— — — — — —
"What did you think I was doing all that time hiding out in Twelfth Division?"
Yamamoto's voice overlapped on itself, like several people speaking at once.
A trait of Shinigami who have undergone Hollowfication.
"With Ryūjin Jakka useless against Ryo Yagami, did you think I wouldn't make preparations?"
"Did you think I lacked the resolve to die protecting the Soul Society?"
What the hell.
Just to fight Yagami… you actually went and Hollowfied yourself?
Yhwach's expression was the picture of disgust and misery, like he'd been forced to swallow shit.
This wasn't in the futures he saw. Again, the future had shifted.
And Yamamoto hollowfied to deal with Ryo Yagami… only to turn that power on him?
Are you crazy, old man?
No wonder his Bankai-stealing didn't work. The moment Yamamoto Hollowfied, he stopped being a "simple Shinigami." Naturally Yhwach's tricks were useless.
Damn it. Wasn't he worried that losing control during the process would tear the Soul Society apart from inside his own body?
'Wait. Am I taking the hit for Yagami here?'
This Hollowfication was supposed to be Yamamoto's contingency for Ryo Yagami!
Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.
'I, Yhwach, actually got blindsided… and it's because of Ryo Yagami, who never won against me in any of the tens of thousands of futures I saw.'
'Should I alter the future? No. Yamamoto's reiatsu is too high. My ability only works if the enemy's reiatsu isn't more than twice mine. I can't rewrite Yamamoto's future anymore…' Yhwach fought the urge to fully invoke the Almighty.
"Don't tense up. It'll be over in a moment."
As Yamamoto whispered, Yhwach's eyes snapped wide. He turned just in time to see Yamamoto's hand clamped around his left arm.
Zanka no Tachi came down.
Yhwach stared at his severed limb, fury twisting his face.
"You old bastard!"
Another slash.
His left leg vanished.
Shock and anger dissolved into a crawling fear.
With no other choice, Yhwach activated the Almighty.
Distance exploded between them. In an instant he was several kilometers away.
He rewrote the future in which he died.
"You… you actually dared…"
Hovering far off in the sky, Yhwach stared at Yamamoto and that pale, bone-like mask.
This old man had been a mountain crushing him for a thousand years, forcing him into hiding, forcing him into humiliation.
And now, after finally awakening, after finally regaining his power, he had to face a Yamamoto whose Bankai was stronger than before… and who had Hollowfied.
Isn't this old relic supposed to be the biggest stickler for rules? How does he dare—how does he dare Hollowfy?
And that Yagami bastard… what the hell did he do to push Yamamoto this far?
'You force Yamamoto to evolve, and I'm the one paying for it?'
Yhwach took several deep breaths. He understood. There was only one path left if he wanted to win.
Auswählen—
---
"Ara~ Ara~ I can't sense the old man's Hollow-tainted reiatsu anymore. So he reached a new level? That was a dangerous gamble."
Kyoraku Shunsui pressed down the tattered remains of his hat. His clothes were slashed in multiple places as he eyed Jugram Haschwalth.
"Looks like your king is about to lose."
"His Majesty cannot fail," Haschwalth answered calmly.
"Oh? Sounds like your loyalty doesn't have limits," Kyoraku teased.
Haschwalth didn't respond. But a second later, he heard Yhwach's whisper inside his mind.
'My children… Return your power… to me.'
Haschwalth froze, eyes widening.
"Auswählen…? No! Your Majesty, don't!"
"Auswählen?" Kyoraku frowned, his tone darkening. "I've heard that when Yhwach activates it, he forcibly drains every Quincy in the world of their power…"
He didn't finish.
He fell silent as one unfamiliar Quincy reiatsu after another winked out of existence.
After all the fighting… after the Soul Society's forces were battered and barely standing… without killing a single Sternritter…
The entire Sternritter army was gone.
Destroyed by their own king.
"Well, this is…" Kyoraku lowered his hat brim and sighed. "My condolences."
"Your Majesty… how could you… how could you…" Haschwalth whispered, disbelief twisting his face.
Wandenreich had been erased. The pure-blood Quincy were extinct. And the executioner was... Yhwach.
Haschwalth's sword clattered to the ground.
"Bazz… Gerard… Liltotto… you all... that can't be..."
Kyoraku looked at the dazed Haschwalth and sighed softly. "Seems you were… special to Yhwach."
Then, gently. "So… what do you say we stop fighting?"
"…"
"I'll take that as a yes."
— — —
The sky flooded with a vast ocean of blue reishi.
It was the power of nearly every Quincy on the planet, condensed into a single sea.
"Power. This is power."
Yhwach threw his arms wide and laughed.
His eyes had split into double pupils. Proof the Almighty was fully active.
"Do you see it, Yamamoto?"
Yhwach swung both fully restored arms and laughed harder.
"I've changed the future! I stand at your level now! No—beyond it!"
"From this point on, you're already dead!"
Hollowfied Yamamoto stared at him with molten-gold eyes.
"You slaughtered every subordinate you had. You've lost your mind, Yhwach."
"Lost my mind?" Yhwach blinked, then burst out laughing. "And you, using Urahara's experiments and turning yourself into a Hollow—that's sane?"
"I see it clearly, Yamamoto."
His voice curled into a sneer.
"You were terrified you couldn't suppress Ryo Yagami. Terrified of that outsider's power. You craved Hollow strength. You even experimented on yourself."
"You, the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years… now a Hollowfied monster… actually shaking in fear of a human."
"Coward."
"You're a coward."
Yamamoto gripped his blade, genuinely puzzled. "Yhwach… in your eyes, what exactly do you think Ryo Yagami is?"
"Just a damn weak human."
Yhwach presented hand, pointing at Yamamoto. "No more talking. I'll finish everything in an instant. I'm the Almighty."
But then a light, amused voice drifted through the air. "At this point in history, who still calls himself Almighty?"
Yhwach stiffened. Slowly, he lowered his gaze and looked behind him.
Less than ten meters away stood a black-haired man in a Shihakushō, Zanpakutō at his waist. Handsome, relaxed expression, studying Yhwach with mild curiosity.
Ryo Yagami.
Yhwach narrowed his eyes.
.
.
.