Bleach [131-132]

Chapter 131: Starrk and Lilynette’s Break; Battle After Entering the Wandenreich!

“Quincy?”

Starrk frowned, apparently unfamiliar with the term.

Angra wasn’t surprised; Aizen hadn’t told the residents of Las Noches about the Quincy.

Yoshio hadn’t told them either.

The Quincy had been annihilated by the Shinigami over a thousand years ago. Even though a few in the Human World survived, most were wiped out again more than two hundred years ago, leaving only scattered remnants.

For Arrancar who spent most of their time in Hueco Mundo, their impression of the Quincy was even more nebulous.

Some Hollows didn’t even know what a Quincy was!

Starrk had virtually no impression of the Quincy; after all, he was a lone wolf who had never set foot in the Human World, so he naturally knew nothing about them.

He only knew that there existed such a force among the Three Realms, and that they seemed to be enemies of Hollows.

What little he knew was thanks to Lilynette’s constant nagging.

Lilynette had learned about them from Yoshio’s novel, “Thousand-Year Blood War.”

So when Angra mentioned the Quincy, Starrk thought for a moment and realized that most of his impressions came from a piece of fiction.

He couldn’t help asking, “You mean that group who use bows and arrows?”

In truth, “Thousand-Year Blood War” wasn’t popular in Las Noches; it was nowhere near as popular as “Stone Mask.”

In “Thousand-Year Blood War,” Hollows mostly played comedic roles, like the World Government’s “Seven Warlords”—some of whom had already been defeated by the protagonist.

Compared to the main boss, the Quincy, Hollows came off as lower tier.

So the Arrancar didn’t like reading “Thousand-Year Blood War.”

Even Lilynette didn’t care for it much, so Starrk had even less interest.

Angra had to explain to Starrk: “Similar, but that’s just a stereotype. Bows made of reishi manipulation are only their basic ability. Powerful Quincy fight with all kinds of techniques, much like Shinigami with their Zanpakuto.”

“Oh? Where are they?” Starrk couldn’t help showing some interest.

“Seireitei.”

“Seireitei?!” Starrk said in surprise. “Isn’t that Shinigami territory?”

“This is Shinigami territory, but it’s also Quincy territory, because the Quincy hide beneath the shadows of Seireitei!”

“There’s something like that?!”

Starrk furrowed his brow; he was indeed curious about the Wandenreich.

But…

“Why come to me?” he asked, looking at Angra.

Angra chuckled softly, then looked up at the sky.

Hueco Mundo’s sky was eternal night, with only the “artificial sun” Aizen made in Las Noches maintaining a counterfeit “daylight.”

A pale new moon hung above. Angra looked up and felt a chill.

In the moonlight, Angra said softly, “Who else in Hueco Mundo do you think is qualified to accompany me?”

Starrk immediately turned away. “Don’t forget, we’re enemies now. Our positions differ. Even if we’re both Arrancar, I’ve no reason to help you.”

“There is a reason.”

Seeing Starrk about to leave, Angra pulled out his trump card. He lowered his voice: “I can completely separate Lilynette from you into two distinct people.”

“Hm?” Starrk halted mid-step, turned his head, and asked, “What did you say?”

Angra smiled lightly and repeated, “I said I can help fully separate you and Lilynette, so you can be rid of this somewhat awkward arrangement.”

As an insider, Yoshio was hardly unaware of what Starrk and Lilynette wanted.

As Starrk drew closer to Segunda Etapa, the relationship between him and Lilynette had become increasingly unique.

Though always considered distinct entities, they ultimately split from the same person.

For example, when Starrk used Resurrection, Lilynette returned to him, giving the constant impression she was subordinate to him.

Starrk believed he and Lilynette were equals in every way. Even if their power levels differed, their personalities—or rather, their Hollow personae—were equal.

But the problem now was that Starrk seemed to play the leading role in their relationship.

For instance, he had Resurrection, and Resurrection required Lilynette to revert back to him.

As an Arrancar, Lilynette didn’t even have a Resurrection state. Was that reasonable?

Although their bond looked “closer” this way, Starrk still felt a complete separation would be an act of respect toward Lilynette.

Lilynette was his friend, the most important person to him, but she could not remain his subordinate—or a part of him.

In his dealings with Starrk, Yoshio had vaguely perceived this dynamic.

And so, at this moment, he spoke through Angra Mainyu.

Now he felt his guess had been correct.

Angra said flatly, “Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”

“You belong to Kisuke Urahara. How am I supposed to trust you?” Starrk’s voice cooled.

“Whose man I am is irrelevant. For Hollows, such things are meaningless,” Angra said in a low voice. “I exist only for myself.”

“…”

Starrk seemed to think it over. After a while, he asked again, “Why do you need me to go with you?”

“I need someone to draw fire,” Angra said bluntly. “Only you can do it. It won’t take long—just buy me a short window of action.”

“Alright.” Starrk found Angra’s straightforwardness oddly convincing.

He didn’t ask how strong the Quincy were. Starrk had absolute confidence in his own power—especially since Angra said he only needed a decoy. That meant Starrk was up to the task.

For some reason, he felt an unconscious trust toward Angra Mainyu.

Was it because they both revived themselves? Because they were Arrancar? Or for some other reason?

“Go in your Resurrection state.”

Angra Mainyu said, “Don’t underestimate the Quincy. I think you’ve already reached Segunda Etapa.”

“You know a lot,” Starrk said, puzzled, staring at Angra.

He didn’t know how this person knew so much. What he’d just mentioned were secrets known to only a handful within Las Noches—the Espada.

Fewer than five people in all of Las Noches could know.

How did Angra Mainyu know?

Was it Kisuke Urahara? Was that man really that terrifying?

“You don’t need to tell me.” Starrk’s body vanished in an instant, leaving only a sentence behind.

“Wait for me here in three days.”

“Heh…” Angra chuckled and left as well.

Starrk might tell Lilynette. Whether he’d tell Yoshio and Aizen was hard to say.

…

The following night, when Yoshio arrived at Las Noches, he indeed heard Starrk report his meeting with Angra Mainyu.

Yoshio had no objections, saying it was vacation time and staff could do whatever they wanted.

So, on the third day, when Angra Mainyu reached their rendezvous, he found Starrk ready to go.

Seeing Angra arrive, Lilynette was still suspicious. She kicked the sand, raising a spray of white grains.

