Shawlong Koufang didn't ask the question forming in his heart.
Instead, he turned and lifted his head together with Higashino Shuuichi, looking up above.
What Shawlong saw… was pure darkness.
What Higashino Shuuichi saw… was the scene outside.
The Shawlong Koufang who knew how to "cooperate with the performance" could pretend not to see anything.
Higashino Shuuichi wasn't in a hurry, either. He hadn't known beforehand that there was still a loose end like Shawlong—one who recognized his former identity.
But now that he knew, then no matter what, Shawlong Koufang was never leaving here alive.
And at this moment, the situation outside was still full of variables.
After firing off Guran Rei Sero (Gran Rey Cero) and enduring that terrifying explosive backlash, Grimmjow's body had already reached its limit.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō wasn't doing any better. Already teetering on the edge, now he couldn't even stand up from the ground.
His body was riddled with wounds, and every bit of negative feedback from his berserk state was erupting all at once.
That cold air—something he had created himself—was now turning around and becoming the poison that would steal Hitsugaya Tōshirō's life.
Ice crystals kept forming across his body, as if they were about to freeze him into an ice sculpture.
Up in the sky, because she'd avoided it in time—and because she hadn't been Hitsugaya's main target—Tier hadn't taken much damage.
But right now, she was also in an awkward position.
Because Aizen-sama's orders to her were to threaten Hitsugaya Tōshirō's life as much as possible…
…and then try to eliminate any Shinigami who came to support him.
Now, because Grimmjow had gone too hard, the fight with Hitsugaya ended too quickly—Soul Society's Shinigami hadn't even had time to react and send reinforcements.
So what was she supposed to do?
She couldn't exactly stand there and do nothing in front of a heavily wounded Hitsugaya Tōshirō, could she?
If she did, her intentions would be glaringly obvious.
But kill Hitsugaya Tōshirō outright?
Aizen-sama hadn't ordered that, and she had no reason to add another Shinigami corpse to the pile.
After all… Shuuichi-sama was a Shinigami too.
If she could help it, Tier would rather keep Shinigami blood off her hands as much as possible.
So… was she supposed to kill Grimmjow first, then?
Tier's gaze shifted from Hitsugaya Tōshirō… to Grimmjow.
This guy… could only be called unlucky.
Tier slowly descended from the sky.
As for why "slowly," that was obvious—she needed to stall for time.
If she'd been the one to fight Hitsugaya, the battle would've lasted at least an hour or two.
Too bad that idiot Grimmjow had jumped the gun.
Now she could only drag things out like this.
But whether it was Grimmjow getting lucky… or Tier getting lucky—
Just as Tier was about to reach Grimmjow's side and end his reckless life…
a Shinsei Metsushi (Sacred Extinction Arrow) shot straight between Tier and Grimmjow.
Its original target was actually Tier, but when its owner fired, Tier noticed it.
"A Quincy?"
Tier turned her head—and saw, in the distance, a girl with orange side-parted short hair, wearing a high school uniform.
"The one who caused this much destruction… it was you, wasn't it?!"
The newly arrived Quincy woman demanded.
Tier glanced at Grimmjow, who still had a breath left in him… then looked back at the Quincy.
Fine. Even if this Quincy wasn't her target, as a tool to stall for time, she was far more useful than a half-dead Grimmjow.
"I am Espada No. 2, Tier Harribel. Quincy—state your name!"
Tier spoke as she stepped forward, casually planting her foot on Grimmjow's body as she walked past.
The Quincy girl blinked—mainly because she'd fought plenty of Menos before, but an Arrancar like Tier, who was polite enough to introduce herself before a fight…
This was her first time seeing such a thing.
The girl hesitated, then decided that if the other side was being that courteous, then as a Quincy, she couldn't possibly act worse than a Hollow.
"My name is Kurosaki Masaki! I am a proper Quincy!"
Kurosaki Masaki introduced herself, and even emphasized at the end that she was an orthodox Quincy.
Maybe influenced by Tier's "Espada No. 2," Kurosaki Masaki didn't want to lose on titles right from the start.
