Chapter 68: The Pitch-Black Flood of Muscular Apocalypse
Perhaps it was destiny, or perhaps a mere coincidence. To become a true Martial Artist, one always seems to start by being surrounded and beaten by a group of muscular giants.
This was exactly the situation Aizen, Kisuke Urahara, and the others found themselves in. Besieged by a crowd of scantily-clad "Hellish Macho-Men," they fought and retreated, soon finding themselves pressed to the very edge of the Soul King Palace.
It wasn't that Urahara's group was weak. The Visoreds alone were mostly Captain-level, not to mention Aizen's trio. Excluding monsters like Yamamoto, this team could take the Gotei 13 head-on. They were retreating solely because these Hellish combatants were exceptionally bizarre.
As grunts born from the Miasma of Hell, they possessed the traits of suppressing, devouring, and annihilating Reishi. Urahara's Zanpakuto could cut them, but the wounds weren't enough to secure a win. Furthermore, they didn't want to tank the hits from these giants—whose strength was nothing short of "monstrous." To take a hit meant being wrapped in wisps of Hell Miasma, requiring a significant expenditure of spiritual power just to neutralize the rot.
More importantly: there were simply too many of them!
Endless miasma billowed from the palace, and with a roll on the ground, a muscular man with a "cheerful and free" Ricardo Milos-style smile would be born, charging at Aizen's group with reckless abandon.
Urahara groaned inwardly. He wanted to use his Bankai, Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame, but its power involved restructuring and manipulating everything it touched—a terrible matchup against these Hell-beings. If he used it, he wasn't sure who would be "restructuring" whom.
Suddenly, the seventy-two layers of barriers that the Monk had used to seal the palace were dismantled!
"It seems you have yet to understand the meaning of this preliminary round. My angels... leave. Blow the horn for the bewildered mortals. Tell them... the flood of apocalypse has arrived."
Urahara and the others didn't need to be told twice. They bowed and fled. Only Rukia remained. She wanted to leave, but her body transformed into the Demon Muscle Man against her will, and she flew back toward the Soul King's tower!
Entering the tower through a rift in the shadows, under the gaze of countless blood-red eyes, Rukia knelt before the Soul King.
"My first angel of this world... this is our first formal meeting. Your tenure at Heaven Media hasn't been long, but your contributions are deep. The headquarters is being built, and we're preparing to go public. It's time to pay the startup team. Do you have a wish? If so, speak. I will consider it based on your merits."
Mo Yu hated bosses who expected work without pay. Having been in the "workforce," he understood. Previously, he was a "startup" with limited resources, but now that the company was thriving, it was time for bonuses.
Rukia really wanted to say: Your Majesty, can you fire me and let me go back to being a refined lady? But looking up at the Soul King encased in crystal—specifically, meeting those deep eyes—the words died in her throat. The sheer, terrifying majesty of the Three Worlds focusing on her made any thought of disrespect impossible.
"Daughter of the Kuchiki clan... greets the Lord Soul King. I implore you to forgive the past sins of the Kuchiki family..."
"If that is your wish, it is both easy and difficult. If it's just the betrayal of a million years ago, I can grant pardon. For the sins of the last million years, for your sake, if the clan actively reforms, they will be forgiven. But... the Original Sin of the Kuchiki family's participation in the creation of the Three Worlds is another matter. Even with my forgiveness, you must ask if the World itself will allow it."
"Your Majesty... why is creating the Three Worlds an Original Sin?"
Mo Yu spoke flatly: "In the beginning, this world was two sides of one coin: the Chaos World and Hell. As a Soul Reaper, you know where the powerful souls go when they die. From the start, you knew the significance of Hell. To divide the worlds and ignore Hell—the true realm of Death—is the Original Sin all Soul Reapers bear."
Rukia's face turned pale as she contemplated this.
Through the Soul King's perspective, Mo Yu had confirmed his theories. The World Bubbles of the Silver Sea are influenced by the "source material" (the manga), but as they develop, they are hit by the "tides of thought" from reality, leading to logical corrections and deviations.
In this World Bubble, the Chaos World and Hell were born simultaneously as two sides of a whole. Hell is the true underworld; Chaos is the world of the living. But this simple binary system failed because Hell had an "entry only, no exit" policy, creating the Tribulation of Hell. The Soul King was born to manage this.