The white sand curved around Angra Mainyu and dissipated before it reached him. Angra smiled. “Looks like you both have no objections.”

“When do we leave?”

Starrk asked directly.

“No Resurrection?” Angra said. “I told you, the place is dangerous. You’d better go at your strongest.”

“What about you? You haven’t used Resurrection either.” Starrk looked calmly at Angra.

“My condition is a little special. To ensure we can both enter Seireitei and the Wandenreich, I need to be in a ‘stealth’ state.”

Starrk gave Angra a deep look, then held out his hand.

Lilynette walked over unhappily. “Hey, do you really believe him?”

“He sounds exactly like someone tricking a kid!”

Still, she fell into Starrk’s grasp.

In the next moment, Starrk activated his Resurrection.

The two became one, and a pair of pistols appeared in Starrk’s hands.

His transformation didn’t stop there. As his spiritual pressure surged, he entered Segunda Etapa!

Twin Hollow holes shone with soul-light, and the mask on his face nearly vanished. In this moment his Shinigami-like form was deeper, more refined than when Aizen’s Hogyoku had forcibly pushed him into Segunda Etapa.

Angra clapped. “As expected of you. Such tremendous reiatsu is rare in this world.”

“You can use Segunda Etapa too, can’t you?” said Starrk, calm in his Segunda Etapa state.

“Well, in terms of completeness, it’s not as good as yours.”

Angra didn’t hide it. After fighting Tenshintai, under Kisuke Urahara’s observation, he’d basically grasped the principles of Segunda Etapa and taken the first step.

His subsequent training focused on mastering Segunda Etapa.

However, his current completion was still too low—even less than Starrk’s Hogyoku-forced Segunda Etapa.

But he believed he could perfect Segunda Etapa in at most ten years.

After Segunda Etapa, he would seek a third-stage Resurrection—existing only as a hypothetical in Kisuke Urahara’s plans!

Third-stage Resurrection meant becoming a transcendent being!

Starrk might not have thought about a third stage; even Szayelaporro probably hadn’t.

Starrk truly lacked a strong desire to become stronger. While he didn’t yearn for weakness like in the original, his obsession with power was still much weaker than other Hollows.

So he didn’t react much to Angra’s words, and simply asked again: “Shall we go now?”

“Of course—the sooner, the better.”

Angra finished, then opened a Garganta.

Upon entering, they did not appear in Seireitei, but in Rukongai.

“Isn’t the Wandenreich under Seireitei’s shadows?”

“That’s right, but to enter the Wandenreich, we must first infiltrate Seireitei in secret.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Don’t worry—we’ll be there soon.”

As Angra finished, a disturbance came from ahead.

Starrk frowned; he sensed a Shinigami squad approaching.

Black sludge flowed from Angra’s body, like a passage to another dark world.

“In you go,” he said in a low voice. “If you’re worried I have ulterior motives, shield your body with spiritual pressure.”

Starrk didn’t reply. He quietly stepped in.

In the next instant, all the black sludge retracted into Angra’s body.

Alone, he squinted at the incoming Shinigami.

It was Momo Hinamori’s Fifth Division unit.

Angra came here because he knew the Fifth Division would patrol this area today and soon return to Seireitei.

Because he had arranged this in the first place; as Fifth Division Lieutenant, he naturally had the authority to schedule patrol shifts.

His target wasn’t Hinamori but an inconspicuous Shinigami among them. His entire body liquefied into an unremarkable puddle, appearing along their inevitable path.

Not a single Shinigami rushing back to Seireitei noticed the black puddle. Only when one stepped on it did the sludge activate, burrowing into the Shinigami’s body in an instant.

The Shinigami, who had been sprinting, paused for a moment, then resumed with the group as if nothing had happened.

They were already near Seireitei, and soon passed through the gate.

No one noticed two Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar hidden inside a minor Shinigami’s body.

Since this task was patrol duty, everyone could go home and rest upon return.

When this Shinigami got home, his eyes turned black.

A small black sword appeared in his hand.

This was the “key” Kisuke Urahara created by extracting the Quincy’s shadow power, allowing the user to enter and leave the Wandenreich.

Of course, Angra believed Kisuke Urahara had left some mechanism inside to collect information from the Wandenreich upon entry.

For someone as brilliant as Kisuke Urahara, even tiny scraps of information could be extrapolated into something big, eventually tearing a hole in a vast web.

Kisuke Urahara had that ability.

This wasn’t bad for Angra either. For him, Aizen wasn’t his enemy, Kisuke Urahara wasn’t his enemy, Yamamoto and the Monk weren’t his enemies. The only one worthy of being called his enemy was Yhwach.

After all…

Whether it was Aizen’s rebellion or Yamamoto and the Monk maintaining Shinigami rule, none of that harmed Yoshio.

But Yhwach intended to madly obliterate the entire Three Realms!

Even with a Quincy clone, he could never help Yhwach do such a thing!

What a joke—he wasn’t insane or photophobic. Why would he destroy the Three Realms?

People always have reasons for what they do; he wouldn’t act without one.

Therefore, the more information Kisuke Urahara and Aizen collected about the Quincy, the more they analyzed, and the more anti-Quincy tools they created—the better!

Ideally, when the Wandenreich’s Quincy confidently declared war on the Shinigami, they’d find every Shinigami captain carrying a badge that could snatch away the Quincy’s Vollständig when activated.

Of course, the Sternritter were just the appetizer; the main dish was the Sternritter and Yhwach—or more precisely, only Yhwach.

He wondered whether he could develop a tool specifically for Yhwach, or design a special Kido targeting him…

Yoshio no longer had the bandwidth to do those things.

He was currently focused on creating his own Hogyoku, then designing a ritual to fuse his main body and his clones.

In short, Angra plunged the toy-like black sword into a room’s shadow. The next instant, the shadow came alive.

It rippled like the surface of the sea, then parted. Although a shadow has no structure, weight, or volume, in this moment it seemed to gain dimension, opening in layered depths.

Angra maneuvered the Shinigami inside, and the surrounding space immediately tilted into blackness.

He felt as if he were falling; the air grew cold.

The next instant, he plummeted from the air—and just before hitting the ground, straightened himself and appeared in the Ice Palace of the Wandenreich!

According to Kisuke Urahara, since he couldn’t go to Seireitei himself, he hadn’t fully grasped the shadow mechanism of the Wandenreich, so there might be “minor disturbances” crossing over.

