The mask on the face gradually shattered, and the massive body began to contract, eventually forming a tall man roughly 1.9 meters in height. He had crimson eyes, and a pair of dragon horns protruded from his short black hair.
After becoming an Arrancar, Erensig's power grew even further! However, he remained the weakest among the three bodies. After all, Keiko had absorbed a vast amount of Soul King fragments and the Oken; even digesting a small fraction of that power was enough to convert into terrifying Reiatsu. Once fully converted, Keiko might even surpass Beltz's original body, becoming the undisputed strongest Shinigami. Neither Yamamoto nor Aizen would be a match for her.
If all three of Beltz's bodies could reach that level, their eventual fusion might give Beltz a fighting chance against Yhwach. Of course, he still preferred not to cross paths with Yhwach if possible. That man was a freak; even utilizing the resources of the Shinigami and Pirate worlds to their limit, Beltz didn't feel confident in winning. Ichigo Kurosaki only won due to "divine providence" and the existence of Still Silver; otherwise, ten more Ichigos wouldn't have been Yhwach's match.
Furthermore, Beltz had no desire to get involved in the Soul King's family drama. To this day, he didn't know if the Soul King had even noticed his existence. Theoretically, the Soul King was a prisoner, sealed in a crystal as a mascot. But according to the Monk, the Soul King might have seen the distant future, which is why he allowed himself to be consumed by Yhwach. If the Soul King saw Beltz in that future, how would he deal with him?
Regardless, he decided to stay as far away from the Soul King as possible. The Soul King was truly indifferent to his own kin; if Beltz were Yhwach, he'd want to kill him too. It would be one thing if the Soul King had been blindsided by the Tsunayashiro ancestor and his power used to create the three worlds, leaving the Quincies with no home. But if the Soul King allowed himself to be struck down, allowed himself to be imprisoned and mutilated, and then let his own descendants be hunted to extinction—only to let his son eventually take his place in that cage—then the Soul King was beyond help.
Beltz didn't want to deal with a "saint" who abandoned his own people—a trope likely pulled from some third-rate romance novel. The three worlds the Soul King created left no place for Quincies: the Soul Society for Shinigami, Hueco Mundo for Hollows, and the Living World for humans. Quincies lived among humans, but their very existence threatened the balance between the worlds.
This was why Beltz constantly thought about relocating to the world of One Piece. At least that world didn't have an emperor wanting to drain his subordinates dry or an ancestor wanting to wipe out his own race. Previously, he lacked the strength to worry about these things. Now that he was powerful, he had to consider these higher-level threats.
However, if he was to return to the Wandenreich, he had to accept certain risks. He informed Shiki that he would be gone for a while, asked him to look after the Red-Haired brothers, and then took Liltotto back to Bleach world. Instead of returning immediately to the Wandenreich, he took Liltotto to the Dangai.
"Is this a Dangai Precipice World...?" Liltotto asked, confused, as she followed Beltz into a small pocket dimension within the Dangai. "What are we doing here?"
A Dangai Precipice World is a small world located within the Dangai, an independent space from the Soul Society with a Reishi concentration even higher than the Seireitei. However, it was merely a dimension, nowhere near as stable as the Soul Society.
Beltz didn't speak. He surveyed the surroundings, calculated the coordinates, and knelt down. He pressed his right hand to the ground, and a surge of shadow power radiated outward.
"I want to connect these two worlds," he finally said.
"!?" Liltotto's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm just trying something. I created a space using my shadow power on Onigashima. I'm building another shadow world here. If possible, I hope to link the two worlds through the shadow realm."
"How is that possible?" Liltotto couldn't help but say. "To link two worlds, you at least need a point of intersection."
"That's why I'm just trying," Beltz sighed. "Otherwise, traveling between the two is too much of a hassle. It was fine when it was just the two of us, but now that I've brought Harald over, I have to consider other options. Once we return to the Empire, we won't be able to leave for long stretches like this. Even if we can return, it would only be for a few hours a day. And Harald, who is outside, has no way to return. I promised him he could go back once a year."
"..." Liltotto sighed. "Fine. I think it's a fool's errand, but..." She knelt down, pressing her hand to the ground to help construct the shadow world. Her mastery of shadow power was even greater than Beltz's. With her help, a shadow world quickly took shape within the pocket dimension.
She looked at Beltz, but saw only disappointment on his face.
"It failed," Beltz said, shaking his head. "I can't sense the shadow world on Onigashima at all."
"I told you it was impossible. A waste of effort." Liltotto stood up and brushed her hands. "Alright, let's go back."
"Yeah. We've been out long enough. It's time to go home," Beltz said softly.
What Liltotto didn't know was that as they prepared to leave, a tiny black dot began to appear within that shadow world. Beltz's plan wasn't based purely on shadow power—that would be impossible. But besides shadow power, he had the "Garganta"!
