Chapter 777: Drifting Destiny
Beneath a pitch-black night sky, a complex of pure white buildings sat upon a barren land. This land was dead and hollow, with no undulations and no decorations.
This was the headquarters space of the [Throne of Illusion and Reality]. In terms of scale, this super-assembly that spanned all four districts of the Infinite Dimensional Space far exceeded any other.
Even [Azure Sky] and [Destiny] could not compare to the Throne of Illusion and Reality in terms of numbers and faction size.
The woman with golden hair cascading down her back was still wearing her white knit sweater. Her figure was voluptuous, her face stunningly beautiful.
She nonchalantly observed the two rows of Reincarnators lined up all the way out of the grand hall. These were likely the highest-ranking Numbered within the Throne of Illusion and Reality.
To use Sosuke Aizen's naming conventions, they were probably akin to the [Espada]. Of course, this group's enhancements weren't necessarily limited to Hollows and Arrancar; they might also be mixed with Shinigami, Quincy, and enhancements from other worlds within the Infinite Dimensional Space.
Sosuke Aizen was extremely arrogant and placed no restrictions on the power types of his subordinates.
She looked at Sosuke Aizen sitting on the tall throne made of white jade at the very front. This seat floated in the air, likely the so-called [Throne in the Sky].
"You seem completely unbothered that the guy you chose is about to die?"
The [King of Destiny]'s voice was melodious, every syllable perfectly striking the most comfortable corner of the listener's eardrums.
[Kurushi], standing second on the right, tilted her head, even leaning out of the formation to carefully scrutinize this rumored [Supreme Three King], who was also the most mysterious of the three.
She frowned. She only felt that the avatar of this most mysterious king was rather casual, looking very much like a cosplay of a certain Type-Moon character.
"Be polite, Kurushi. Provoking Him will bring disaster."
The person at the very front on the right side of Aizen's Throne in the Sky had short blonde hair and a hollow hole between his eyebrows, clearly a Reincarnator of the Arrancar enhancement system. The black number [No.1] on the back of his hand wasn't particularly conspicuous, but even the King of Destiny cast a high glance his way.
She smiled and nodded, then pointed a finger in the air at the twin-tailed [No.3], Kurushi.
"Little girl, you should listen to what No. 1 says. Although you think highly of yourself, there is still some distance between you and us~"
Although the woman only said "some distance," her tone clearly conveyed that she didn't take Kurushi seriously at all.
Hearing this, Kurushi was taken aback, then burst into laughter.
"King against King, general against general. What is there to compare between you and me?"
The corners of Sosuke Aizen's mouth curled up on the Throne in the Sky. He appreciated this child, Kurushi. Despite her fearless appearance, she possessed a different kind of rationality at her core.
Unlike a young Shinigami he used to know, who, despite his immense talent, couldn't handle provocation and would draw his sword and charge over in a panic at the slightest stimulus.
"I don't remember you being the type to worry about others. What, did you get lost in the turbulent currents of destiny and become a stranger to yourself?"
Sosuke Aizen spoke up, interrupting the King of Destiny's pressure on Kurushi.
His words contained a lot of hidden information.
The King of Destiny looked up, meeting Aizen's gaze. For a moment, He couldn't tell whether Aizen had discovered His meddling or not.
But this thought was discarded by Him in an instant.
When dealing with a guy like Aizen, once a doubt arises, it must be considered as an established fact.
Otherwise, plans made without enough lead time would always be seen through by Aizen and turned against Him.
The woman's high chest jiggled with her laughter. Her figure gradually shifted, shedding the appearance that was easier to deal with most people, and turned into a withered old man.
His voice also became hoarse accordingly.
"Hehe, this old man took the liberty of applying a little trick to the King of Souls' creation. I'm truly sorry."
"But I imagine the King of Souls probably doesn't care much about that little gift of destiny. After all, you specifically stole a bit of miracle from Sousuke to allow that guy to be born successfully."
"In doing so, the guy you chose has become the most unique among all the candidates. Heh~"
When an old man compliments someone in a humble, respectful tone, most people will slightly relax their guard. Of course, Sosuke Aizen was not among them.
However, Aizen looked up, indeed not making an issue of the trick the other party had played on his creation.
Destiny is a profound and mysterious thing. Even experts highly skilled in this path, who ponder destiny all day long, will still encounter immeasurable changes.