And although that seemed minor on the surface—his sudden appearance—Angra knew he’d been discovered, especially with Baelz acting as an inside man in the Technology Research Institute relaying intel!

Like a sudden sun rising over a dark, frozen ocean—there was no great noise upon landing, but the intrusion of abnormal reishi stimulated the Wandenreich’s defensive layers!

Just as Seireitei had its Barrier, the Quincy, who excelled in reishi manipulation, naturally set multiple barriers throughout the Wandenreich.

In fact, the shadow itself was a barrier.

A hole opened in Angra’s body to spit out Starrk, and then he said, “We split up and meet back here later!”

With that, Angra became a puddle of black mud again, sinking into the Wandenreich.

Starrk understood—this was why Angra brought him; he needed attention drawn for a while.

Clearly, the Quincy had sensed the anomaly; he felt many powerful reiatsu converging!

“Such powerful reiatsu…”

Starrk was stunned. He had never underestimated the Quincy, but now he realized that not underestimating them was, in itself, underestimating them.

Judging by their reiatsu, there might be over twenty Quincy at Espada level!

Starrk vanished instantly. A few Quincy in white uniforms appeared where he’d been, felt the reiatsu, and said in surprise, “A Hollow? Strange—why would a Hollow suddenly appear here?”

“Don’t worry about that. If we don’t catch him fast, His Majesty will be angry.”

A green-haired woman said anxiously, “Damn it, where did he go?”

“Idiot, didn’t I tell you to train your reiatsu sensing?”

The blonde Liltotto arrived too, glanced at the Sternritter who had resumed the chase, and said, “Let’s go. Maybe we can snag some credit.”

With Starrk as the obvious focal point, the mission was accomplished.

With Baelz’s memories, Angra Mainyu knew the Wandenreich’s layout and the locations of various facilities.

He next headed for the Technology Research Institute.

At that moment, the Institute was in chaos.

Although they hadn’t set the barrier themselves, an intrusion of this magnitude demanded they quickly determine the Hollow’s location.

So, inside the institute, everyone was furiously pounding keyboards at their stations.

Baelz looked around and activated his Souls Ability in that instant.

Yes, Baelz might also possess a Souls Ability, although he’d only recently acquired it.

Like Yoshio, he had first awakened a Souls Ability after his spiritual power reached officer level.

When Baelz split off, he had been too weak; he only recently gained a Souls Ability after training alongside the Quincy in the Wandenreich.

His Souls Ability was “Holy Trinity.”

“Holy Trinity: Centering on oneself, form a circle with a maximum diameter of six kilometers. When exactly three allies are inside the circle, one’s power triples, and one gains the abilities of the other two allies.”

Baelz had this Souls Ability not only because Yoshio, Angra Mainyu, and Baelz formed a “triangle,” but also because he was a Quincy.

Quincy had, after all, some connection to mysticism. In this world, the Soul King is God, Yhwach plays the Son, and the Quincy—at least the Sternritter—can be considered “angels.”

In short, the Souls Ability’s activation conditions were fully met.

His side comprised himself, Angra, and Starrk—forming a “holy triangle.”

This meant Baelz could use Angra’s and Starrk’s abilities, and his reishi would triple!

Baelz activated the Souls Ability and gained Angra’s abilities.

Notably, this didn’t just include Bankai, Resurrection, or Super High-Speed Regeneration; it also included Souls Abilities!

At the time, though, Baelz primarily used Angra’s Souls Ability: “All the World’s Evil.”

All the World’s Evil could absorb malice to become stronger, and could also instill malice into others.

That meant Angra had two ways to grow stronger: absorbing external reishi (like Hollow or Shinigami), and absorbing malice.

Absorbed malice would also convert into reishi.

This Souls Ability didn’t come via “Holy Trinity,” because while clones split off from Yoshio couldn’t share Souls Abilities acquired post-split, they could share their inherent Souls Abilities.

This was simple: when one’s favorability toward someone reached 80 or higher, one permanently obtained that person’s Souls Ability, so…

Shouldn’t it be easy for a person to have favorability of 80+ toward themselves?

Thus, Yoshio himself could use “Holy Trinity” and “All the World’s Evil.” Angra himself could use “Holy Trinity” and “Safehouse,” and Baelz could use “All the World’s Evil” and “Safehouse.”

Now he glanced at the Institute’s deputy director and flooded him with malice.

He focused on leveraging internal resentments to target the director.

Well, nobody is truly satisfied with their boss, right?

Even people who get along day-to-day sometimes feel a flicker of resentment; it may pass quickly, but it still happens.

All the more so with someone you deal with daily as your superior!

Individually, each person’s malice wasn’t much, nor especially vile, but accumulate all the institute’s malice and the quantity became outrageous.

Most criticism was directed at the director, but some at colleagues as well.

In the Wandenreich’s repressive environment, human relations were still rife with malice.

After Baelz instilled that malice into the deputy director, the deputy froze for a moment, then continued typing.

Finally, he seemed to settle on a plan and left quickly.

No one in the institute thought much of it; a deputy easing off for a bit was understandable.

The director glanced at him too and said nothing. Maybe he just went to the bathroom?

However, as they continued to search for the intruder’s location, a strange sound suddenly rang out.

“What’s that sound?”

A female Quincy in front of Yoshio heard it, pushed up her glasses, and asked curiously.

Everyone else heard it too.

The director frowned; a moment later, his expression changed. “No—it’s the self-destruct sequence!”

He leapt from his chair and sprinted for the door!

Baelz reacted instantly—at the director’s first word, he moved.

He bolted out of the Technology Research Institute, and in the next instant heard the explosion within.

Baelz dashed ahead, but the blast wave still struck his back.

If he hadn’t tripled his reishi with Holy Trinity and used Starrk’s and Baelz’s soul ability, plus his own Blut for defense, the shockwave might have shattered his organs!

Even so, Baelz was hurled far and slammed into the ground.

At the same time, there was a puddle of black mud on the ground where he landed.

A little black sludge appeared inside him too, which Baelz seamlessly absorbed back into his body.

Quincy rushed out en masse.

The Institute’s director lay beside Baelz; though affected by the blast, Blut and his substantial spiritual pressure protected him from serious injury.

He stood, face dark.

“Bastard!”

