"You are impressive."
Holding Katen Kyōkotsu, Shunsui Kyōraku breathed heavily as he stared at the elderly Quincy standing before him. His straw hat had long since fallen away, and blood traced a thin line down the side of his face.
"But… your strength still disappoints me."
The old man spoke calmly, his voice devoid of emotion.
Shunsui smiled faintly.
"And yet… you haven't managed to kill me."
The words had barely left his mouth when the world seemed to blur.
With a sharp whoosh, the Quincy appeared directly before him. Wings of radiant reishi unfolded behind his back, and a long spiritual firearm materialized in his hand. The barrel aligned perfectly with Shunsui's head.
"…Eh?"
Shunsui's eyes widened slightly.
The trigger was pulled.
A beam-like Heilig Pfeil tore forward and struck him point-blank. The explosion hurled him backward, slamming his body across the white sands. When he tried to rise, darkness swallowed half his vision his left eye had been destroyed.
"I apologize," the old Quincy said quietly.
"Too many of the Sternritter have fallen. I must repay that debt… starting with you."
He raised the weapon again, aiming at the unmoving captain.
Far away, an enormous blast shook the battlefield.
Sajin Komamura collapsed heavily, his giant form reverting as strength left his limbs. Nearby, his lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba lay unconscious, barely breathing.
Standing before them was a tall woman in a black military cap. Her long dark hair flowed down her back, and the hem of her skirt fluttered in the hot wind.
"So weak…"
She sighed in disappointment.
"Are all captains like this?"
Turning irritably, she muttered under her breath,
"Candice… Meninas… Liltotto… Giselle… where did you all run off to? We agreed to act together."
Receiving no answer, she clicked her tongue.
"Fine. I'll just finish this myself."
A sphere of blazing reishi condensed beside her palm.
Elsewhere, waves surged violently across the desert.
Kaien Shiba gripped his trident-like Zanpakutō, controlling torrents of water that spiraled upward into a crushing vortex.
"Who are you…?"
Before him stood a gigantic armored Quincy, blond hair whipping behind him like a banner. In one hand he held a massive sword; in the other, a colossal shield.
"My name is Gerard Valkyrie," he declared with thunderous pride.
"One of His Majesty's Schutzstaffel."
The vortex collapsed against his body as though striking an immovable mountain.
Gerard swung his shield.
The impact shattered Kaien's water defense completely.
Blood sprayed from Kaien's mouth as he crashed to the ground.
"That's all?" Gerard laughed. He stepped forward, raising his foot to crush the fallen Shinigami.
"Go on… kill them."
A grotesquely cheerful voice echoed.
An obese dark-skinned Quincy sat upon a floating platform woven from reishi branches, lazily swinging a staff crowned with angelic wings.
Before him, Izuru Kira and Shūhei Hisagi struggled desperately yet their bodies refused to obey them. Like puppets, they began walking toward their comrades with drawn blades.
Not far from the carnage, a small girl with long black hair skipped lightly across the battlefield.
She stopped beside three fallen enemies previously defeated by Zaraki Kenpachi.
"Such strong corpses," she giggled.
Blood seeped from her fingertips and flowed into their bodies.
Moments later, the corpses rose again their skin darkened, their eyes lifeless.
"Now… go kill your opponents."
The zombified warriors lurched forward.
"I… can't move…"
Jūshirō Ukitake lay paralyzed, his lungs burning.
A thin man with five upright braids stood over him calmly. Rings glittered across his fingers.
"My ability allows me to analyze the flaws in your Reiatsu pattern," he explained softly.
"Once I locate the weak points… your spiritual energy leaks uncontrollably. The result is total paralysis."
He leaned closer.
"My name is Nanana Najahkoop. Remember it… before you die."
He thrust his hand downward.
Elsewhere, Yachiru Kusajishi collapsed onto one knee.
Her bones creaked painfully whenever she tried to move.
A youthful Quincy approached with an amused smile.
"You destroyed the constructs I imagined," he said.
"That proves your strength."
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"I am the true 'V.'"
His grin widened.
"I've already turned your bones into brittle biscuits. Now… I'll finish you."
Amid a storm of reishi arrows and shattered sand, Mayuri Kurotsuchi darted erratically, platforms of condensed particles forming beneath his feet.
In the distance, a gigantic disembodied arm lunged repeatedly at him.
"I am not the Left Arm of the Soul King," a frenzied voice hissed.
"I am Pernida Parnkgjas… servant of Yhwach."
The monstrous limb surged forward again.
Hidden behind debris, Nemu Kurotsuchi watched anxiously.
"I heard you served under Yamamoto for two thousand years."
A man wearing round glasses stood before Chōjirō Sasakibe, Western blade poised.
"But this is all you amount to?"
His sword flashed downward.
On another front, four Quincy women surrounded a single calm figure.
"Name's Candice Catnipp," one declared boldly.
"I'll fight you first."
"I'm Liltotto Lamperd," said the petite blonde with a bored expression.
"Meninas McAllon," the pink-haired beauty added with a cheerful smile.
Candice frowned.
"…You're a captain, right?"
A gentle voice answered,
"I'm merely medical personnel."
It was Retsu Unohana.
Candice clicked her tongue.
"Tch. Thought you'd be stronger."
"Medical staff are valuable," Meninas mused.
"His Majesty will reward us."
Liltotto opened her mouth unnaturally wide and lunged forward.
Unohana sighed softly, resting her hand on the hilt of her Zanpakutō.
"…Must I truly fight?"
High above, **Yhwach smiled faintly.
"Look closely," he said.
"Your subordinates are all on the brink of death. A thousand years have passed… and yet you have only grown weaker."
Genryūsai Yamamoto remained silent, his expression dark.
It was true
captains were falling everywhere.
But his concern was not defeat.
It was disappointment.
"You misunderstand," Yamamoto finally said.
"The one who has grown weaker… is you."
Yhwach frowned.
"What?"
Yamamoto's gaze sharpened.
"You failed to notice something."
At that moment
Figures descended from the sky one after another, landing beside the fallen Shinigami.
Yhwach's eyes widened.
A young man appeared beside Yamamoto, smiling casually.
"Captain-Commander… sorry I'm late."
Yamamoto snorted.
"You bastard. Took you long enough."
The young man laughed.
"Well… the protagonist shouldn't appear too early."
He turned toward the false emperor, his expression becoming cold.
"My name is Kurotsuki Renya."
"He isn't Yhwach."
A tense silence spread.
"Right… Lloyd Lloyd? Sternritter 'Y.'"
The Quincy king's face finally darkened.
The real battle was only beginning.
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