Chapter 400: Yhwach!
"Guh..."
Blood trickled from Giselle's mouth, though it didn't seem to have much effect.
His Schrift, Z, stood for "Zombie."
From the moment he obtained his Schrift, his body had been transformed into an immortal zombie.
Not to mention mere Hollow poison, even slashing his own carotid artery as he had done earlier was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
With a nearly immortal body and various regenerative abilities, he could be considered the strongest support within the Sternritter.
Against a normal opponent, he could simply wear them down to death through attrition.
But... Seinosuke Yamada was different.
The moment Giselle's movements were interrupted by the Hollow poison, he swiftly flung several spiritual threads, piercing various parts of Giselle's body.
The positions he chose were all the "acupoints" of the human body!
Although a zombie, Giselle's body still retained the basic functions of a human.
As the spiritual threads pierced the acupoints, he felt his entire body go numb.
"Such petty tricks..."
He frowned, a spiritual blade appearing in his hand as he prepared to sever Seinosuke Yamada's threads.
But just as he made his move, Seinosuke Yamada pulled sharply with his other hand.
Creak!!
Giselle's limbs suddenly twisted backward behind him, and with his feet no longer supporting him, he landed face-first with a thud.
He was shocked to discover that his own limbs had also been entangled by spiritual threads at some point!
Looking at Seinosuke Yamada's mocking smile, he showed an expression of anger.
"You thread-playing bastard, you've really pissed me off!"
Swish!!
From behind Giselle, two long wings unfurled.
The wings were composed of glowing bones, shaped like bat wings without membranes, emitting an eerie spiritual light as they gently flapped.
With the emergence of the wings, several purple, cartoonish-looking skulls suddenly materialized from the air.
"Huff... So this is how exhausting it is to activate Vollständig completely on my own without borrowing surrounding Reishi."
He licked his lips.
"No choice, I have to end this quickly!"
"Go! Dancing Death Boy Club!!"
With a wave of Giselle's hand, the four purple skulls charged toward Seinosuke Yamada together!
Seinosuke Yamada leaped into the air, dodging the first skull's attack.
Then, he opened his left hand, pulling out a row of spiritual threads to form a shield, blocking the second attack.
At the same time, a golden light flashed in his right hand—
"Kidō #63, Raikōhō!"
Boom!!!
A golden light streaked across the sky, shattering one of the purple skulls into pieces!
After destroying one skull, Seinosuke shook his head:
"Your move names are really disgusting."
The cross-dressing cockroach-haired man flushed with anger:
"They're not disgusting at all!!"
"Kill him! Dancing Death Boy Club!!"
"No, no, they sound pretty disgusting no matter how you hear it."
Yamada laughed.
While speaking, he swung his spiritual threads, blocking the attacks of the two remaining skulls.
Although his talent in combat was far inferior to his medical skills, as one of the Shin'ō Academy four, he had been thoroughly trained by Satoru over the years and possessed basic combat instincts.
He might not be able to defeat a combat-oriented Quincy, but against a summoner like Giselle, he could still put up a fight!
After fending off the two skulls attacking him, he opened his left hand, preparing to strike again with his spiritual threads.
But suddenly, his pupils contracted.
Seinosuke sharply turned his head to look behind him.
There, he saw that the skull he had destroyed earlier had somehow revived!
The resurrected skull had silently crept up behind him.
A bony claw was now only half a meter away from his back!
Damn it!
Seinosuke's face paled.
Just then, a figure suddenly flickered into existence beside him.
A man with delicate features, his gaze deadly serious, swung down his Zanpakutō!
Crack!!
The skull attacking Seinosuke Yamada was cleaved through the skull by this strike and collapsed.
Seeing the appearance of the newcomer, Seinosuke couldn't help but smile:
"Kuchiki's young master?"
"Are you alright, Seinosuke?"
"Ahem, don't worry. Even if you hadn't come, I still had a trump card up my sleeve."
Seinosuke coughed once, stubbornly insisting.
However, Sōjun Kuchiki showed a relieved smile.
"I see, then I'm at ease."
"..."
Seinosuke felt somewhat conflicted.
But before he could think further, Sōjun Kuchiki already raised his voice:
"The enemy hasn't fallen yet, Seinosuke!"
"Let's fight side by side!"
Hearing this, Seinosuke Yamada lifted the corner of his mouth.