The director flew into a rage, ignoring the subordinates strewn about, and went straight to confront the deputy.

Baelz sighed in relief; if the director scrutinized him, he might notice he wasn’t actually badly hurt.

Luckily, he had magnified the director’s hostility toward the deputy at just the right moment, driving the director to attack first without restraint.

Given his intellect, it wasn’t hard to deduce the deputy had caused the explosion.

Seizing the moment, Baelz drew reishi onto himself to incur more injury—stopping when it was not too heavy, not too light.

With others unconscious and the director gone, no one noticed.

He simply lay there, unmoving.

“Liltotto?”

Just as Baelz exhaled, he heard Liltotto’s voice.

He rolled over on the ground and looked up at Liltotto standing before him.

“Liltotto… Lady Liltotto.”

At this point, Baelz was also badly hurt—at least his clothes were soaked in blood.

“What happened?”

Liltotto had been chasing the intruder, but upon hearing the explosion from the Institute’s direction, she went to investigate.

“I don’t know…” Baelz said, feigning pain. “The director said someone activated the institute’s self-destruct.”

“Where is he?” Liltotto paused, then asked quickly.

“He was also affected by the blast, but after getting up, he suddenly left.”

“Tell me everything that happened earlier!” Liltotto crouched, took out an ointment, and applied it to Baelz’s wounds.

Baelz thanked her and recounted what had transpired.

Liltotto’s face was grave. “Go rest and recuperate first. No matter what happens later, do not come out.”

“Honestly, I hate this kind of trouble the most.”

She sighed. “Why does this have to happen to me?”

Under the ointment’s effect, Baelz’s injuries clearly improved; when he stood, Liltotto had already vanished.

He then moved his fallen colleagues to safety.

His tasks were done.

But…

Angra had one more thing to confirm.

With Starrk drawing many Sternritter away and the Soul King fragments delivered to Baelz, Angra appeared in a secluded corner.

Sensing the Ice Palace’s spiritual pressures, he headed toward the palace complex.

Soon, he saw a woman.

She wasn’t pursuing; she sat atop the snow-covered palace roof, observing.

However, when Angra tried to approach, he suddenly felt the temperature rise.

In the next instant, the woman’s gaze locked onto him!

Such sharp perception!

Once discovered, he no longer hid and studied Surtur.

Surtur had been Baelz’s classmate; upon graduation, she immediately joined the Sternritter. No—more accurately, she had already been a Sternritter.

He was very interested in Surtur (a Sternritter who hadn’t appeared in the original) and wanted to see who she truly was.

“A Hollow?”

Surtur appeared in front of Angra almost instantly.

Angra’s pupils shrank—not only because of her speed, but because he noticed Surtur’s movement combined Hirenkyaku with elements of Shunpo.

As if fusing Hirenkyaku and Shunpo into a technique faster than either alone!

A stitched-together person…

Could she be, like Black, a Soul King candidate? Black was created by Aizen.

Unlikely.

Angra quickly dismissed the idea; why would Yhwach create such a candidate without cause?

“You’re not a Quincy either, are you?”

Angra wasn’t worried about being exposed by Surtur; instead he countered, “You do resemble someone, but look more mature.”

He meant Suì-Fēng.

In fact, combining Suì-Fēng’s missing imaginary body… and Yamamoto’s and Komamura’s imaginary bodies being trapped in the Wandenreich, he had basically figured out who Surtur was.

By some method, the Wandenreich had used Suì-Fēng’s imaginary body as the main body, fused the Reversal Bodies of Yamamoto and Komamura into it, and produced a three-way amalgam.

Combined with a Schrift and Quincy power granted by Yhwach, a brand-new Quincy was born.

However, what Angra, Baelz, and Yoshio were most curious about was: what was Surtur’s ability?

Yhwach surely had his reasons.

He would use this opportunity to test her.

Time was short; Angra didn’t say much. He simply raised a finger and fired a Gran Rey Cero!

Boom!

As it approached Surtur, a giant flaming sword appeared in her hand, easily swallowing the Gran Rey Cero.

At the same time, an ocean of flames swept toward Angra.

Impressive!

Angra instantly moved far from Surtur, appearing in the sky, while the sea of fire easily melted the surrounding ice and devoured a whole row of buildings!

The next instant, Surtur appeared behind him again, thrusting a blazing sword!

Angra’s body instantly revealed another Hollow, causing the thrust aimed at his heart to miss!

?

Surtur showed surprise, but Angra reshaped himself into a puddle of black mud and slid away.

Of course, to test Surtur’s power, he let her fiery blade graze him during a flowing movement.

That slight touch left a mark on the wound.

Was it similar to Suì-Fēng’s Nigeki Kessatsu wasp mark?

And reminiscent of Ryūjin Jakka’s flames…

Surtur’s ability was likewise a fusion of three captains; what would happen if the same mark was struck again?

Angra frowned and, from then on, refused to be hit by Surtur again.

Similar though the ability seemed, he wasn’t sure what would happen upon a second hit, or whether it needed to strike the same spot.

How could something Yhwach crafted specifically be simple?

All told, he decided the test was over.

He decisively went into his strongest state!

Segunda Etapa!

In an instant, all scattered black mud rapidly condensed; as it drew in, a new Angra form emerged. In Segunda Etapa, his Hollow hole emitted a strange light, and, more importantly, his hair turned from black into spiky silver.

In Segunda Etapa, Angra lost the shapeshifting freedom of black mud, but his base capabilities soared.

Sonido fired, directly exceeding Surtur’s Shunpo-Hirenkyaku blend, with massive stride—he appeared almost instantly at the rendezvous point previously set with Starrk.

At that moment, Starrk was trading blows with Quincy. Seeing countless light arrows, he pulled both triggers; in an instant, the number of Cero doubled the arrows!

In his Segunda Etapa, Starrk’s Cero weren’t purely normal blasts; they were laced with more powerful Gran Rey Cero and Black Cero!

Rumble…!!!

Continuous explosions roared across the sky.

Starrk seemed to hold the enemy at bay, but suddenly his shoulder exploded—someone had shot him from concealment and blasted his shoulder.

After his shoulder blew, the arm fell away.

However, in Segunda Etapa, Starrk had regained Super High-Speed Regeneration; even severed arms could be regrown easily.

Seeing Angra had apparently finished, Starrk stopped entangling with the Quincy and moved to regroup with Angra.

