"What did you do?", Candice bit lightly on her teeth, her whole body trembling as she stared at Rosse.
She never expected that even after becoming a member of the Sternritter, she would still be defeated in a single move.
She couldn't even follow Rosse's movements at all.
With this kind of gap between them, unless she activated the Vollstandig that Yhwach just granted her right from the beginning, she had no chance of winning.
"What did I do? I only injected hollow power into your body. You should be thanking me. Once you have hollow power, your strength will increase quite a bit," Rosse's cheerful words pierced Candice's heart like a blade, sending chills across her entire body.
Hollows and Quincies were two forces in direct opposition.
Yet the man before her could so easily inject hollow power into her body and even make it merge with her own power.
The terrifying part wasn't the invasion, it was far beyond that.
If any other reishi entered her body, it would either be killed quickly by her own reishi or rapidly destroy her body from within. It would never begin the process of fusing.
But now she could clearly sense Rosse wasn't lying.
Her own reishi was truly merging with the reishi Rosse forced into her body.
But Candice felt no joy at all. Instead, the face that was always filled with arrogance was now covered in fear.
Not long ago, Yhwach had activated Auswahlen and killed all mixed-blood Quincies.
Before that, though they were in the shadows, the hidden empire was not nearly this empty.
All of those people died, killed by Yhwach's Auswahlen.
At the same time, Yhwach gave them hope: the remaining pure-blood Quincies, once selected, could join the Sternritter and gain supreme power.
She was one of those granted power, which meant she understood better than anyone how terrifying Yhwach was.
If anyone discovered that she had hollow power inside her, whether Yhwach or another Sternritter, she was done for.
"You should understand. If this is discovered, you're finished. But you should feel honored. Yhwach might even activate Auswahlen just for you," Rosse leaned close to Candice's ear. His hot breath brought her no warmth.
She was completely doomed.
"You… what do you want?", Candice pressed her lips together, her earlier arrogance gone without a trace.
At this moment she was like a soaked puppy, her face full of helplessness.
"From today on, you're the 9th Espada of Las Noches. Remember that title well," Rosse said with a bright smile.
"You're the Hollow King Rosse?", Candice turned her head abruptly, staring at Rosse in disbelief.
Only now did she realize his true identity.
"Oh? You know who I am? Tell me what you heard. What did Yhwach say?", Rosse asked with interest.
When Rosse was in Soul Society, he avoided most Quincy detection.
Even if they knew his disguise, they should have called him Captain Rosse of the Soul Reapers, not Hollow King Rosse.
To know his position in Las Noches, the information could only come from Yhwach and the rumored All-Knowing, All-Powerful ability.
Even if that ability wasn't truly omniscient, simple predictions or glimpses of scenes were no problem.
"You're one of the five Special Threats marked by His Majesty. You represent the highest 'combat power' in the present age."
Candice looked at Rosse with awe, repeating Yhwach's personal evaluation.
Being considered the strongest combat force even by Yhwach made her instant defeat reasonable.
Even being captured didn't seem so unacceptable anymore.
She didn't serve Yhwach out of admiration. A man dead for 990 years wasn't exactly inspiring.
And killing all mixed-blood Quincies the moment he revived made many Quincies hold complaints in their hearts.
But Yhwach was powerful, could grant power, and held absolute authority over their lives, so obedience was the only choice.
Of course, the Sternritter also had genuinely loyal followers, but Candice was definitely not one of them.
'Highest combat power, huh…'
Not far away, Ishida Ryuken narrowed his eyes, deep in thought as he looked at Rosse.
He hadn't expected that while seeking help in desperation, he would find such a powerful backer.
If Yhwach judged Rosse to be the greatest threat, it proved Rosse truly had the ability to threaten him, far more than Ishida's own chances.
His greatest wish was to take revenge with his own strength, but if he couldn't do it, relying on Rosse wasn't impossible.
"Seems Yhwach knows quite a bit. Highest combat power, huh."
Rosse's eyes carried amusement. If he remembered correctly, the Special Threat originally representing combat power should have been Kenpachi Zaraki, but now it was him.
He wondered what Yhwach had seen in the future to give such an evaluation.
"And the other four? Tell me."
Rosse ran his fingers through Candice's lightning-like green hair. The static-tingling sensation was surprisingly pleasant.
"Don't touch…", Candice shook her head unhappily. She hated anyone touching her hair; it was her favorite style.
But when she met Rosse's half-smiling gaze, she forcibly swallowed the insult she almost said.
She couldn't afford to provoke him.
This was the man Yhwach marked as the highest threat. She, a lamb waiting for slaughter, had no right to act arrogant.
"'Potential' Kurosaki Ichigo, 'Wisdom' Ichibe Hyosube, 'Reiatsu' Aizen Sosuke, 'Unknown Methods' Urahara Kisuke. These are the other four Special Threats marked by His Majesty," Candice answered honestly.
"Kurosaki Ichigo? Urahara Kisuke?"
Hearing those familiar names, both Ishida Ryuken and Kurosaki Masaki were stunned.
These weren't just people connected to them, they were people they saw almost daily.
Who could have imagined that a ten-year-old child would be labeled a Special Threat by Yhwach? Was this a joke?
And even that lazy merchant Urahara Kisuke counted as a Special Threat?
"Why not the Captain Commander?", Ishida Ryuken asked with a frown.
In his view, the Captain Commander who killed Yhwach a thousand years ago should have posed a far greater threat than some of the Special Threats on that list.
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