"What… what is that…?"
"A storm?!"
Having just sent the Wandenreich's Quincy away, Bazz-B, Cang Du, Bambietta and the others were about to immediately return and report to Cole.
But after only a couple of steps, they froze—staring ahead in shock.
At the very center of the Wandenreich…
A blue storm had risen.
It blotted out the sky, covered the heavens, and spread without restraint.
The blue storm shot straight into the clouds like a roaring azure dragon.
Under its sweep, everything was being reishi-ized.
More and more grand structures turned into countless specks of blue reishi.
Like an apocalyptic blue flood.
And because of that, the blue storm in the sky grew larger and larger.
Wherever it passed, it could be described as total annihilation.
No—worse than barren by dozens of times.
Because even space itself was disappearing.
Sky, earth, buildings…
Everything turned into bottomless darkness.
And that was the Wandenreich's original appearance.
Just a realm of shadows.
At the storm's center, Cole looked as if he were bathing in a blue ocean, immeasurable spiritual power filling every corner of his body.
Human, Shinigami, Quincy, Hollow, Fullbringer
The five fundamental power natures.
All of them rose dramatically in this moment.
Feeling the growth of his power, Cole slowly closed his eyes and spread his arms, increasing the intensity of his absorption yet again.
"Not good—it's coming our way…"
Bazz-B, Cang Du, Bambietta, Candice Catnipp and the others paled, instantly taking defensive stances.
But it was completely useless.
Before that overwhelming reishi storm, they had no ability to resist at all, and were swept straight into it.
Fortunately, the storm only targeted reishi.
So aside from dizziness, they felt nothing else.
But watching the storm expand, their hearts were shaken to the limit.
Because the blue storm's spread had already swallowed the entire Wandenreich.
The enormous space was trembling violently.
Large swathes of space collapsed and reverted back into bottomless shadow.
If anyone stepped into that shadow, they would be instantly flung out of the Wandenreich—appearing from some shadow in Seireitei.
Gradually…
The Wandenreich was reduced to ash and nothingness.
In the entire space, aside from the blue reishi motes filling the air, only pure darkness remained.
And even those blue reishi motes were growing fewer and fewer, more and more concentrated into a single point as the storm compressed.
During this, Bazz-B, Cang Du, Bambietta and the others—caught inside the storm—finally saw the figure at its center clearly.
"Corps Commander!!!"
Shock filled their eyes.
The next second, every last mote of reishi light within the storm was swallowed into Cole's body—
And the space itself collapsed.
Boundless darkness flooded everything.
When Bazz-B, Cang Du and the others opened their eyes again…
They suddenly realized they were already in Seireitei.
Before them were buildings completely unlike the Wandenreich's—ancient and solemn, lacking that white "holy" look.
On the streets, Shinigami and Quincy were slaughtering each other.
Blood dyed the ground red.
They couldn't help looking at one another.
Bazz-B's voice was hoarse.
"Just now… what the hell was that? Corps Commander… did he swallow the entire Wandenreich?"
That terrifying scene had burned itself into his soul like a brand.
He felt he would never forget that apocalyptic image for as long as he lived.
Like surviving the end of the world by sheer luck.
The others were also unable to speak, throats dry.
Because when they saw Cole, fear rose from the deepest part of their being.
It wasn't "fear of strength."
It was fear from a difference in life's very essence.
As if Cole stood on a higher dimension—like a god towering above them.
As if he only needed to extend a single finger to grind them into dust and scatter them into the dirt.
Bambietta recovered first. She clenched her fists excitedly, eyes blazing with fanatic heat.
"That has to be the Corps Commander's ability! Didn't you feel it?! His aura got way stronger than before!"
The others gradually came back to themselves too.
That's right—they could clearly sense it.
Cole's presence had become terrifyingly immense.
The Wandenreich was gone.
But in exchange, the Corps Commander's power had skyrocketed.
Thinking like that, it really was a great thing.
After all, even though they'd lived in the Wandenreich for a thousand years…
They never truly considered it home.
No matter how you sliced it, it was just a shadow-space where even soil didn't exist.
Who would want to live like rats under shadows for their entire life?
And more importantly
Before absorbing anything, Cole had deliberately evacuated the Wandenreich's Quincy Soldat.
Preserve the people, and you preserve everything.
That was the logic.
As long as they still had the Corps Commander…
As long as they still had Quincy…
They could rebuild a new Wandenreich at any time.
Besides
Wasn't there an even better place right in front of them?