“Trying to run? Not so easy, right?”

A Quincy with a purple-red mohawk suddenly appeared in front of Starrk, laughing: “Burner Finger 4!”

Boom!

In an instant, a long flaming sword appeared in his hand.

Sensing the threat, Starrk’s pupils dilated, but he didn’t dodge—he went straight at the flaming blade!

Huh?

Bazz-B was stunned. Was this guy an idiot?

He swung, and in a flash cleaved Starrk in half!

Chapter 132: Parting, Sternritter Council

So easy?

Bazz-B was a little surprised—this was too easy.

He had confidence in himself, but judging from this Hollow’s earlier showing, even if he couldn’t withstand the flaming blade, he should at least put up some resistance.

So that meant…

It was a trap!

As expected, when Starrk was cut in two, he showed no pain. Instead, he split cleanly: one half became Starrk, the other Lilynette.

During Resurrection, although it was said Starrk and Lilynette fused, that fusion wasn’t perfect.

Lilynette returned only as a pair of pistols; once the guns were downed, Starrk couldn’t use his abilities.

However, in Segunda Etapa, even if an arm had fallen off earlier, Starrk could regenerate both arm and weapons.

Rather than being cleaved by Bazz-B, Starrk had voluntarily split. Although this dropped him from Segunda Etapa, it let him avoid a fatal blow.

Starrk hadn’t fought long in the Wandenreich, but he realized it swarmed with masters. Without exceptional speed, he would likely be overwhelmed by so many powerful enemies.

Fortunately, Angra hadn’t wasted time.

After splitting, Starrk took Lilynette and rapidly fired Sonido in succession, reaching Angra at extreme speed.

Angra didn’t hesitate and drew the black sword again.

At the same moment, he smeared open the black mud on his body.

Hollow power was highly toxic to Quincy. Only in Vollständig could Quincy barely purify it through their own power; otherwise even slight contact caused contamination.

Angra’s black mud was infinitely more baleful than Hollow power!

His black mud was like congealed malice; a little was enough to blacken a person!

Of course, the stronger the reishi, the stronger the resistance. But at that moment, this was everyone’s first time facing such evil power. The Quincy around them paled; none dared to test the filth of that mud with their own bodies!

It was like a tiger fell into a cesspit, smeared in filth and rampaging—no one dared to grapple it head-on!

Angra knew this would only scare the Quincy once; next time, it might not work. But…

Once was enough!

The black longsword in Angra’s hand swelled rapidly and finally became a massive shadow!

The shadow enveloped Angra, and by then, Starrk and Lilynette had already entered Angra’s body.

Angra’s body was smeared with countless patches of black mud, and now shrouded by shadow, the darkness grew deeper!

“Quick! Stop him!”

Roughly forty voices shouted. In the next instant, a terrifying bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, hitting the shadow-wrapped mud.

Though lightning was the ultimate firm, positive force—breaking evil and illusions—wielded by Quincy here, it clearly didn’t have that effect.

It was just too fast and landed first.

Then Bazz-B’s flames and some Quincy light arrows followed!

But just as these attacks were about to land, the shadow compressed rapidly!

By the time they hit, the shadow had shrunk to a slit—and the next moment, it vanished!

Angra was expelled from the shadow realm in an instant, appearing in Seireitei!

He still appeared as a Shinigami. His true body was parasitizing the Shinigami and did not emerge immediately.

Instead, he waited until dawn the next day; when the Shinigami found an excuse to leave Seireitei, Angra seized the opportunity to slip out and return to Hueco Mundo.

Though a battle had broken out in the Wandenreich, Seireitei remained unaware. They couldn’t know that another space existed beneath the shadows of their own world.

Chaos erupted.

…

Two Menos Grande somehow infiltrated the Empire and caused extensive damage. In the end, despite many Sternritter being deployed, they failed to stop them and watched them slip away?!!

Haschwalth calmly looked toward the place where Angra had vanished. Yhwach hadn’t appeared; he was sleeping.

Night had fallen, and Yhwach needed rest. In that state, his power flowed into Haschwalth.

Haschwalth would don the “Mask of Ruler” at night, carrying out Yhwach’s will.

Many Sternritter stood around him, and none dared to speak—they had failed in their duty.

However, Haschwalth didn’t blame them. Instead he walked to a spot on the ground blasted by Cero.

He bent down and picked up a severed arm—Starrk’s previously lost limb.

“Who were they?”

Haschwalth asked.

No one answered. They could monitor Seireitei, but they knew nothing of Hueco Mundo.

They’d seen Angra Mainyu, but not Starrk.

So no one could answer.

Haschwalth hadn’t expected an answer; if he didn’t know, how would the others?

Hearing no reply, he walked up onto a high dais.

Two Quincy were bound and kneeling, trembling uncontrollably.

They were the director and deputy director of the Technology Research Institute.

Baelz stood among the onlookers, watching Haschwalth approach the pair and slowly draw his blade.

“For the useless and the traitors, I will, by His Majesty’s will, execute them.”

Baelz had originally thought only the deputy would be executed—after all, he had “erred” and tried to kill the director amidst the chaos in a fit of “impulse.”

After the incident, the Quincy interrogated the deputy, but he had no idea he’d been “blackened.” From his perspective, it had been a momentary lapse.

As for Haschwalth’s true thinking, he had no clue.

But in any case, nothing would trace back to Baelz.

So Baelz was merely a spectator.

The deputy was a “traitor,” and the director “derelict.” As director of the Technology Research Institute, to do nothing when the Wandenreich’s barriers were breached—that was serious negligence!

Baelz pitied the director. The damned barriers weren’t his to begin with; shouldn’t you find the Barrier Squad?!!

The Technology Research Institute did handle some security measures, but when someone breaks in, you can’t dump all the blame on one department, right?!!

Isn’t the Barrier Squad responsible? The Recon Squad? The Sternritter?

And you expected a no-name small fry to resist Kisuke Urahara’s intrusion…

The bar’s too high!

But who had suggested the Institute had an “internal traitor” at just this time? All hatred pointed straight at them; the director and deputy could go “to heaven” hand in hand.

Baelz wasn’t worried about being implicated; after all, how could the boss’s mistake drag down every subordinate?

Moreover, the Technology Research Institute wasn’t like other departments; replacing staff wasn’t easy.

