ouch, what are you doing?!"
A sharp pain exploded from his shin. Ichigo hissed and jerked back, glaring at the pouting Bambietta beside him.
She had suddenly kicked him, hard enough that he almost dropped to one knee.
He understood exactly why. He had been lost in thought and completely ignored her, and Aizen's information had warned him. Bambietta was arrogant, irritable, and violent, a woman who used her own body and her cruelty as stress relief.
Still, Ichigo had no intention of admitting anything.
"I didn't do anything. Why did you kick me?"
"Precisely because you didn't do anything!"
"What?"
"Did you not hear a single word I said? Sorry, I can't hear you."
"If you had a Schrift, it would be Deaf, wouldn't it? I've been talking to you this whole time."
Ichigo fell silent.
"Don't play deaf!"
Bambietta kicked him again. Ichigo hopped back with a grimace, and a satisfied smile spread across her face.
In the Wandenreich, truly normal personalities were rare. Everyone followed Yhwach to fulfill a thousand year ambition. The pure blood Sternritter held the lives of others in their hands. Under that pressure, someone like Bambietta, already extreme by nature, had been forged into a cruel, bloodthirsty thing.
She watched Ichigo wince, and then, as if bored, swept his legs out from under him.
Ichigo hit the floor hard.
Before he could sit up, she straddled him, leaning down close enough that he could feel her breath. Her smile widened, bright and unsettling.
"Haha. This weak and helpless look suits you better."
"I'm telling you, what do you want?" Ichigo snapped. "Your Majesty told you to show me around. Is this your hospitality?!"
"Guest?" Bambietta scoffed. "This is me helping you get familiar with the workplace environment early, junior. I'm your senior now, understand?"
Her eyes gleamed, almost feverish.
"And I'm annoyed right now. I want to teach a lesson to someone with no manners. You'll make me happy, won't you? Huh?"
"Annoyed?" Ichigo frowned despite himself. "What are you even annoyed about? If a girl is annoyed, could it be…"
Boom.
Under Ichigo's shocked gaze, Bambietta lifted her hand from his shoulder.
His arm did not bleed.
It turned into charred ash and scattered across the floor as if it had never been flesh at all.
Ichigo stared, speechless.
Bambietta's cheeks flushed. She bit her lip, her complexion growing even redder, like the violence had warmed her from the inside.
"See?" she whispered, trembling with satisfaction. "That relieves a lot of my annoyance."
Her smile sharpened.
"Don't you think we're a good match? Don't worry about your body. There are plenty of ways to heal it. But first you need to understand something."
She leaned closer, eyes glittering.
"I'm self centered. I like seeing people beg under me. To be honest, you and Aizen have been a headache for our cause."
Her voice softened, almost affectionate.
"Are you finally feeling powerless now, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
"…Ah." Ichigo exhaled. "I think I understand the Quincy situation a little better now."
Bambietta blinked. "Wh…"
"Actually," Ichigo continued calmly, "I really don't like using violence to solve problems, Miss Bambietta."
The ash that had been his arm rewound.
As if time itself reversed, the scattered remains drew back together. Bone, muscle, skin, all of it returned, seamless and intact, like the explosion had been nothing more than a bad joke.
Bambietta's pupils tightened.
Before she could react, black orbs moved.
They did not slash.
They did not cut.
They simply passed through her limbs with silent certainty, four clean arcs in a single breath.
It was like erasing waste from reality.
When the Truth Seeking Orbs finished, Bambietta's arms and legs were gone. The severed ends were smooth, empty, and wrong, as if her body had never been meant to have limbs in the first place.
Even Kenpachi Zaraki would not dare clash directly with a Truth Seeking Orb, not at this range.
"But with such a convenient ability," Ichigo said, sitting up, voice mild, "I can't exactly pretend I don't have it."
Bambietta screamed.
Her body fell off him, rolling across the floor, shrieking as she thrashed and tried to crawl with what she no longer had. The sound echoed through the white corridors, sharp enough to draw attention from a distance.
Within seconds, several figures arrived.
They stared at the scene, at Bambietta struggling on the ground, at Ichigo sitting calmly beside her like this was a normal afternoon.
The one in front was a cute black haired girl. She shook her head with a sigh that sounded almost pitying.
"As expected… she ended up like this again." Her tone carried weary familiarity. "I told her it would be dangerous…"
"If this is the hospitality of the Sternritter and the Wandenreich," Ichigo said, standing, "then I'm disappointed."
"I'm sorry," the girl said quickly. "Truly sorry. We're not here to gang up on you."
Her gaze flicked down.
"It's just… if you don't need that, can you give it to me?"
"Hm?" Ichigo followed her eyes. "Which one?"
"The one under your feet."
The voice came from a man who looked like a woman, smiling innocently. His expression was sweet, bright, and completely empty of camaraderie.
Giselle Gewelle.
Sternritter Z.
Zombie.
"Anyway," Giselle continued, still smiling, "she's already like this. Useless people should be a little useful."
Giselle clasped hands together, almost pleading.
"And I really don't want little Bambi to leave my side. Can you give her to me?"
"Kill me now…" Bambietta rasped, voice cracking, eyes wide with terror. "Please kill me quickly…"
Ichigo stared at her, then at Giselle, and felt a cold irritation rise behind his ribs.
When you attack others, do you really never think about what happens if the knife turns back toward you?
He snapped his fingers.
It sounded small.
But it felt like the world cracked and reset.
Bambietta blinked, then stared down.
Her limbs were intact.
Her arms. Her legs. Whole, unbroken, returned as if the last few seconds had been erased.
Giselle's smile faltered, just slightly, the disappointment flickering across the innocent mask.
Bambietta's cute face, however, was now filled with confusion, bewilderment, and a thin, creeping terror that she could not hide.