Just like how a lifeform that fundamentally shouldn't have been able to be born miraculously came into existence. Was it because of that sliver of miracle he stole from the King of Miracles?
Just like a guy who, after being subjected to that kind of destiny, was supposed to become Fatalism and ultimately be killed in the B711 world, yet transcended destiny through an impossibly ordinary Marine from the One Piece world.
Aizen looked down condescendingly at the guy calling Himself the King of Destiny. This old man was harder to deal with and harder to see through than Sousuke, always hiding behind the scenes and secretly interfering with various matters.
But so what? Compared to him, this guy was still far inferior.
No, the difference was like heaven and earth!
The arrogance in Sosuke Aizen's eyes was incredibly obvious in this moment.
It wasn't just the King of Destiny who noticed this change; the top few Numbered sharply perceived it as well.
The Numbered had different thoughts, and their expressions varied.
Some felt honored, some were deep in thought, and some showed concerned expressions.
Aizen watched the old man's face change again and spoke once more.
"I indeed don't mind that bit of destiny interference you applied to him, but that doesn't mean I feel nothing about the cheating methods you want to use to place multiple bets."
Hum~
Above Las Noches, heaven and earth shifted. Spiritual pressure surged as if shaking the three realms. A terrifying, oppressive feeling instantly descended overwhelmingly.
Kurushi and the others all changed expressions, unconsciously clutching their chests.
At this moment, the gap between them and the Supreme Three Kings became clearly apparent. Besides the blonde-haired man, No.1, who remained unmoved, everyone else's posture shifted to varying degrees.
The King of Destiny merely stood in place, completely unaffected by the ability of spiritual pressure.
His body rejuvenated, quickly turning into the image of a youth with red lips and white teeth.
The young King of Destiny's eyes were calm; He paid no mind to Aizen's threat.
"Now that Sousuke is out of the game, it's just the two of us playing. Aizen, you're not the rigid type either, are you~"
"Let us each use our means and try all sorts of variations to our hearts' content before the end arrives!"
"You could also bet on both [Yoko] and [Mercenary Tao]."
The smile on Aizen's lips grew increasingly disdainful. This stingy guy cherished his own things too much. He hadn't searched for a sufficiently satisfying Reincarnator like Sousuke did...
Nor was he willing to go through the trouble of fabricating a satisfying creation like Aizen himself did.
Ultimately, He just did as He was doing now, recklessly stealing other people's works.
Just as He had always done, [Stealing] fruits that didn't belong to Him.
The King of Destiny didn't care at all about Aizen's disdain, continuing to speak.
"There's still time. I think you should cooperate with me a little. Before Mercenary Tao completely dies, we can transfer his destiny and special traits to another [Mercenary Tao]."
The King of Destiny tapped the empty air. Sosuke Aizen looked up. The next moment, another Kaito Shirogane—slightly leaner but more elongated in build—appeared within Las Noches.
Appearing alongside him was Shigure, who had previously declared her intent to defect to Kaito Shirogane.
Aizen looked at the newcomer, who was almost identical to Kaito Shirogane. It was clearly a clone created using high-dimensional alien technology.
"Heh, hehe... Hahahaha!"
Aizen's soft chuckle grew more and more pronounced, eventually turning into a rare burst of hearty laughter. His Soul Pulse was incredibly obvious at this moment.
"Do you actually think a guy like this can replace the masterpiece I created?"
BOOM!
A pitch-black spatial rift appeared from the front of Izayoi Sakamaki's fist all the way to the horizon.
The destructive power of this punch had already exceeded the tolerance limit of this world's real space.
Izayoi Sakamaki's eyes were incredibly focused. The movements of the three-headed evil dragon became clearer and clearer in his eyes. In the previous engagements, he had been completely at a disadvantage.
But at this moment, he was gradually becoming able to fight back.
The gap in technique between the two sides was rapidly being leveled.
Kaito Shirogane and Azi Dahaka clearly noticed this as well.
But for a truly gifted individual in this infinite multiverse, the world was just that unfair.
Technique has a ceiling, a bottleneck, but talent has no upper limit.
Some people are born with the ability to destroy the world. The ultimate realm that a mortal might spend their entire life struggling to reach can be mastered by another with just a single glance.
The peak of technique, the ultimate realm of martial arts... delving into such things holds no meaning in front of true "Gary Stus" with unbelievably massive "Vessels."
The other party could rapidly acquire everything just through combat.