Losing both director and deputy was already a heavy blow; they couldn’t purge everyone.

If even an edge figure like Baelz were removed, the Institute might be abolished outright and be useless for a hundred years.

And…

This was also an opportunity.

With director and deputy dead, it was a chance for “promotion.”

As expected, after handling the two, Haschwalth announced that whoever could design an entirely new Wandenreich security scheme could assume the post of Director of the Technology Research Institute!

This was definitely a big opportunity for Baelz!

Perhaps he could use it to draw Yhwach’s attention, obtain a Schrift, and reach the peak of his life.

After the executions, the crowd dispersed.

Baelz went home.

Many colleagues wanted to seize the chance to draft a security plan—but with the Institute destroyed, they could only wait at home, or do what research they could with home equipment.

That too was an opportunity—to outfit one’s home with better gear!

Back home, Baelz immediately activated Safehouse, disguising the interior to look like he was diligently researching new defenses.

In fact, he placed a hand on his chest, and a puddle of black mud leapt from his palm.

Though the distance limit had now been exceeded and Holy Trinity had expired…

That just meant he himself couldn’t use the black mud; Angra’s black mud wouldn’t vanish into thin air!

So the Soul King fragments wrapped in the mud were still there!

Thirty-four Soul King fragments—though most were tiny, like fingernails—held spiritual force enough to make him ten times stronger, or more.

However, although Quincy could utilize the power of Soul King fragments, they couldn’t swallow them whole like Hollows.

Only someone as special as Yhwach could devour others’ power directly. Other Quincy would need to use “Quincy”!

Using Quincy could forcibly absorb external reishi as one’s own, but Baelz didn’t even have Vollständig yet, let alone that.

Using the “Quincy: Final Form” could also invoke Quincy—but one’s spiritual power would vanish afterward, making it pointless.

Therefore, he had to analyze the fragments’ compatibility with his soul, and at the same time find Quincy-related data to develop tools enabling him to use Quincy—or achieve similar effects!

Baelz had already read on this, and had some ideas.

This was a good chance to complete them!

With the Institute destroyed, employees would “work from home” until it was rebuilt.

But home equipment had to be self-financed.

Baelz checked his savings. He had some, but not enough to buy the top equipment he needed to complete the upcoming research plan.

The Wandenreich’s common folk weren’t well-off, but once you entered the “military class,” your living conditions improved dramatically.

People like Baelz were “high-end talent” in the Empire; monthly pay was decent, but still far from meeting research needs.

All scientific research was a “bottomless pit”; without funds, nothing could proceed.

Looks like I need to find time to visit my good neighbor Liltotto again.

At that time, Liltotto entered the Sternritter hall with the other Sternritter.

This was the Ice Palace’s council chamber, where the Wandenreich’s top Sternritter under Haschwalth decided policies for the next thousand years.

Next to Liltotto were several female Sternritter, most of them distracted, with only their leader, Bambietta Basterbine, looking furious.

Bambietta was E; her ability was Explode—turn anything infused with her reishi into a bomb.

She was thought of as the leader of their small group, mostly because she rated herself highly, frequently took charge, and was indeed powerful.

Liltotto wasn’t competitive; she liked having someone stand in front when things happened, so she had no interest in challenging Bambietta’s position.

“Candice, what are you doing? Why aren’t you talking?”

After venting, Bambietta turned to Candice.

Candice was the Quincy who wielded lightning; she was T (The Thunderbolt), tall, with medium-length grass-green hair.

Annoyed, she said, “What do you want me to say? That I’m useless, and let that guy escape?”

“I do think you’re a bit useless. Your attack hit first, and it had no effect.”

“What? If your attack was so effective, why didn’t you stop them?!” Candice shot back, unwilling to yield.

“Here we go again.” Meninas McAllon, P (The Power), pouted, used to this. “Bambietta always wants to vent on others when she messes up.”

“Hah?! I’m not venting!”

“Enough, you brat,” Liltotto said flatly. “We’re in the council room. I don’t want to be scolded alongside you two.”

Seeing Haschwalth in the chamber, the near-bursting Bambietta immediately became docile.

Noisy and unruly before others, she was strangely well-behaved before Haschwalth.

Liltotto glanced at Haschwalth seated at the head and understood. He was still presiding over the meeting. Although the Wandenreich had been infiltrated for the first time, Yhwach felt the matter trivial—not worth disturbing his sleep.

That made things easier. Handling this wouldn’t be a big hassle.

What Liltotto feared most was Yhwach presiding personally, which would mean the Wandenreich operating at high intensity to deal with the two Menos Grande.

Fortunately, it was Haschwalth.

“What happened?” A senior Sternritter in the front row said lazily. “So many of you and you still let them go? Were the enemies strong?”

“Heh, it’s not for someone who’s never set foot on the battlefield to evaluate,” Bazz-B sneered. “Askin, you didn’t sleep earlier, did you?”

“I think it’s normal. It was night. Nights are for sleeping.” Askin hadn’t gone to the battlefield. He’d felt the fight outside, but with so many Quincy, catching a Hollow should’ve been easy, right?

Of course, if so many Quincy still couldn’t catch them, his joining wouldn’t change much.

“Silence.”

Before Bazz-B could speak, Haschwalth at the head spoke.

Most Sternritter had arrived by then.

Only the quarantined Gremmy was absent—and he shouldn’t attend anyway.

Haschwalth began: “The purpose of this meeting is to ascertain why those two Hollows entered the Empire.”

“How would we know?” Bazz-B said to Haschwalth. “You, Captain—why didn’t you act during the encirclement? If you’d captured them, everything would be out in the open, no?”

Haschwalth didn’t respond to Bazz-B, but Surtur said, “They came for me.”

She leaned back, relaxed, eyes fixed forward, not looking at Haschwalth.

“For you?” The Sternritter weren’t familiar with Surtur. They only knew she’d been suddenly appointed as a Sternritter by His Majesty.

So they were surprised when she spoke.

Only Haschwalth remained impassive. “Reason?”

“The Hollow who could traverse the Empire’s shadow realm came for me. The other Hollow was merely his companion, used to divert attention.”

Surtur said coolly, “After a few exchanges with me, he withdrew as if his task were done, then left with his companion.”

“His objective was obvious.”

“How did they enter the Empire?” Haschwalth asked again.

Surtur turned her gaze to Haschwalth and said:

“Kisuke Urahara.”