As long as they took Seireitei…
Who would even care about the Wandenreich?
This was a real world with soil, sky, land, dense reishi—vast beyond measure.
Bazz-B's excitement flared too. Flames ignited in his hands as he stared at nearby Shinigami, impatient.
"So what do we do? Kill these Shinigami?"
As he spoke, he looked around Seireitei, feeling the abundant reishi, his heart pounding with exhilaration.
From now on…
This place would be their empire.
Cang Du was calmer. His voice was low.
"Calm down. The Corps Commander hasn't given an order yet. We shouldn't decide on our own. We should hide first."
Bambietta and the girls nodded as well.
The situation was too complicated, and they didn't know what Cole intended.
Better to hide, watch the tigers fight, and wait until the Corps Commander arrived before making any decisions.
They moved quickly, scanning around, and finally set their eyes on the pure-white Repentance Cell.
"Then we'll wait here for now."
"…"
"WHAT?!"
At that moment, a Quincy fighting Shinigami in Seireitei suddenly changed expression, staring at his feet in disbelief.
"Where's the shadow?!"
Before, they could use shadows to traverse—avoiding the Shinigami's constant reinforcements.
But just now…
When he tried to step through the shadows, he was horrified to discover he could no longer sense the Wandenreich at all.
As if the very concept of the Wandenreich had vanished.
No matter how he tried to return
He couldn't feel it.
The commotion quickly drew other Quincy over, and they tested it too.
The result was the same.
Gradually…
The entire Quincy force panicked.
Because the Military Police's earlier interference meant the number of Quincy who invaded Seireitei wasn't that large.
They had caught the Shinigami off guard at first
But with continuous Shinigami reinforcements, their early advantage would eventually become a disadvantage.
And if they couldn't return to the Wandenreich…
They would be ground down and killed little by little.
This disturbance quickly reached the Sternritter…
And soon reached Yhwach's ears.
Yhwach formed shadows beneath his feet and tried to return to the Wandenreich.
But even he couldn't sense it anymore.
His face turned ugly.
"Damn it!"
"What happened in the Wandenreich?!"
He had created the Wandenreich's prototype a thousand years ago.
He had established that space.
By all logic, the Wandenreich should never reject his entry.
"Was it a Shinigami barrier… or a seal?"
"Or did that brat from the Military Police do something?"
"How did he make the Wandenreich reject me—no, how did he hide the Wandenreich's coordinate…"
Yhwach's expression became terrifyingly grim.
For the first time, he felt true unease.
Because this situation…
He had never seen it in his future fragments.
No—he had seen it.
In the future images, he had seen himself standing tall inside the Wandenreich.
But now…
He couldn't even enter it.
Didn't that mean the future fragments had failed?
If that was true, then it meant his The Almighty had a massive problem.
The future he saw might not be accurate.
Haschwalth stayed relatively calm.
"Your Majesty, it may not be that bad yet. We haven't seen the Quincy from inside the Wandenreich."
If the Wandenreich had truly collapsed, then hundreds of thousands of Quincy should've appeared in Seireitei at the same time.
But they hadn't.
Which meant the Wandenreich likely hadn't "collapsed"
It was just being blocked or concealed somehow.
Only then did Yhwach feel slightly relieved.
He was suspicious by nature, cruel and cold, trusting no one— not even Haschwalth.
To him, everyone was a consumable tool.
Only he mattered.
And the only thing he could truly believe in…
Was The Almighty.
But if even The Almighty betrayed him…
He genuinely didn't know what he would do.
Run?
But without the life force boost brought by war…
He would soon fall back into slumber again.
And this time might be forever.
As his thoughts churned, Yhwach's face twisted, killing intent leaking from between clenched teeth.
"Haschwalth—go."
"Don't disappoint me."
He had already decided.
Since he couldn't return to the Wandenreich…
Then he would abandon it.
And forcefully take Seireitei today.
Because he had been driven to the very edge.
At this point, he had no path of retreat left.
Only slaughter.
Only more power.
Only charging straight toward the throne of Heaven in one unstoppable surge.
Because as long as he obtained the Soul King's power…
No matter how bad the situation became, he could flip it all by himself.
"Yes."
Haschwalth answered respectfully, drew a deep breath, and exchanged power with Yhwach.
When it was done…
Haschwalth's figure shifted
He transformed into Yhwach's appearance.
Then he strode forward, heading straight for Squad One.
"Yamamoto… I've come for you!"
(End of Chapter)
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