Unfortunately, Tier didn't care about that at all. Right now, she was only thinking about how to "hold back" just enough to stall until Soul Society's reinforcements arrived.
"Kurosaki Masaki…
This is a battle between us and the Shinigami. It has nothing to do with you Quincy. I can give you a chance to leave on your own."
Tier knew perfectly well that Quincy and Hollows were mortal enemies—once they met, it was kill or be killed.
So those words were basically nonsense.
But nonsense had its uses.
For example, when you needed a lot of nonsense to fill time.
"I don't care whether this is your fight with the Shinigami or not! Just based on what you've done to the World of the Living, as a Quincy, I can't let you leave!
Take this—Shinsei Metsushi (Sacred Extinction Arrow)!"
In those few lines, Kurosaki Masaki really did feel a bit of goodwill toward this slightly unconventional Arrancar.
But a Hollow was still a Hollow—an enemy of the Quincy. Kurosaki Masaki would never spare Tier sympathy just because of a little goodwill.
She loosed an arrow, and Tier avoided it with ease.
A straightforward attack like that—if she couldn't dodge it, she wouldn't deserve the No. 2 position.
Only… the Kurosaki Masaki of this timeline wasn't the same Kurosaki Masaki from the original story.
In the original story, at this point in time, she was merely a "normal" Quincy girl—capable of saving Shiba Isshin from White and injuring Aizen—just an "ordinary" level of incredible.
But the Kurosaki Masaki here, the instant Tier dodged the first Shinsei Metsushi, crouched and pulled her reishi bow in a reverse draw—
"Waza: Yumi Hiki-Gaeshi (Technique: Bow Draw Reversal)!"
The Shinsei Metsushi (Sacred Extinction Arrow) Tier had avoided snapped back instantly under Kurosaki Masaki's control!
And behind Tier, it split into multiple smaller Shinsei Metsushi, firing straight at different parts of Tier's body.
"What?"
This was Tier's first time seeing a technique like that. Among every Quincy she'd encountered in the World of the Living, this was absolutely one of a kind.
And even though those smaller Shinsei Metsushi were divided, the sense of threat they carried toward Tier hadn't weakened in the slightest.
That tiny change alone was enough to show that this young Quincy named Kurosaki Masaki had reached an extremely high level of reishi control.
Tier shot upward and used Sonīdo (Sonído), shifting her body instantly out of the way.
Quincy attacks weren't something you could afford to "take."
A Shinigami's attacks might at most leave some cuts.
But a Quincy's attacks could carve nearly indelible wounds into them.
"So fast on the reaction…?"
Seeing Tier still able to Sonīdo (Sonído) away in that situation, Kurosaki Masaki understood immediately—this Tier wasn't simple.
No. 2… that so-called Espada—she really had something.
Compared to the smooth intelligence network among Shinigami, Kurosaki Masaki, as a human Quincy, still didn't yet know what the Espada truly meant in Hueco Mundo.
"You're not bad, Kurosaki Masaki!"
Tier held her Zanpakutō and hovered in the air.
That praise was sincere.
Among all the Quincy she'd ever seen, Kurosaki Masaki could absolutely rank near the top.
"Thank you!"
To be fair, Kurosaki Masaki really was quite polite.
But that politeness stayed on the surface—her hands never paused for even a moment.
She drew again and fired.
This time there was no chant, no sound—only a silent arrow paired with a form without shadow.
The moment it left Kurosaki Masaki's bow, the Shinsei Metsushi (Sacred Extinction Arrow) vanished completely in midair.
"Musō Metsushi (Untraceable Extinction Arrow)?"
Inside the Shadow Domain, Higashino Shuuichi's expression shifted in surprise.
Because that technique… back then, he had only written the concept down through Kabuno Takuya and handed it to Kurosaki Mai's parents.
In truth, even Higashino Shuuichi himself had never succeeded in having Kabuno Takuya pull it off at the time.
It was only a technique that existed in theory.
Yet today, Higashino Shuuichi saw it in Kurosaki Masaki's hands.
All he could say was—every member of the Kurosaki family was basically built with cheats.