“Kisuke Urahara?”

“Only he could do it,” Surtur murmured. “He’s already located the Empire.”

“Then kill him!” Cang Du, I (The Iron), said coldly. “He’s just a banished Shinigami. If he wants to probe the Empire’s strength, he deserves retaliation.”

“What matters most now is keeping a low profile while His Majesty regains his strength,” veteran Robert Accutrone reminded them. “Once His Majesty recovers, no probe or enemy can stop us. Until then, we should not act on our own.”

“I hate hearing that.” Bazz-B said loudly, “This isn’t acting on our own. Aren’t we clearing the way early for His Majesty’s future?”

He looked at Haschwalth. “Captain, you’re not a coward, are you? With the enemy at our gates, you wouldn’t leave us idle, right?”

Haschwalth didn’t even look at Bazz-B. “Exactly. By His Majesty’s command, I convey this…”

“No one is allowed to leave the Empire.”

“Tch!” Bazz-B clicked his tongue, displeased, but said nothing.

With Yhwach’s order given, what more could he say?

“Boring.”

He stood, grabbed his cloak from the chair, and left.

…

At this time, Angra had returned to Hueco Mundo.

Black mud poured from him; Starrk and Lilynette emerged.

Lilynette rubbed her face, scampered aside, and spit, as if afraid any black mud remained on her.

“Big guy, your power’s disgusting.”

With it all over, Lilynette waved a hand in distaste at Angra.

“Be grateful. Without it, we couldn’t have escaped that hell,” Angra said with a smile. “The Quincy really surprised me. You? How do you feel?”

He looked to Starrk, who seemed lost in thought. “Indeed, I didn’t expect such powerful figures to be hiding under Seireitei’s shadow.”

“I wonder if the Shinigami know.”

“What if they do?” Angra snorted. “They wouldn’t believe it. So even with our escape, I’d guess the Wandenreich won’t panic. After all, why would Shinigami believe a Hollow?”

Of course Starrk understood. If a Shinigami had entered, the Quincy would never have let him leave.

It sounded absurd. The Hollow were the Quincy’s enemies. Why would they be more concerned with the Shinigami?

Simple…

First, Shinigami were the culprits who forced the Human World’s Quincy into the shadows. Quincy hatred education was primarily directed at the Shinigami.

Second, if a Hollow said the Wandenreich was under Seireitei’s shadows, no one would believe it!

But if a Shinigami said so—even if it seemed far-fetched—many Shinigami might believe.

The Quincy clearly needed to remain hidden.

Thus, they would never release any Shinigami who might expose them; if it came to it, they’d even hunt the Shinigami from the shadows.

Hollows were a different matter.

Though natural enemies, they were far from the Wandenreich. Deal with the Shinigami first; Hollows could wait.

Since he was Shinigami and Hollow, and also Quincy, Yoshio understood all three factions well.

When you know your enemy better than they know themselves, you can handle them more deftly.

That was why Suì-Fēng said letting Aizen teach at the Shin’ō Academy was foolish.

But as Aizen said, academy or no, he already saw through the Shinigami.

And Yoshio’s significance was greater; he infiltrated all three sides at once!

This infiltration was a small test, intended only to provide Kisuke Urahara more intel on the Wandenreich.

But it raised a problem: it also set off the Wandenreich’s alarm.

Initially, the Wandenreich hadn’t known anyone had discovered them, but with Angra’s intervention, they would realize the outside—more precisely, Kisuke Urahara’s team—had taken notice.

They would grow more vigilant.

They were already preparing a new security scheme, weren’t they?

When Aizen made another move, he might be shocked to find all his previously analyzed security measures had changed. If he were discovered then, that would be interesting.

Hm, given Aizen’s current caution, it probably wouldn’t come to that.

Aizen only truly cut loose after obtaining a complete Hogyoku and fusing it. As he began evolving, he even discarded his brain.

But for now, it hadn’t reached that absurd stage.

“I’ll send you the method for separation.” At parting, Angra told Starrk, “It may take time, but I promise I’ll make it happen within ten years.”

Ten years sounded long, but for them, it wasn’t.

For Starrk, it truly wasn’t much.

For Angra, it was fairly long.

Starrk nodded, then prepared to leave with Lilynette.

“And one more thing.”

Before they left, Angra spoke again:

“It was a pleasure working with you. I hope we don’t meet again on the battlefield.”

Starrk paused, then said without looking back, “I hope so.”

He and Lilynette gradually vanished into the white reishi sand.

Angra stood on the strand, finally opened a Garganta, and returned to the Human World.

He appeared in front of the Black Cat Library.

Yes, the library that Kisuke Urahara had opened.

Angra didn’t know whether to call Urahara incorrigible or praise his composure.

He’d previously run a “Urahara Shop”; now he ran a “Black Cat Library.”

He had no concept of “staying behind the scenes!”

He wasn’t low-profile in the slightest—almost as if afraid Seireitei wouldn’t notice him?

However, Seireitei’s Shinigami were all talented, yet still couldn’t find him.

One could only say Kisuke Urahara truly had the Shinigami figured out.

He pushed open the door and found the black cat, Yoruichi.

Yoruichi sprawled across the counter. Seeing Angra, she squinted again, half-asleep.

Angra arched a brow, walked straight up to the black cat, lifted her in both hands, then set her down.

“Wake up, then sleep later!”

Black lines filled the cat’s head; how could she sleep now?

She looked at Angra and couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing?”

“I was fighting for my life in the Wandenreich while you were comfy napping here; I can’t stand it,” Angra said. “Seeing you so relaxed makes me want to give you something to do.”

“You Hollows are so boring.” Yoruichi hopped onto a distant bookshelf, away from Angra.

“Not just boring—downright evil.”

Interrupting someone’s sleep was unforgivable! Like a serious illness!

“Of course, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Angra said cheerfully. He was a Hollow; call him evil and what else could it be but praise?

“Where’s Urahara?”

“He had business,” Yoruichi said coolly. “But he should be back soon.”

“I’m back, you know.”

Almost as if on cue, Kisuke Urahara pushed the door open.

He looked at Angra, fan covering half his face, smiling playfully. “Looks like Mr. Devolution is back too. Surprised?”

Judging by an Espada’s “form of death,” Angra’s would be “regression,” which was also his inherent attribute.

