"Ashido, this is not working! Go down and join the others. We must combine our strength and save our Spiritual Pressure!"
Mirai moved to Ashido's side and spoke rapidly as he arrived.
The Lieutenant of the 11th Division stayed in the air. He faced the many Hollows coming from two rifts alone. His Zanpakutō moved with lethal precision. He defeated a Hollow with every strike, but his breathing was heavy. Sweat covered his forehead. Fighting an endless stream of monsters had a massive impact on his stamina.
Ashido ignored the advice. He watched the black rifts above. His voice sounded lower and more tired than usual.
"Fifth Seat Mirai... are you concealing your power?"
"What?" Mirai almost lost his calm. His heart pounded.
How did this man notice? Was it because "Chain Lightning Trace" and " were too effective? Did he show too much? No, that was impossible. He needed to stay calm. Ashido was probably searching for an answer.
He changed his expression quickly. He looked humble and helpless.
"I am only a low Fifth Seat. Even if I wanted to hide something, I could not hide Captain-level power. You respect me too much, Lieutenant."
Ashido did not look back. He watched the rifts. After a few seconds, he gave a soft grunt. He accepted the explanation. Perhaps he was too tired to ask more questions.
"I guess so. In that case, go down now and join the others. I have a very bad feeling about this location."
"A bad feeling?" Mirai did not move. He asked another question instead.
"Then why does Captain Kuruyashiki Kenpachi not come up? He is the strongest person here, right?"
"Do you really think you can survive longer than he can?"
While speaking, Mirai looked at the main battlefield below. Something caught his attention.
On the field, many Hollows gathered around Captain Kuruyashiki. They moved like a tide. Waves of monsters attacked the Captain. He killed dozens of them, but they did not stop or retreat. The scene did not look like a hunt. It looked like an organized, suicidal attack.
This was strange. Low-level Hollows usually follow animal instincts. This focused attack was not logical. Mirai narrowed his eyes and observed the area around Kuruyashiki.
Soon, he noticed a detail. A faint Reishi aura vibrated near the Captain's feet. The glow was like the smell of bait. It spread outward constantly.
"You noticed it," Ashido panted. He swung his blade to stop a flying Hollow. His voice sounded exhausted.
"The Captain used 'Spirit Bait' on himself. It releases a signal that Hollows find irresistible."
He looked at Mirai and continued to explain.
"That is why the Captain cannot come up to the sky or get near these rifts."
"If he did, the new Hollows would become even more frenzied. It might cause an unpredictable reaction."
"He must stay on the ground to be the primary 'bait.' He is the pillar that attracts their attacks."
Mirai understood. Kuruyashiki did not stay down because he wanted to; he had to stay there. The pressure on him was probably higher than the pressure on Ashido. He was the anchor of the battlefield. He acted as a massive tank to draw most of the attention.
Mirai raised his hand. Lightning gathered at his fingertip. A "Chain Lightning Trace" shot out. It hit five Hollows and disappeared.
His brow twitched. He calculated his energy. The Kidō worked, but he had used ten percent of his Spiritual Pressure. In the thin Reishi of the Human World, this was bad. His condition was getting worse.
He looked at Ashido and asked a critical question: "Has the request to remove the limits been approved?"
He meant the "Spiritual Pressure Limitation Seals." These seals are for Lieutenant-level Shinigami in the Living World. They protect the environment. In an emergency, they can remove the seals.
Ashido's blade stopped for a moment. He seemed surprised that Mirai knew the rules. He shook his head quickly.
"We did not use the Limitation Seals when we left this time."
"What?" Mirai was truly stunned.
He remembered the rules. Any Lieutenant visiting the Human World needed a seal. Only a special emergency or the Captain-Commander could change this. This mission was for support and clearing common Hollows. Usually, the seals were mandatory.
Ashido spat out some bloody saliva. It was unclear if he was injured or just very tired. He took a deep breath and gave a brief explanation.
"The main reason for seals is to prevent massive destruction to the Human World. But look at this battlefield—"
Mirai looked at the ground with Ashido.
The earth was scorched. Smoke and dust filled the air. Tents and forests were burning. The fires made the sky red. Besides the scars of war, there were pits of foul Reishi. These came from dead Hollows and Shinigami attacks. The entire region was ruined. There was no clean environment to protect.
"In a war this intense, topographic damage does not matter. We reported this before we left," Ashido concluded.
Mirai nodded silently.
Indeed, worrying about the environment was a luxury here. Survival and the mission were more important. However, this also meant something else. Ashido and Kuruyashiki could fight at full strength, but the enemies could also be much stronger.
He looked at Ashido again. The Lieutenant's breathing was heavy. Sweat soaked his clothes. His Spiritual Pressure was reaching a critical point. The situation was getting worse.
At that exact moment—
Crack!
A terrifying sound of something shattering echoed through the air.
Immediately after, a massive and chaotic Spiritual Pressure poured from the sky. It felt full of greed and destruction.
"Ugh!" Ashido felt the full impact of the force. His body dropped because he lost control of his Reishi. He began to fall.
Mirai reacted immediately. He moved forward and caught Ashido's back. He helped him stay stable. Both of them looked up at the same time toward the pressure.
The many black rifts in the sky began to twist. They moved toward the center. They merged with each other. In a few seconds, the small rifts disappeared completely.
A single, massive corridor appeared across the horizon. It felt suffocating. The inside of the passage was abyssal. It looked like a void connected to deep space. Only the edges had purple-black Reishi sparks.
When this giant corridor appeared, every Hollow on the battlefield stopped moving.
Then, Mirai and Ashido saw a massive, white bone mask emerge from the dark tunnel. One part of the mask was larger than many ordinary Hollows combined.
The empty eyes of the mask looked down coldly at the small battlefield and the Shinigami.