Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni dropped to one knee and looked up at the enormous Flame Demon in the distance.
Ever since mastering Ryūjin Jakka, he had never imagined there would come a day when he himself would be injured by flames.
Yet now, the Zanpakutō renowned as the strongest fire-type blade in Soul Society suddenly seemed rather inadequate.
"Captain-Commander."
Unohana's voice reached him from nearby.
"This old man is fine. How badly are the others injured?"
Yamamoto rose with his sword in hand while asking about the condition of the rest.
"Kenpachi is severely wounded. I'm afraid he can no longer participate in this battle."
Unohana's voice was grave as she turned toward the distant giant of flame.
Even from the edge of the barriers, the heat remained so intense that it felt as though her body itself were being burned away.
"There is still one place you can go."
Yamamoto stepped forward as he spoke.
Unohana's expression immediately changed. "You mean…"
"Hell. It is the only place that may remain beyond the reach of what is about to happen."
"Are you saying this battle—"
Unohana's face filled with alarm, but Yamamoto cut her off before she could finish.
"The outcome is already clear. Find Soi Fon and have her begin evacuating everyone immediately."
Without waiting for a response, Yamamoto bent his knees and shot forward like a streak of flame.
Atop the Flame Demon's head, Cyrus tilted his head slightly and looked at the blade that had just struck his shoulder, then shifted his gaze toward the old man wielding it.
He had heard every word of Yamamoto's conversation with Unohana.
His Observation Haki now blanketed the entire battlefield, and there was virtually nothing within its range that could escape his notice.
"Hell?"
Cyrus murmured.
Yamamoto's expression tightened as he immediately dragged his blade sideways and withdrew it. A shrill scraping sound grated through the air.
Cyrus casually touched the place on his neck where the blade had passed, then smiled at the old man hovering before him.
"Didn't do much."
His smile deepened slightly.
"But if you believe destroying everything here still won't affect Hell, then that place must be the true core of this world."
Yamamoto frowned.
"What exactly are you trying to accomplish? If you are searching for something, there is no need to go this far."
Even someone as stubborn as Yamamoto had reached the point where compromises had to be considered.
With the destruction of the world no longer a distant possibility but an immediate threat, there was no room left to cling to pride or old rules.
"Sorry, but I don't even know exactly what I'm looking for."
Cyrus shook his head.
"That's why I have to turn the whole place upside down until I find it."
This mattered too much to him to abandon.
Whether he could freely travel to other worlds in the future might depend on what he discovered here, so even if his actions made him the villain of this world, he still intended to see it through.
Besides, the Shinigami clearly knew nothing about what he was searching for.
If they did, there would have been at least some trace of it in everything he had learned so far.
"So I'll give you a little more time."
Cyrus raised one hand, and the colossal Flame Demon rapidly began shrinking.
Within moments, its enormous body condensed into the sword in his hand.
"You can test whether hiding there will really let you escape what's coming."
Yamamoto watched the transformation closely, brows furrowed in thought, but made no further move.
The Shinigami, however, were far less willing to accept his order. Hell was, in a sense, another destination beyond death even for souls.
Compared with fleeing there, many would rather remain and contribute whatever strength they had to the battle.
Cyrus sensed their reactions but had no intention of changing his decision.
He simply flew toward the distant ruins, landed beside the remains of a collapsed building, and sat down on a broken section of masonry as though he had all the time in the world.
That casual gesture immediately made several Shinigami captains restless.
They knew they couldn't match Cyrus in a direct contest of strength, but not every Zanpakutō relied on brute force.
Some possessed unusual abilities capable of bypassing overwhelming physical power entirely, and several captains remained confident that the right ability used at the right moment might still turn the battle around.
Before any of them could act, Yamamoto suddenly appeared in their path.
"Stop. Follow the order and withdraw."
"Even you can't do it?"
Shunsui held both swords in his hands.
There was no trace of his usual easy smile now.
"Because we both wield flames, this old man understands the difference better than any of you."
Yamamoto turned toward Cyrus's position.
They could no longer see him clearly from where they stood, but Yamamoto could still feel the terrifying power concealed in the distance.
It was like standing before a genuine sun.
He had not felt this kind of instinctive dread in a very long time, yet since Cyrus unleashed that power, the sensation had never disappeared even for a moment.
It was not simply fear of losing a fight.
It was the body's instinctive warning in the presence of something capable of complete destruction.
"You don't even want to try?"
Ukitake raised a hand to his mouth.
His face was noticeably pale, and it was obvious the earlier shock transmitted through the barriers had taken a toll on his already fragile body.
"It would accomplish nothing," Yamamoto replied.
After a brief pause, he looked across the gathered captains. "And even Hell may not be enough to escape this crisis."
"Then we might as well stay and fight him."
Soi Fon clearly had no intention of leaving either.
"If you create an opening for me, there may still be a chance to kill him."
She had enormous confidence in Suzumebachi.
Its ability was governed by a simple and deadly rule: strike the same point twice and the target dies.
Yamamoto knew that ability well. Under ordinary circumstances, it was indeed a terrifying form of instant death.
But what happened when the opponent's power exceeded the rule itself?
The same question applied to the Zanpakutō abilities of everyone present.
Against something on Cyrus's level, the rules imposed by their blades might simply fail to function, just as Byakuya's Bankai had been crushed effortlessly moments earlier.
"If you insist on remaining, then remain. Everyone else is to leave."
Yamamoto looked over the captains and sighed inwardly.
"This old man does not know why he stopped attacking, but I do not believe he truly paused merely to give us time to evacuate."
His grip tightened around his sword.
"He is waiting for something."
The feeling of being so thoroughly looked down upon was deeply unpleasant.
"Aizen."
Shunsui suddenly spoke the name.
The other captains paused, but none immediately responded.
"Putting our hopes in a traitor now?"
Ichimaru Gin's voice came from the rear of the group, drawing several wary looks.
No one had forgotten his connection to Aizen.
The matter had simply been pushed aside because something far more dangerous had appeared.
As for Gin himself, he had already begun to abandon hope of ever recovering what Aizen had taken from Matsumoto Rangiku.
"To hear you call me a traitor is rather disappointing, Gin."
Before anyone else could respond, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind them.
Everyone turned sharply.
A strange white figure stood nearby.
Its entire body appeared to be encased in a smooth white shell, leaving only two eyes visible as it stared back at them.
Then several captains realized what they were actually looking at, and their expressions changed from suspicion to shock.
It wasn't armor.
It wasn't some kind of Hollow shell.
The white substance surrounding the figure was Reiatsu compressed so densely that it had taken on physical form.
One name immediately surfaced in everyone's mind.
Aizen Sōsuke.
"You really did come."
Yamamoto stared directly at him, his voice low.
A strange certainty settled over him.
If Cyrus had never appeared, then Aizen would almost certainly have become the most troublesome enemy Soul Society had ever faced.
But under the circumstances now unfolding, Aizen's intentions were no longer nearly so easy to determine.