Chapter 191: Toward Destruction—The Barrier Pillars Collapse, Fiander Reappears
"Hello there! What are you looking at?"
Suddenly, a cold and commanding voice sounded directly beside Tessai Tsukabishi's ear. The proximity made Tessai's body tremble reflexively. He looked back with extreme vigilance, only to discover that the Arrancar who had caused Urahara Kisuke so much trouble was standing less than three meters away, looking down at him.
"No... that's impossible!"
"You're still alive?!"
The sunglasses Tessai Tsukabishi had been wearing had long since disappeared. The mustache beneath his nose twitched slightly as his entire body assumed a defensive posture.
At this moment, a deep black void had opened in Fiander's chest, and irregular black substances clung to various parts of his body. Even half of his originally handsome face had turned black, creating a truly terrifying appearance.
"That's correct. Thanks to you and Urahara Kisuke, I nearly didn't make it back!"
"However, you people are remarkably ruthless. There were so many Shinigami within the barrier pillars, yet you sacrificed them so easily. Compared to Urahara Kisuke's actions, even what Kurotsuchi Mayuri has done pales in comparison!"
Fiander, who had returned to the present world through a Garganta, had undergone drastic changes in appearance. Strictly speaking, this marked the second time Fiander had nearly fallen into Urahara Kisuke's hands. This made him—someone who had always looked down upon Soul Society—feel genuinely wary for the first time.
Recalling the aftermath of his battle with Yamamoto Genryūsai at the barrier pillars' core, he'd concluded the confrontation by exiling Genryūsai into the Dangai through a Garganta. He'd intended to take the opportunity to lay low and wait until after the decisive battle between Kurosaki Ichigo and Aizen concluded before revealing himself again to achieve his ultimate goal.
As a result, before he could even catch his breath, the entire space had begun trembling uncontrollably. Even Fiander, who had mastered black cavity analysis capabilities, found himself unable to tear open a new Garganta to escape from this chaotic dimension.
The same held true for the Shinigami below. All of them stood shocked upon the violently shaking ground, utterly at a loss.
"What on earth is happening?!"
In their severely injured states, Kyōraku Shunsui and the others, who could barely manage to move, struggled to their feet with tremendous difficulty. At this moment, the spiritual energy throughout the entire space had become disordered, and even many people's Reiatsu had spiraled out of control.
"Did you do this? What is your objective?!"
Kyōraku looked up toward the sky, toward the man who had defeated Gotei 13's Captain-Commander, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, in direct combat.
"Don't speak nonsense, Captain Kyōraku!"
Looking at the swaying crowd below, Fiander spoke with genuine sincerity in his voice. "I harbor positive feelings toward this world. I possess no malicious intent whatsoever!"
"As for why all of this is happening, I believe there's only one person responsible—and that would be that man!"
Following Fiander's line of sight, Kyōraku felt his heart turn cold. He instantly understood whom the other was referring to.
"Damn it!"
At this moment, Soi Fon was also being supported by others, barely managing to stabilize her stance. Not only was the ground shaking violently—even the sky itself was trembling.
Cracks began appearing throughout the space, and blue electrical currents visible to the naked eye crackled within these fissures.
Observing this scene, Fiander's expression changed drastically as he instantly sensed what was occurring.
"Urahara Kisuke!"
At that very moment, standing throughout Karakura Town, the four enormous magical barrier pillars—the devices used to maintain the transformation—began crumbling into powder at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As these pillars dissipated, the surrounding area began being consumed by spatial rifts. To use more technical terminology, the barrier pillars existed at the junction of two separate spaces, relying on the pillars that maintained the barrier to give them form.
If the barrier pillars dissipated, then the spirit land and Soul Society would simply return to their original configurations. However, that applied only under normal circumstances.
Judging from the current situation, Urahara Kisuke had implemented his contingency plan. If Genryūsai lost to Fiander, Urahara intended to destroy this space entirely and have both Fiander and himself buried here together. This was also the resolve that Genryūsai himself had carried into battle.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Fiander had believed that having evolved at the life-level, he would have no enemies aside from the fully awakened Yhwach and the Soul King's monk. Yet he'd never anticipated capsizing in these waters.
Feeling the spatial cracks gradually encroaching upon the area where he stood, the entire space would transform into absolute nothingness within mere minutes. If he was fortunate and his body wasn't completely decomposed, he might still float through the Dangai—a space reserved for the dead.
At this time, the Shinigami on the field became shrouded in a yellow halo that froze them in place—whether they were members of the Visored or captains of Gotei 13, whether they stood upright or lay unconscious.
After they became enveloped by the yellow halos, the world began collapsing in earnest. Buildings toppled and fell. Observing this scene, Fiander attempted to break into the protective halos surrounding the Shinigami below, only to discover himself completely isolated.
Even though he stood immediately adjacent to them, he couldn't make contact. It was exactly like the technique that Menos Grande had employed to rescue their comrades in Soul Society—the Negación. The similarity was unmistakable.
It appeared that after Aizen's previous rescue, Urahara Kisuke had developed an analogous technique.
At this moment, Wonderweiss Margela, who had followed Fiander to the present world—the Arrancar who had extinguished Genryūsai's flames for Aizen and the others—was torn apart as the entire space fractured. He vanished from this world with a scream he didn't even have time to fully release.
Seeing the black spatial rifts about to consume him entirely, at the final moment, Fiander could only release his godhead once more to protect the body he'd worked so hard to obtain. He used the power of ice to barely resist the damage that the shattering space inflicted upon his physical form.
Crackle... crackle...
As the final spatial crack exploded, the entire world fell into absolute solitude. Everything became silent at once. All that had existed before was swallowed by the void, leaving not a single trace of life remaining.
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