He reached out and drew his Zanpakutō.
"Alright."
"It's time to let these Quincy witness... the swordsmanship I learned from my captain!"
Facing the somewhat flustered Giselle, the two charged forward simultaneously!
...
...
Above the streets of the Seireitei, Byakuya's figure flickered rapidly as he advanced.
Because his father was visiting friends in the Fourth Division today, when the Quincy invaded, he was handling clan affairs at the Kuchiki estate and not at his division.
Hearing the alarm sound, he immediately headed toward his division's headquarters without hesitation.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Not far away, a figure slowly emerged from around the corner.
"Hehe... as expected of a captain, to actually sense my presence."
The one who appeared was a strange man with long black hair, wearing a mask and having no eyebrows.
His eyes were large but lacked any shine, looking like some sort of cyborg.
Gazing at the young, handsome Byakuya wearing his Captain's Haori, he let out an eerie low chuckle, about to say something.
But before he could speak, pink petals suddenly shot toward him!
"Hmm..."
The long-haired man showed displeasure.
Byakuya, holding the hilt of Senbonzakura, spoke calmly:
"Spare the pleasantries. I have no time to waste on you."
"Hehe... how bold."
The long-haired Quincy flashed, stepping with Hirenkyaku, appearing on a rooftop not far away.
"However, fine. Since you're in such a hurry to die, I shall grant your wish."
"Listen well, Shinigami. My name is Äs Nödt."
"Schrift, F!"
After introducing himself, he spread his arms.
Over a dozen blue light cones formed from condensed Reiatsu manifested around him.
Byakuya withdrew Senbonzakura's petals, reforming them into his Zanpakutō, and calmly observed the light cones.
He had ample experience dealing with long-range attacks.
The reason was simple... for anyone, regularly sparring with Ichimaru Gin would greatly enhance their dynamic tracking ability.
Out of noble etiquette, he said calmly:
"Kuchiki Byakuya, Captain of the Ninth Division."
"Captain of the Ninth Division, I'll remember that."
Äs Nödt nodded.
As his first achievement upon arriving in the Soul Society, this guy was qualified!
With a fierce wave of his hand, all the dozen or so light cones around him shot toward Byakuya!
Byakuya's figure flashed.
He seemed to transform into a swift axe, instantly tracing a complex, zigzagging trajectory, easily dodging all the light cones while directly closing the distance to Äs Nödt, swinging his blade down!
"?!"
Äs Nödt slightly widened his eyes.
This man's speed was too fast!
This Flash Step was almost comparable to Robert's "God Step"!
Instinctively, he prepared to retreat and create distance.
But in Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes, this method of response was no different from a child's.
During their usual sparring sessions, Ichimaru Gin's strategies for dealing with close-quarters combat were far more advanced than this.
As he swung his sword, he had already anticipated the possibility of his opponent retreating.
The moment Äs Nödt stepped back, he simultaneously closed the distance between them with a Flash Step.
Sssshhhh!!!
Under Äs Nödt's shocked and furious gaze, Byakuya's Zanpakutō slashed directly across his body.
The white Quincy uniform was torn open by a long gash.
However, the flesh beneath suffered little damage.
At the critical moment, Äs Nödt activated his Blut Vene, blocking the slash—only his skin was cut.
Watching Kuchiki Byakuya swing his sword again, a flicker of coldness passed through Äs Nödt's eyes.
Don't get too arrogant, you mere Shinigami!
He raised an arm, blocking Byakuya's strike.
At the same time, a blue light cone materialized between him and Byakuya, firing at point-blank range!
Yet, even an attack from such close quarters was dodged by Byakuya as if he had foreseen it.
Äs Nödt couldn't help but stomp his feet in anger.
"Damn it... do you only know how to run?!"
Hearing this, Kuchiki Byakuya felt an urge to laugh.
Had these Quincy, after so many years in the Wandenreich, never actually fought anyone?
Such childish words could actually be spoken.
In a way, that was quite a skill in itself.
Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the entire Seireitei:
"Everyone in the Seireitei!"
"This seat... ahem, I am the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Satoru Mikami!"
"The Quincy have arrived. All non-combat personnel, follow the previous drill procedures and head to the nearest shelters immediately!"
"As for the combat personnel..."
"The day to test your training results has come!"
