"Creepy… it's really creepy…"
Cole narrowed his eyes as he watched Jugram.
This guy clearly wasn't using overwhelming force, yet he kept finding the weakest point of the massive Heilig Pfeil (Sacred Arrow) with ease.
No, that wasn't quite right.
It was like the weakest point of the Heilig Pfeil was actively moving to meet this guy's sword.
In the Wandenreich, Bambietta knew the Holy Schrift abilities of most Sternritter.
After all, they'd lived together for over a thousand years—everyone had some understanding of each other.
But Jugram was the exception.
This most trusted subordinate of Yhwach had almost never shown his Holy Schrift ability.
On the rare occasions he clashed with fellow Sternritter, he would simply use that sword to defeat them effortlessly.
After watching for several minutes, Cole's expression turned thoughtful.
"I think I've figured it out…"
With a single thought—
In the sky, countless small spirit bows snapped open, like blue magic circles.
Looking out, it was as if the heavens had gained countless blue stars.
The next instant—
Thousands upon thousands of blue arrows poured down like rain, all targeting Jugram, leaving him no space to dodge.
Facing that kind of arrowstorm, Jugram didn't dare to tank it with defense. He swung his sword upward toward the sky.
In an instant—
A violent gale erupted.
Blue spirit power rode the wind and shredded countless arrows in the blink of an eye.
But even more blue arrows fell.
Forced into it, Jugram swung again. This slash looked just like Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho.
A blue crescent surged upward, ripping apart bow after bow.
In the blink of an eye, the sky cleared.
Even the white clouds were erased by that single strike.
Cole didn't look the least bit shaken. Instead, he smiled.
"I know it now—your Holy Schrift."
He'd been watching Jugram carefully, and in the end he noticed something shocking.
Whether it was small Heilig Pfeil or massive Heilig Pfeil—
They always moved in absurdly "coincidental" ways.
Either they exposed their weak point, or they simply couldn't hit Jugram at all.
After fighting for so long, Jugram hadn't taken even a single scratch.
That level of coincidence wasn't normal.
So Cole concluded that Jugram's Holy Schrift was probably related to luck—using overwhelming fortune to flip the decisive moment.
A terrifying ability.
And one that suited the highest-ranked Sternritter perfectly.
Hearing that, Jugram's expression still didn't change. Like an aristocratic noble, he rushed in calmly.
"Knowing my ability—what does that matter? Do you think you can defeat me?"
The Holy Schrift Yhwach granted them was like a Shinigami's zanpakuto—filled with strange, unpredictable powers.
And as a Quincy developed it, the Holy Schrift could branch into countless applications.
Some Sternritter even developed their abilities more than Jugram himself.
But none of that mattered.
Because Jugram stood at the top not just because his ability was strange—
But because his strength was absolute.
As he spoke, Jugram swung his sword toward Cole's shoulder.
In that moment, the plain-looking blade actually made Cole feel danger—like it might truly cleave his shoulder off.
So this is Yhwach's "other half"… even his raw power is this terrifying.
Cole couldn't help praising him internally.
Sometimes, even being a substitute required qualifications.
If you were weak, Yamamoto would cut you down with one slash.
Jugram reaching this level was proof enough of his strength.
If he went all-out, he might even match Yamamoto's Shikai.
As Cole thought—
He spread his five fingers and snapped them forward, grabbing at the sword coming down.
His fingers closed, and he squeezed hard.
Crack—crack—crack…
A piercing sound rang out.
Cole's five fingers were like iron pincers, forcibly gripping the razor-sharp blade.
The sword struggled between his fingers.
Metal rang against flesh—clang after clang—sparks even bursting out.
The Quincy watching all held their breath, shaken to the core.
"No way… even Jugram can't put down this brat?"
"He didn't use any weapon—he caught Jugram's sword with his bare hand. How hard is his body?!"
"If that's the case… maybe rebuilding the Military Police isn't just talk."
"And if His Majesty awakens—after what he's shown, His Majesty will definitely grant him a Holy Schrift."
"He's already this strong… if he gains a Holy Schrift…"
Heavy, tense murmurs spread.
Cole didn't care.
He looked with interest at the palm that had begun to bleed, gave it a shake, and smiled.
"So you can actually break my defense… you really are something."
He had fused as much as thirty percent of his spirit pressure into his blood vessels, suppressing his body to forge the strongest Blut Vene and Blut Arterie.
And on top of that, unlike Shinigami who simply coat their body with spirit power—
He'd stacked two layers of absolute defense.
He could stand still and let Black Coffin: Tengen Myo'o slash him, and it still wouldn't cut him.
Yet even with a body this tough—
Jugram's sword had still carved multiple wounds into his hand.
But Jugram was just as shocked.
He hadn't held back at all.
He had already activated his Holy Schrift—
The Balance of the World.
Its essence was this: through his sword, he directly bestowed "misfortune" onto the opponent. Anything touched by misfortune would become fragile and brittle before him.
If the sword couldn't bring misfortune to the opponent, that meant the opponent possessed a certain level of fortune.
Then Jugram could collect misfortune from across the world to offset that fortune, correcting the scales—forcing the opponent into misfortune again.
And at the moment his sword struck Cole's hand—
He had already bestowed misfortune onto Cole.
Normally, Cole's body should have become extremely fragile to him—one slash should have severed it.
Yet even with misfortune clinging to him, Cole's hand was still like steel.
Only a few bloody cuts appeared.
That alone forced Jugram to grow serious, studying Cole with grim intensity.
What exactly is this black-haired boy?
Is his strength so high he can ignore misfortune?
Or is he so unbelievably lucky that misfortune can't function properly?
Thinking carefully—
Either possibility could be true.
