In front of Captain Sajin Komamura, a beautiful yet terrifying figure stood calmly, the air around her vibrating with condensed Reishi. A sphere of dazzling light gathered in her right hand unstable, violent before she hurled it forward without hesitation.
The moment the Reishi sphere landed, a catastrophic explosion erupted, devouring everything in its radius. The shockwave tore apart the ground, scattering debris like leaves in a storm.
After witnessing the destruction, the owner of that figure merely dusted her hands off indifferently and turned, clearly intending to leave.
But then
"Are you leaving already?"
A voice sounded from behind her.
"…Who?"
The female Quincy turned sharply.
Not far away stood a tall, alluring woman in black high-cut tights and long boots that accentuated her long, powerful legs. At her feet lay two unconscious figures Sajin Komamura and Tetsuzaemon Iba.
"How…?"
Bambietta Basterbine narrowed her eyes. She had clearly detonated the blast at point-blank range. For someone to rescue two people in that instant…
The tall woman smiled lazily.
"You're quite strong. Even Captain Komamura couldn't match you. What's your name?"
"I am Bambietta Basterbine."
Bambietta's voice was filled with pride and murderous excitement.
"And you? That speed of yours… are you also a captain?"
The woman chuckled.
"No. I'm just someone who was entrusted with the task of killing you."
"Killing me?" Bambietta scoffed. "No matter how fast you are, my Schrift ability happens to counter close-combat fighters perfectly. Everything I turn into a bomb will erase you. So… die."
She raised her hand again. A new Reishi sphere condensed instantly.
But at the exact moment it formed
A flash of lightning tore through the battlefield.
Before Bambietta could even react, a hand had already pierced through her chest.
Her heart was ripped out in a blur of speed beyond perception.
"How… can you hurt me… when I'm already past the blast…?"
The woman Yoruichi Shihōin sighed softly.
"You were never faster than me."
Without another word, she vanished in a Shunpo flash.
…
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Izuru Kira and Shūhei Hisagi walked forward stiffly, gripping their Zanpakutō as they advanced toward fellow Shinigami with killing intent.
Their eyes were empty. Their Reiatsu distorted.
"Controlled…? This is bad."
A figure suddenly stepped in front of them.
Star-shaped hair. Sunglasses. A green sports jacket.
It was Love Aikawa, former captain of the Eighth Division.
"Heeheehee… can't fight back, can you?"
Floating cross-legged on a white platform of Reishi, PePe Waccabrada laughed sweetly.
"With my love, they'll kill you themselves."
Under PePe's control, Kira and Hisagi lunged at Love simultaneously.
"Hurry up and do something," Love muttered while parrying their attacks. "I don't want to hurt them."
At that moment, another voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Leave this to me."
PePe blinked in surprise.
The next instant, he found himself surrounded by elegant golden dancers.
"Bankai Kinshara Butōdan."
The first movement began.
"First Movement: Ocean Current."
The dancers leapt gracefully. An overwhelming torrent of water materialized and surged toward PePe.
"It's useless!" he cried. "My love can control anything with a soul even Zanpakutō!"
He formed a heart shape with his hands and fired it into the current.
But nothing happened.
"…What?"
From afar, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi spoke calmly.
"What you see is not my Zanpakutō. It is illusion music that manifests form."
The current struck PePe and began to spin violently. Flesh tore. Blood scattered like crimson petals.
"Second Movement: Volcano's Envoy."
Rōjūrō swung his conductor's baton.
The dancers aimed together. A colossal blaze erupted, engulfing PePe completely.
"It's an illusion! It can't hurt me!" PePe screamed.
Yet in an instant, he was reduced to ashes.
Though the flames were born from illusion, the sensory feedback they produced inflicted real damage upon his body.
Such an ability was devastating enough to place even powerful Sternritter at a disadvantage.
Its weakness was simple: destroying one's hearing could negate the effect.
But PePe never realized it.
With his death, Kira and Hisagi collapsed to the ground, freed from control, trembling with lingering fear.
…
On another front, Giselle Gewelle manipulated the corpses of three Sternritter slain earlier by Kenpachi Zaraki, searching for isolated Shinigami.
Eventually, she found Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa.
"I'll knock you down… and capture you," Giselle giggled.
She ordered the zombies to attack.
"These are the three killed by Captain Zaraki… Leave them to us," Ikkaku declared, charging forward.
A monstrous sound wave erupted.
Frozen mid-air, Ikkaku was struck moments later by the other two zombies.
Blood sprayed as he crashed heavily to the ground.
"Damn it…"
Pain coursed through him. He could barely move.
"Now it's your turn," Giselle said, looking at Yumichika. "I won't kill you. I'll turn you into a zombie while you're still alive."
Three figures advanced.
"I can't win against all three…"
Clutching his Zanpakutō, Yumichika retreated slowly, refusing to abandon his fallen friend.
Just as he prepared to charge, two silhouettes dropped from above, landing between them and the approaching zombies.
One wore a white shirt, black vest, black trousers and an eyepatch over his right eye.
The other was a tall, dark-skinned woman in a motorcycle leather jacket.
"Who… are you?" Ikkaku asked weakly.
The woman spoke softly.
"We are subordinates of Kurotsuki Renya. We were sent to save you."
"Kurotsuki… Renya?"
Relief washed over Ikkaku's face.
He trusted Renya's judgment. More importantly, anyone sent by him possessed enough strength to handle the current crisis.
And if Renya had returned… then perhaps he had never truly betrayed Seireitei.
As Renya's comrade, Ikkaku had always burned with anger at the supposed betrayal. He had trained relentlessly, hoping one day to confront him.
But now hope flickered again.
The woman turned to Yumichika.
"Take him for treatment."
"…Right."
Yumichika lifted Ikkaku and hurried away.
Before they could get far, Giselle's voice rang out.
"Did I say you could leave? Kill them!"
The three zombies rushed forward.
In the next instant, all three were blown backward.
Two were sliced clean in half. One was obliterated completely.
Even together, these revived Sternritter were far weaker than Kenpachi Zaraki especially after death had reduced their power further.
If it were a true one-on-one fight, even Ikkaku might have had a chance.
What now appeared before Giselle was… a massive lizard and an enormous red-crowned crane.
"What the hell are those?!"
The crane flickered forward with blinding speed.
Its long legs slashed across Giselle's body.
With a sharp crack, she split cleanly into two halves and collapsed.
The beasts shimmered, reverting into the original forms of Tristan and Daze.
Without lingering, they rushed toward a distant colossal figure.
There, Gerard Valkyrie had already been pulverized once yet he regenerated again, now in his fully manifested Vollständig.
No matter how many times he was killed, he reformed from Reishi itself each revival making him even stronger.
This was Gerard Valkyrie.
The miracle given form.
The beating heart of the Soul King.