After his lament, the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor continued: "Actually, you need not feel sorrow for the Soul King. Because, all Shinigami and Hollows can, in fact, be said to be my descendants."
"I had the Shinigami occupy [Heaven], and renamed that stolen world [Soul Society]."
"And those who should have dwelt in Heaven, the descendants of the Soul King meant to be the world's guardians, became the Quincy, ostracized and persecuted by the Shinigami."
"Now, you should understand why there is Hollowfication of Shinigami, or Arrancarization of Hollows, shouldn't you? Because Shinigami and Hollows are originally one and the same."
If an ordinary Shinigami learned this truth, their worldview would probably collapse.
But Setsuna didn't care, after all, he was never an orthodox Shinigami to begin with.
'I see.' Setsuna thought to himself. 'No wonder when the Quincy activate their [Vollständig], wings of light appear on their backs. They really were angels.'
'No wonder it's explicitly mentioned in the original that the Quincy are a race with completely no immunity to the power of Hollows. Everything about Hollows is poison to them, yet this is not the case for Shinigami.'
'Even the original name of this world, [BLEACH]…. Bleach… thinking about it now, doesn't it suggest...'
'That a group of Shinigami, who should have been in the dark Hell, 'bleached' themselves through some means, stealing the position and name that originally belonged to the bright Heaven?'
'And the true natives, the Quincy, are like the Native Americans on the American Continent, their homeland stolen by outsiders, their history tampered with, their identity stigmatized.'
Setsuna felt a sense of irony in his heart. He didn't know what rhetoric the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor had used to deceive Ichibe'e.
But judging from their conversation that day, it was clear that Ichibe'e, the outsider, regarded the Soul King as an outsider.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor spoke in a seducing tone, as if inviting Setsuna to join a great undertaking:
"Now, you should understand. This world, from its very foundation, is a lie and a theft."
"The Soul King's path is weakness and failure. But my path is control, is evolution, is becoming a new 'God' that transcends all and defines all!"
"Join us... no, cooperate with me. Together, we will complete this final ritual of usurping divinity. At that time, you and I will together share this... new world, completely reshaped and fully controlled by us!"
However, Setsuna looked at that mass of gray-white mist, representing the 'primordial evil', and then at the other three ancestors beside him, still in shock and confusion. He slowly shook his head.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor's mist surged for a moment, then asked: "Why?"
Setsuna said calmly: "Although I don't consider myself a good person, even an evil person wouldn't want to be friends with another evil person. I don't believe a single punctuation mark of your words."
"Is that so? What a pity." The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor sighed. "In a million years, you are the first to show me another possibility, to make me feel the presence of a fellow traveler."
"I truly wanted to cooperate with you, to explore the ultimate that transcends the Soul King, even transcends my own path."
As the sigh faded, the regret instantly transformed into bone-chilling killing intent and greed:
"Since you insist on standing with the lingering shadows of the bygone era, then, as the price for refusal, as repayment for my sincerity..."
"Your soul, your divinity... I will not hesitate to accept them!"
As his words fell, the entire space of Hell suddenly shook violently.
Centered on the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor, Hell's dark red sky, charred earth, flowing rivers of sinful magma, and even the endless Reiryoku permeating the air all seemed to come alive.
These Reiryoku transformed into billions of Reishi Torrents, frantically converging and pouring into it.
The vastness of the converging Reishi Torrents caused even Setsuna, who had just experienced a great battle, to feel his heart and mind shaken violently.
In the face of such world-shaking power, individual strength appeared so insignificant.
Setsuna did not hesitate. While pushing his Cosmo and Reiatsu to the utmost, he used soul waves to issue a retreat order to Furofushi and the others in the distance.
Furofushi and the others naturally understood the gravity of the situation and knew that staying would only hinder Setsuna.
They quickly fled in the direction opposite the battlefield.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor's perception naturally caught the movements of these ants, but it paid them no mind, not even showing the slightest interest in stopping them.
In its eyes, even the three so-called 'ancestors' of the Ota, Kuchiki, and Shihoin were merely tools and backup food for executing its plan.
These later Shinigami were even less than dust.
All its attention was locked on Setsuna, locked on that coveted divinity.
"Perish."
With its cold declaration, that torrent of gray-white spiritual power, converging Hell's might, transformed into a destructive pillar of light piercing the world, crashing down towards Setsuna.
Where the pillar passed, space directly annihilated, exposing the violent chaotic currents behind it.
Setsuna pushed the defense of his sacred cloth and his Cosmo to the limit, while simultaneously burning his soul: "The Ultimate Roar of the Twelve Zodiac!"
This was a forbidden art he had learned from his disciple, Regulus, fusing the greatest arts of the twelve Gold Saints, its power even surpassing Athena Exclamation.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion occurred, greater than any before.