So sometimes Kisuke called him “Mr. Devolution.”

Mr. Devolution conjured a black vortex in his hand, and a cracked, small black sword appeared.

He tossed it to Kisuke. “This thing’s nearly broken. Fix it. It should have the data you want.”

Kisuke took the small black sword.

“You went to the Quincy’s realm?” Only then did Yoruichi realize what had happened.

“Yes, and there’s a very special Quincy in there.” Angra grew serious and described his encounter with Surtur.

Yoruichi frowned. “Suì-Fēng? Right, the missing imaginary body was taken by the Quincy. Why would they do that?”

“From your description, the Quincy aren’t short on captain-class fighters, are they?”

“May I see the mark Miss Surtur left?”

Angra nodded and shifted that portion onto his hand, where a mark appeared.

It looked like a flame—but as if something was burning within the flame.

“Because of the name Surtur, I’ll tentatively call it the ‘Götterdämmerung Mark.’”

Seeing Kisuke’s curiosity, Angra sliced off that patch of black mud and tossed it to him.

Kisuke caught it.

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Devolution,” Kisuke said. “Leave the rest to me.”

The small black sword he’d given Angra—the Wandenreich key—also collected data.

It didn’t take pictures; it collected parameters of objects Angra encountered inside the Wandenreich.

After all, the item was that small; it was hard to pack in too many functions.

Angra nodded; he was considering asking Kisuke to develop something interesting based on that data.

He also wanted to know what the “Götterdämmerung Mark” meant. Was it also a Nigeki Kessatsu?

Speaking of which, giving Nigeki Kessatsu to a Quincy did make more sense—many Quincy had “unreasonable” abilities.

“Tell me about the Quincy,” Yoruichi said, leaping onto Angra’s shoulder.

Weren’t you going to sleep?

“With you shaking me like that, who can sleep?” Yoruichi said irritably.

“Many Quincy who shouldn’t have moved did move; even so, at least a dozen captain-class acted.” Angra began describing the Wandenreich to Yoruichi…

………..

“Souls…”

Baelz was preparing a defensive scheme for the Wandenreich, Angra was grinding Yoruichi’s favorability, and Yoshio was in his lab.

Not the one in Seireitei—the one in Las Noches.

Because that morning, Dark Rukia, spurred for a year, had finally emerged from Rukia’s body again.

Yoshio then took her to Hueco Mundo to help Szayelaporro complete the first Parasite Hollow.

In other words…

Starrk was about to get “pregnant”!

That scene was a bit much, so Yoshio didn’t watch, and returned to his lab to ponder the creation of a Hogyoku.

It was a graduation project assigned by his teacher, Aizen. After reading reference materials, Yoshio believed creating a Hogyoku required a large number of souls.

He didn’t know how Kisuke’s Hogyoku was made and completed, but Aizen’s Hogyoku, after creation, was nourished by the souls of hundreds of Shinigami with spiritual potential and Rukongai residents.

If Yoshio wanted to create a Hogyoku, he would also need souls.

He needed Quincy souls!

But where could he get them?

Most Quincy in the Three Realms were currently in the Wandenreich; he couldn’t just go in and kill people, right?

There were still some Quincy in the Human World, but they were endangered; their numbers were very small.

“Looks like I’ll have to go to the Research and Development Institute.”

Yoshio thought of Mayuri Kurotsuchi; according to Mayuri, the Institute had many Quincy corpses.

At least at this time, Mayuri was still studying the Quincy.

He should stop only after completing his research on Ishida Sōken—because he would consider Quincy research complete.

Ishida Sōken wasn’t dead yet.

Roughly two hundred years ago, the Shinigami launched another war against the Quincy; many Quincy died then.

Most of those were in the Research and Development Institute.

If he could start from the Institute, he might obtain many Quincy souls.

Time to move on Mayuri Kurotsuchi…

Yoshio tapped his desk, sinking into thought.

Trying to take something from the Institute was like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. Even as an insider, he wasn’t very familiar with its layout.

Except for Twelfth Division personnel, other squads weren’t welcome there.

As for a forced assault…

Forget it. Attacking their base would be like an old man tired of life swallowing arsenic.

One could only say it was Mayuri’s fault; if the Institute were like some M78 Nebula space garrison getting robbed daily, that would be nice.

The Research and Development Institute…

Thinking of it, Angra suddenly remembered something.

In the movie versions, wasn’t there an incident where the Institute was destroyed?

“I see!”

A grin spread across Angra’s face. This world had no movies, so he would manufacture one!

First up, “The Name Calling You”!

With that, Yoshio called Dark Rukia.

She was helping Szayelaporro with separation.

Szayelaporro first parasitized Starrk’s soul; then Dark Rukia cut it away so Szayelaporro wouldn’t absorb Starrk’s nutrients but grow on his own reishi.

All told, he now possessed Starrk’s soul traits and would grow along with them.

Originally, after finishing, Dark Rukia was supposed to return—she couldn’t appear too long, and Rukia couldn’t stay in Hueco Mundo indefinitely.

Stopped by Yoshio, she couldn’t help asking, “Did something happen?”

“Indeed.” Yoshio smiled mysteriously. “I have a plan to let you appear legitimately.”

“Hm?” Dark Rukia was moved.

In truth, she herself wanted to see Rukia. Like Kurosaki Ichigo’s Hollow White, she hurled barbs at her host, but still wanted to protect her.

However, her existence was a scar to Rukia—she evolved from the first-generation Hollow White, which had caused Shiba Kaien’s death.

Yoshio continued, “What you’re worried about is only how Rukia views your past. So, fabricate a new origin to replace the real one—wouldn’t that suffice?”

“Tell me your plan?” Dark Rukia was curious.

“Do you know Shizuku and Homura? Or have any impression of them?”

“Shizuku and Homura?” Dark Rukia frowned, then shook her head. “Never heard of them. No impression.”

Yoshio concluded this wasn’t a movie-verse; in this world, Rukia didn’t know Shizuku and Homura. Still, it didn’t matter, so he tried relaying the movie plot to Dark Rukia.

“Here’s the idea: back in Rukongai, you adopted two residents. But you were attacked by Shinigami, and in the end only you survived…”

“But those two residents didn’t die, because they merged with the Parasite Hollow within the Shinigami and entered Hueco Mundo.”

“Now, both have appeared in the Soul Society, wanting to be with you again…”