"Show me what you can do, let me see just how far you've come!"
Hearing this voice, Äs Nödt instinctively shuddered.
Satoru Mikami...
Over a hundred years ago, it was this guy, along with Yamamoto Shigekuni, who nearly charged straight into the Wandenreich.
Although they were ultimately blocked by Haschwalth, the two of them still easily killed two Sternritter.
Just recalling the events of that day sent a chill down his spine.
That guy swinging a long chain, fishing for Sternritter like they were fish... he was practically a demon!
As for Kuchiki Byakuya, upon hearing the voice, he curled the corner of his mouth.
"Sorry, Quincy."
"Since the Captain-Commander has spoken, I can no longer afford to drag this out..."
As he spoke, he opened his hand, and his Zanpakutō fell to the ground.
Countless massive blades materialized around him.
"Bankai."
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
A vast number of pink petals transformed into a sky-blanketing rain of flowers, roaring as they surged toward Äs Nödt!
Seeing this, Äs Nödt's eyes lit up.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a Quincy Zeichen, channeling his spiritual power into it.
A terrifying suction force instantly shattered Byakuya's Bankai, converting it into energy and drawing it into the Zeichen!
As he did this, Sōya Azashiro—his true body still in the Technology Department, wearing a Hollow mask—controlled his clone, mixing Reishi into the attack.
Äs Nödt, who had just absorbed Byakuya's Bankai and hadn't even had time to smile, suddenly widened his eyes, bloodshot veins appearing within them.
This Bankai... it's poisoned!
Inhaling the Hollow's Reishi plunged him into immense agony.
But perhaps the pressure from Byakuya's presence was too overwhelming, because at this critical moment, he made the right choice.
Although he didn't understand why he couldn't absorb Kuchiki Byakuya's Bankai and had even been injured, his opponent must surely be in shock as well.
Anyone whose Bankai suddenly vanished right after using it would undoubtedly be stunned for a moment.
Even after regaining composure and wanting to fight, a Shinigami who had lost their Zanpakutō wouldn't have much to offer in a short time.
Mere Kidō could be handled with his Blut...
...Huh?
Under Äs Nödt's stunned gaze, Byakuya—who had temporarily lost his Zanpakutō's power—had somehow appeared right in front of him.
Despite having his Bankai stolen, this guy showed no panic; his expression remained as aloof and calm as at the start.
The handsome, cold-faced man swung his fist fiercely at Äs Nödt—
Ikotsu!!!
With a bang, half of Äs Nödt's face exploded into a mist of blood!
Looking at Äs Nödt, who had only half his face left, filled with pain and disbelief, Byakuya calmly said:
"If it were an ordinary Shinigami, losing their Zanpakutō's abilities would indeed cause a brief moment of panic."
"But... Shinigami from the Mikami Group don't have such issues."
"Satoru once said, when all the powers you can rely on fail, the body becomes the final weapon!"
Hearing Kuchiki Byakuya's words, Äs Nödt's vision went dark.
Shinigami... truly a damned bunch of savages!!
...
...
In the First Division courtyard, Satoru had set up a tea table.
Rangiku stood beside him, bending over to pour tea.
"Satoru, try it and see if my skills have improved?"
Following the technique she had learned from Sasakibe, Rangiku brewed the tea and spoke with anticipation.
Satoru picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Not bad. Even compared to Ryūjin Jakka's skills, it wasn't far off.
This girl Rangiku, though usually a bit unreliable, could really do a decent job when she put her mind to it.
Just as he was about to offer some comments, he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the distance.
Whoosh!!
A figure flashed into the courtyard.
Long black hair, a black beard, tattered black robes, and a white Quincy uniform.
Exactly the same person he had seen in the illusion when he became a Transcendent.
Seeing this person, Rangiku's pupils contracted.
Based on Bambietta's descriptions, the Seireitei had created image sketches of many key figures from the Wandenreich.
The man before them was undoubtedly the strongest among them.
The Quincy King, Yhwach!
Looking at the two before him, Yhwach raised the corner of his mouth:
"Long time no see, Satoru."
Hearing this, Satoru narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
Then he spoke:
"Who are you?"
"Huh?"
Rangiku was stunned.
How could the Captain not even recognize the enemy's leader?
Was this some kind of psychological tactic?
As for Yhwach, upon hearing these words, his expression changed.