The light of the explosion even temporarily dispelled Hell's eternal darkness. The terrifying shockwave spread outward like a world-ending tsunami.
It completely erased the already ruined Ota Clan's main castle from Hell, leaving behind a massive, bottomless crater with rainbow-colored energy flowing at its edges.
The Reishi Dust slowly cleared.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor's figure still floated, as if even such a forbidden art had no effect on it.
Setsuna's figure, once again nirvanically reborn from the golden-red sparks at the edge of the explosion.
Seeing Setsuna revive, the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor was very calm: "There has never been true eternity and infinity. Even the universe itself heads towards destruction."
"Your revival, though seemingly unbreakable, actually has a minute cost. It's just that your recovery speed is faster than the rate of loss..."
"As long as I kill you faster, your so-called immortality will eventually completely dissipate. I have the entire Hell as my backing. Time is on my side."
Setsuna knew it was telling the truth. Faced with the continuous overwhelming of such world-level power, his [Nirvana] was not truly infinite.
Continuing this attrition, perhaps after a hundred or thousand years, he would indeed be completely killed.
But the question was, who wanted to dawdle here with this guy for so long?
The time he had spent in this world had already exceeded one year. The transmigration cooldown had long completed. He could leave at any time.
However, before leaving, he had to leave this old monster with an unforgettable memory.
Setsuna repeatedly committed suicide and revived, to the point where the three watching ancestors became numb to the concept of death.
After another revival, Setsuna once again, fearlessly, charged towards the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor.
Golden-red flames blazed around him, posing as if to launch another suicide attack.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor had grown accustomed to this routine. Its gray-white mist slightly churned.
It prepared, as before, to mobilize Hell's power and annihilate Setsuna at a safe distance before his attack could take shape.
It was even growing a bit tired of this repetitive, technically uninteresting attrition.
However, just as Setsuna rushed to the edge of its preset 'safe distance', just as it prepared to unleash its destructive beam...
A sudden change occurred!
Setsuna's right hand suddenly plunged into his own brain, pulling out a sword indescribable in words.
This was the Sword of Hades he had seized from the God of Death, Hades in the Saint Seiya World.
This divine sword symbolized 'ending' and 'nothingness', the rule manifestation of 'death'.
Merely its appearance caused the surrounding space of Hell to emit the groans of being overwhelmed.
Even the torrent of Hell's Reiryoku mobilized by the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor, the instant the sword appeared, showed obvious stagnation and disorder.
"What is this?" The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor panicked.
"Sever!"
Setsuna made no unnecessary movements. He poured all his power into this single slash, swinging it horizontally at the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor, who was right before him.
That blade light of absolute darkness cut into the depths of its soul without any hindrance.
"Ughhhhhhh!"
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor let out an agonized wail of extreme pain, the agony of a soul being torn apart.
After unleashing this slash, Setsuna's movements did not pause for a moment. He re-inserted the Sword of Hades back into its seal.
Omega Shenron within the seal had clearly sensed the powerful aura of the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor and, fearing it might be a trap, hesitated just long enough for the seal to close.
After doing all this, Setsuna had no lingering attachments or further words.
'Transmigration, activate!'
No spatial waves, no Reishi Ripples. Setsuna simply vanished into thin air.
When the Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor, relying on its mastery of Hell's rules, barely suppressed the fissure in its soul and somewhat recovered from that heart-wrenching pain and shock...
Before it, there was no one.
"Noooo!" The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor let out an even more pained roar.
"Aniki, are you alright?" Not far away, the Ota Clan's ancestor cautiously asked.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor suddenly turned its head, its crimson gaze fixedly locked onto it.
In that gaze, there was no former camaraderie, only the ferocity of a wild beast.
"Tsu... Tsunayashiro-Aniki, what's wrong with you?" The Ota Clan's ancestor's soul froze under that gaze, its voice trembling uncontrollably.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor's voice was hoarse: "My soul... has been torn apart, a huge piece."
"My origin is wounded. It needs to be replenished. The best way is by relying on your sacrifice."
"No!"
"Aniki, we are allies!"
The Ota Clan's ancestor and the other two ancestors instantly understood its intention. They let out desperate screams and turned to flee.
But it was already too late.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor's gray-white mist suddenly expanded and spread, instantly transforming into a sky-covering abyssal giant mouth, carrying reckless madness and the instinct to devour, swallowing the three ancestors whole.
"Ah!" The three ancestors only had time for a single scream before being completely digested.
The Tsunayashiro Clan's ancestor floated above the empty ruins, its crimson gaze sweeping over the place where Setsuna had disappeared, letting out a roar filled with pain and twisted:
"No matter where you flee, I will definitely find you!"