Erensig was currently in the shadows of Onigashima. Using Beltz as an anchor and leveraging Beltz's world-traveling ability, he was attempting to link the two shadow worlds via a Garganta! Eventually, this would form a minute transit point. Others couldn't use it; only Beltz's three bodies and those they carried could pass through. It functioned just like Beltz's own innate ability.
This was exactly what he had prepared for his two clones. Once he returned to the Empire, if Erensig or Keiko wanted to move between the worlds, they could simply use this Garganta. This was the "calculated risk" Beltz was taking—he wasn't sure if the Soul King, with his vast power, could sense something amiss with this Garganta.
As for Yhwach... he was certain the current Emperor of the Wandenreich lacked the ability to detect it, as he hadn't fully awakened yet. But the Soul King was a powerhouse in a completely different league. Even weakened to the extreme, his capabilities were hard to fathom. Beltz didn't truly know how powerful the Soul King was; even Keiko's use of the Age-Age Fruit to simulate the Soul King's future was merely a surface-level imitation.
Still, he couldn't let paranoia halt decades of development. Aside from his promise to Harald, Erensig and Keiko needed to visit the One Piece world.
And so, Beltz returned to the Wandenreich. They had been away for a significant amount of time. Beltz and Liltotto had already rehearsed their story. Following protocol, they first went to see Haschwalth. However, before they even saw him, they were stunned by the state of the Empire. Multiple buildings had collapsed, looking as though they had survived a massive war.
Had someone attacked the Wandenreich? Of course not. The two of them understood exactly what had happened. It was the fallout from the battle where Whitebeard and Liltotto were sent to the Seireitei. The Wandenreich exists within the shadows of the Seireitei—the "Inner Seireitei," so to speak. If the "Outer World" is trashed, how could the "Inner World" remain unscathed? Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit didn't care about architecture; its destructive power was simply too immense. Nearly the entire Seireitei had been ravaged by Whitebeard's hands, which naturally affected the Wandenreich, causing many structures to crumble. Though time had passed, such massive destruction wouldn't be repaired for years.
They eventually found Haschwalth and explained their activities over the past few years. Their story about searching for the "Abyss" in the Living World and Hueco Mundo was quite convincing.
"Specifically, the giant demon that appeared in the Seireitei two years ago—we later encountered him in Hueco Mundo and fought him. Through that battle, we learned his name is Harald, and he is a member of the 'Holy Knights'."
"Holy Knights?" Haschwalth asked. "What kind of organization is that?"
"It seems to be an armed group serving someone named 'Imu'. The five monsters that attacked the Empire previously are known as the Five Elders, the superior body of the Holy Knights. There are many members of the Five Elders and the Holy Knights, and they are all very powerful. The 'Tremor Man' who destroyed the Seireitei, and the mysterious woman who appeared with him, are likely also members."
Haschwalth's expression turned solemn. The Five Elders weren't particularly weak, but to the Wandenreich, only their bizarre immortality was a nuisance. However, the three monsters who had attacked the Seireitei in recent years were increasingly freakish. From within the shadows, they had analyzed the strength of those three clearly. While they looked like they belonged to the same organization—all possessing demon-like features, black wings, sharp fangs, and immortality—hearing it confirmed by Beltz was still shocking.
The Five Elders plus the three Holy Knights represented a staggering level of combat power. Most importantly, the purpose behind their attacks—one on the Empire, two on the Seireitei—remained a mystery. They couldn't have done it just to announce their presence.
"Do you know their location?" Haschwalth asked.
Beltz sighed and shook his head. "My apologies. Harald was too powerful; we couldn't keep up with him, so we don't know where he went in the end."
"No matter. You have done well," Haschwalth said calmly. At least these two had brought back useful information. Others sent out over the years had found absolutely nothing. Even the Seireitei's multi-year search had turned up no leads. For Beltz and Liltotto to find a lead on Harald was a significant achievement. "I will report this to His Majesty. You may go."
"Yes." Beltz and Liltotto withdrew.
Haschwalth didn't go to Yhwach immediately, as the Emperor was still in his deep slumber. After some thought, he summoned several other Quincies. He decided to personally head to Hueco Mundo to investigate. Since Beltz and Liltotto said they saw Harald there, his tracks might still be found. If so, only Haschwalth going himself would put his mind at ease. In his view, Beltz wasn't that strong, but even with the powerful Liltotto, the two were no match for Harald. That meant few in the Sternritter could defeat him. Besides the testimony of the two, he had seen Harald's battle with Shunsui and the other captains. He believed going himself was the safest course of action.
Beltz didn't know Haschwalth was heading to Hueco Mundo, but he could guess the Empire would send someone to verify his story. He had already prepared Harald. If things got dire, Erensig was there too. Erensig might not be much help in a fight yet, but... he could use the Garganta to help Harald escape!
And if all else failed, he could always muddy the waters. He knew exactly where Las Noches was. If they encountered an enemy they couldn't handle, they would lead Harald straight to Las Noches. Surely, Aizen would be interested in Harald and Erensig, wouldn't he?