In his previous combat experiences, Kaito Shirogane had mostly been the type to crush others with his talent.
Niko Style techniques, Breathing Styles, the Transparent World... he could master them almost at a glance, and various martial arts techniques clicked for him instantly during battle.
But at this moment, facing Izayoi Sakamaki, a true "Gary Stu," even he felt a bit unaccustomed.
His martial arts techniques were rapidly matched by the opponent. Even though he still held the upper hand in power, the [Third Perpetual Motion Machine] within the opponent, along with those special particles, practically allowed Izayoi Sakamaki to enhance himself infinitely as well.
Both sides were infinitely pushing the limits of power within the domain of [4-Digit], a domain that could not yet approach true omniscience and omnipotence.
The phantom appeared behind Kaito Shirogane. His powers collapsed one by one, and a terrifying will was instantly executed.
[Invincible], [Strong], [Sure-Kill]!
Three concepts lit up clearly.
Izayoi Sakamaki felt a chill rise from his tailbone at this moment. He seemed to see a terrifying powerhouse from another world throwing a punch from behind the three-headed evil dragon.
The black and white twin swords, [Irreconcilable Enemy], completely merged into Kaito Shirogane's fist at this moment, transforming into pure energy.
The Principle of Comparison burned fiercely. The speed of his power increase always maintained a level slightly higher than the opponent's Third Perpetual Motion Machine.
And the brilliance of the mimicked [Truth Unknown] also turned into pure light and heat, condensing on Kaito Shirogane's fist.
Ignited by the fighting spirit, Azi Dahaka exceptionally stopped thinking about the opposing cycles of good and evil.
Even with only a fraction of His ego, He still poured his heart and soul into throwing this punch.
[Sure-Kill: Serious Punch]!
Standing on the mirror-calm ocean, Kaito Shirogane violently threw this punch upwards.
The face of the Saitama phantom behind him grew increasingly blurry; not much of Saitama's appearance could be discerned anymore. Instead, the marks belonging to Kaito Shirogane became increasingly distinct.
Outside the Gift Game, Shiroyasha folded the fan in her hand for the umpteenth time. This silver-haired Demon Lord of the Geocentric Theory also became exceptionally serious at this moment.
Although Azi Dahaka had only been slightly unsealed by that woman using the crudest method, she hadn't expected His power to climb to such a level after merging with this guy called [Mercenary Tao].
Right now, the combat power of these two was highly likely already among the best of the 4-Digits in Little Garden. Perhaps they even had a chance to compete for the title of the strongest.
The heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power was confined to that fabricated world. The edges of the parchment burned faster and faster.
No matter how outstanding the material, there is a limit to the power it can bear.
Or rather, being able to achieve this much was already a testament to the immense power of the Halloween Queen, an Astral Spirit governing [Boundaries].
She had effectively used a special piece of parchment to fabricate a world, and then allowed several 4-Digits—two of whom were the absolute cream of the crop among 4-Digits—to slaughter each other madly within it.
The Halloween Queen stared unblinking at the parchment, no longer even paying attention to the woman who had "deceived" her and orchestrated this series of events.
She was considering whether to stop this trial of destiny.
Whether it was the guy Shiroyasha chose, or the guys she had inadvertently dragged into this world, they were all truly outstanding.
Even if placed within human history, they would probably belong to the category of figures who could leave behind legends in a certain era.
Wouldn't it be too much of a pity for guys like this to die inside a piece of parchment?
The Halloween Queen had a habit and hobby of summoning heroes from various worlds.
Pfft!
A clear fist imprint appeared on the parchment. The next moment, a devastating kinetic force pierced right through it.
The earth in Underwood trembled once, leaving behind a terrifying, fist-shaped crater.
At the edge of the crater, the Queen and Shiroyasha remained motionless. Ye Zi stood frozen in place.
"Urgh~ Ah!"
Izayoi Sakamaki roared. Ignoring his completely limp right arm, he raised his left hand, clenched it into a fist, and struck the body of the three-headed evil dragon with an almost identical posture.
Pfft!
The kinetic force pierced through the body. Even the Body of Stars was pierced by this strike.
Kaito Shirogane and Azi Dahaka grunted simultaneously. But immediately after, Kaito Shirogane laughed madly. Raising both fists, he rained countless punch shadows down on Izayoi Sakamaki.
"Child of the World, huh? Let's see who survives till the end!"
Bang bang bang bang...