Jugram stopped trying to cut through Cole's wrist. He yanked his sword back and said flatly:
"Great Holy Bow."
In the sky—
A second blue holy bow appeared, not weaker than the monstrous one Cole had formed.
The two holy bows began a frenzied exchange of fire.
Azure arrows—one after another—collided, then exploded, producing violent shockwaves.
The center seemed to become a vacuum zone.
A Wandenreich that had been peaceful for a thousand years was whipped into raging winds.
Countless Quincy couldn't even open their eyes.
Those too close—ordinary holy weapons—could only cling to walls so they wouldn't be blown away.
And in that chaos—
Jugram and Cole charged at each other at the same time.
So fast it was impossible to track.
They became two streaks of light slicing through the sky, sword and fists colliding again and again, airburst cracks erupting nonstop.
Shrieking impacts rang out one after another.
Sparks flew.
With two layers of defense isolating him, Cole's fists and kicks carried terrifying durability—
Hard-pressing Jugram back.
Jugram didn't mind.
As he fought, he continued collecting misfortune from the world, preparing to bestow it on Cole.
So what if you're strong?
So what if you have overwhelming fortune?
Before the world's misfortune, everything becomes fragile.
The two fought to a standstill.
The Sternritter stared at each other, speechless.
Driscoll scowled at Cole in irritation.
"How about we help Jugram and kill this bastard together?"
He'd ruled the Wandenreich like a tyrant for nearly a thousand years—he couldn't tolerate a mere holy weapon being this arrogant.
Worse, this damned holy weapon wanted to steal the Sternritter's authority and rebuild the so-called Military Police.
If His Majesty awakened and this guy really rose above them—
It would be too late.
Cang coldly pulled his gaze from the battlefield and replied:
"If you're not afraid to die, go ahead and try."
He could already see it.
These two were absolute monsters—stronger than them by far.
They might look evenly matched, but either one could spare a little attention and severely injure any of them.
Driscoll's mouth twitched.
Even the strongest defender, Cang, said that—how could someone like him dare to go?
After all, his ability stacked through killing.
To reach peak condition, he had to slaughter dozens of Quincy.
Otherwise he'd be the weakest among the Sternritter.
As their battle continued—
The enormous Silverframe City began to wobble on the verge of collapse. Buildings fell in waves.
Dust rose everywhere. The wind grew wilder.
After Cole threw another punch that struck Jugram's blade head-on, Jugram was pushed back a step and said:
"The Balance of the World!"
Behind him, a glaring white phantom of a massive scale appeared.
The scale rocked, rising and falling.
But the end facing Jugram kept pressing downward—
As if the scales of victory were steadily tipping his way.
The power of misfortune began to take effect on Cole.
Seeing it, Cole couldn't help pursing his lips.
"This feels kind of bad… should I add another ten percent spirit power? This guy is hundreds of times stronger than Shunsui…"
Just as both of them were deciding whether to go further—
Down below, Candice cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted anxiously:
"Hey! You two—stop! Stop fighting! Space is breaking! Are you trying to destroy the entire Wandenreich?!"
Hearing that, Cole and Jugram halted at the same time.
The other Quincy also turned to look.
Candice hurriedly pointed around them.
"Look! The surrounding buildings, the ground—even space itself—are being turned into reishi by you two!"
"If you keep fighting, the Wandenreich could collapse!"
"And then you'll be right in Seireitei!"
Only then did everyone realize—
Because both combatants were using reishi subordination and converting massive structures into reishi, the ruins had become a sea of darkness.
And that darkness was the Wandenreich's true color—
The shadow of Seireitei.
If the buildings and space vanished, the Wandenreich would fully surface from within the shadows.
At that point, as long as the Shinigami weren't blind, they would see the Wandenreich—
Including all of them inside it.
Now the Sternritter couldn't sit still anymore.
They rushed up, preparing to stop the two monsters' fight.
It wasn't that they feared the Shinigami of Seireitei—
They feared Yhwach.
If His Majesty learned they'd disobeyed orders and started the war early…
Even if the Shinigami didn't kill them,
His Majesty would take their power and their lives.
Jugram stared down at the black shadow beneath them, frowning.
Even he hadn't expected it to reach this extent.
Cole, on the other hand, lit up—his eyes gleaming as he licked his lips.
"Interesting…"
He'd only just realized it.
The Wandenreich was built in Seireitei's shadow—and shadows had no "physical" substance.
In other words, every building and material in the Wandenreich's shadow—
Was constructed from solidified spirit power.
The buildings were spirit power.
The soil, the stones—every inorganic thing here was spirit power made manifest.
In terms of total spirit power scale—
The entire Wandenreich held more than ten thousand Seireitei combined.
After all, Seireitei's soil wasn't spirit power. Only its houses, walls, and tiles were constructed with Shinigami spirit power.
Jugram thought for a moment, then exhaled and dismissed the scale behind him.
"That's enough. If we keep going, when His Majesty awakens from his slumber, he will definitely punish both you and me."
Cole wasn't satisfied.
He still wanted to absorb more spirit power.
This was a ready-made feast.
A thousand years of accumulated spirit power—if he swallowed it all in one go, he could strengthen his annihilation power to Yhwach's level.
So Cole raised his brows and said:
"Then if I want to rebuild the Military Police, how about I have a few Sternritter join?"
Jugram sheathed his sword and walked toward the Ice Palace, speaking without looking back:
"Do as you please. Everything will be decided after His Majesty awakens."
Hearing that, Cole could only give up the idea of continuing the battle.
But he still felt annoyed.
So he turned his head and glared at Candice and Liltotto and the other girls with a hostile look.
"So—are you joining the Military Police now?"
(End of Chapter)
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