Back then, the Soul King—or the World's Tool-Man consciousness—stayed silent regarding the Nobles' plan to divide the Three Worlds. That silence was the answer. Dividing the worlds solved the Reishi crisis but accelerated the Hell crisis. By calling themselves "Soul Reapers" (Gods of Death) and "managing" souls, they stole the authority over death while ignoring the actual place of death: Hell.
It was a merit that delayed one calamity but a crime that invited another: the crime of Reversing Yin and Yang. This sin wouldn't manifest immediately, but it would return with interest. That was why this world was drifting toward a "Hell IF" timeline.
The five Nobles betrayed the King to create the Three Worlds, and the World allowed it. The profit was shared for a million years; the sin must now be paid by everyone.
"Because of the imbalance, Hell has grown hungry," Mo Yu continued. "Its pull on the Three Worlds increases daily, held back only by my vessel. If the Ark Era is to begin, this must be solved. Hence, the shadows of Hell shall sweep the worlds like a flood. You are Heaven Media's Employee #001. I'll give you a path: if you truly wish to redeem your clan, go to Hell and become its King."
Mo Yu could turn the world into an Ark right now, but a fragile Ark with Hell "biting its heels" would fall apart in the Silver Sea. Old karma had to be liquidated.
To balance Hell, there were two ways.
The Violent Method: Pummel Hell until it vomits out what it has eaten, solving the Reishi stagnation at its root. This required high-purity Martial Artists who lived to beat the world.
The Sovereign Method: Hell needs a King. In the original movie Hell Verse, Ichigo briefly held that power to keep the gates shut. Mo Yu wanted the opposite: a King who would open the gates and regulate the flow.
This King could be the Messiah (Ichigo), or a Fallen Angel (Rukia). Mo Yu was open to anyone. This was why he told Urahara the preliminaries were necessary—if you couldn't handle a few Hell grunts, you couldn't handle the burden of the throne.
"Think it over," Mo Yu told Rukia. "If you wish to rule Hell, I can give you extra help to make your wish worth its price."
Rukia, though cold in demeanor, was deeply loyal to her family. For the Kuchikis, she would not hesitate. She was about to agree when she remembered Mo Yu's "style" and asked cautiously:
"Your Majesty... what kind of 'help' are we talking about?"
Mo Yu laughed heartily. "Simple! I will personally act. While retaining your status, I will 'deregister' your residency in the Three Worlds and blast you into dust—err, I mean, deliver you directly to the depths of Hell. You'll complete a conceptual 'Fall.' With your high status and 'empty' residency, Hell will be eager to recruit a talent like you!"
Rukia's heart skipped a beat. "Forgive me... is 'act' a euphemism for 'clenching your fist and punching me'?"
"Quite right! You catch on fast, Rukia. Don't worry, I've optimized the Soul King's Divine Fist for mass transport. Not only is the lethality increased, but the administrative efficiency is also boosted! One punch and your resignation, residency cancellation, and overseas work permit are all processed instantly. As for the pain... just grit your teeth and count the spots on the ceiling."
Rukia hesitated, but after the "Hair-Slick Ascension" social suicide, she wasn't exactly eager to see Byakuya anyway. She nodded.
Then, she experienced it. Mo Yu didn't lie; it was fast! So fast she didn't even see the punch. It felt as if the entire universe roared and surged toward her like a mountain.
Deep within the fist's intent, she glimpsed the truth: Hell was hungry for the Soul King Himself. Eerie chains were already reaching out to bind Him. The Soul King didn't resist; He already had one foot in that door.
Then, the punch landed.
In a mist of blood, via the Hand of God, Rukia completed her "Express Fall" process!
With Rukia sent to Hell, the amber crystal binding the King cracked further. The King's pitch-black eyes flickered with an eerie red light.
Mo Yu hadn't chosen the name "King of Fighters" randomly. In the KOF games, the tournaments are famous for "Deep Water"—super bosses constantly intruding to surprise the fighters. Mo Yu intended to keep that tradition alive.
The fighters didn't know this yet, but they would.
Next, the Miasma of Hell within the palace surged violently. It was no longer a wave; it was an inverted celestial river. Thousands of "Hellish Macho-Men" leapt from the palace, falling like rain toward the Soul Society!
February 1st, Year XX. Weather in the Soul Society: Torrential Rain.
A rain of black muscle-men fell upon the earth, their numbers swelling until they formed a human sea.
The Pitch-Black Flood of Muscular Apocalypse was marching.
End of Chapter
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