In the sky, clang—
Tier used her Zanpakutō to block the invisible Shinsei Metsushi.
Musō Metsushi truly couldn't be perceived by any visual means.
But as long as it was still composed of reishi, spiritual perception would inevitably detect it.
The problem was, spiritual perception had never been a Hollow's strong suit. Combined with Musō Metsushi's nature, Tier could only sense it when it was already close.
That put immense pressure on her.
After blocking three more Musō Metsushi from Kurosaki Masaki, Tier decided she couldn't keep stalling like this anymore.
She channeled power into her Zanpakutō, and a high-temperature current of water, carrying scalding steam, surged out from the blade, forming a shield-like wall of vaporized flow before her.
Shakkairyū (Scorching Sea Current)!
Those invisible Shinsei Metsushi slammed into that massive high-temperature current—and could only die out in bitterness.
A rush—another rush!
Tier was going to use this to close the distance between herself and Kurosaki Masaki.
Everyone knew that Quincy who specialized in ranged attacks were extremely weak in close combat.
But how could Kurosaki Masaki let Tier have her way so easily?
Using the Quincy footwork Hirenkyaku (Flying Scythe Foot), Kurosaki Masaki kept the same pace of drawing her bow while retreating as she fought—
a seasoned, veteran steadiness in every movement.
"Not simple at all… Kurosaki Masaki."
Even Higashino Shuuichi couldn't help voicing admiration.
For him, as a Shinigami, having that kind of combat experience made sense—because it was experience he'd accumulated across hundreds of years of fighting.
But Kurosaki Masaki—an eighteen-year-old high school girl—having such mature combat technique?
Other than "absurdly gifted," Higashino Shuuichi couldn't find a second phrase that fit.
"Sero (Cero)!"
A dense burst of reiatsu condensed and fired—yet the true "main character" of this moment wasn't Kurosaki Masaki and Tier outside.
It was Shawlong Koufang inside the Shadow Domain.
Shawlong couldn't see the outside world, but he could see Higashino Shuuichi's expression, hear Higashino Shuuichi's voice.
And when Higashino Shuuichi's gaze sank completely into the scene outside, Shawlong knew—
his chance had come.
Whatever reason Higashino Shuuichi had for showing up to target them and Grimmjow-sama, the fact remained:
Grimmjow-sama had severely violated the rules Aizen-sama had established.
And Higashino Shuuichi had very deliberately sealed Shawlong alone inside the Shadow Domain.
So Higashino Shuuichi clearly meant no good.
If it was for Grimmjow-sama to enjoy his battle…
Shawlong Koufang believed it was his duty to act.
So what if Shuuichi-sama was strong?
Under a sneak attack—
even a god could be slain.
And that opportunity…
…was now!
A massive Sero (Cero) carved a long, narrow trajectory through the Shadow Domain.
Higashino Shuuichi was swallowed completely by Shawlong's Sero.
A thunderous explosion tore through the entire space.
Shawlong Koufang trembled with excitement.
"I did it?!
I killed Higashino Shuuichi?!!"
That had been a full-power Sero (Cero)!
Even captain-class Shinigami in Soul Society wouldn't dare take it head-on—Shawlong was certain of that.
So no matter how strong Higashino Shuuichi was, at most he was still only captain-class.
And in that defenseless moment, taking a full Sero (Cero) from a sneak attack—
There was absolutely no way he could survive!
Then… why did the Shadow Domain still exist?
There was only one answer.
"Didn't I tell you?
I gave you a chance—to sit with me and watch the performance outside.
Why are you in such a hurry?
Shawlong Koufang."
Higashino Shuuichi's voice came from all directions, and Shawlong's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's impossible!
You ate my Sero (Cero) head-on—you can't still be alive!
Heh…
I get it now. You're at the end of your rope, forcing yourself to hold on—putting on a front to scare me off, right?"
Shawlong couldn't see Higashino Shuuichi's body.
He couldn't even sense Higashino Shuuichi's distinctive reiatsu.
So he made a bold guess.
Unfortunately…
He guessed wrong.
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