Haschwalth also noticed the Senkaimon in the sky.
"Retreat," he said calmly.
"Huh?" Askin blinked in surprise, not quite understanding why Haschwalth decided to fall back so quickly. "We just lost one of ours and we're letting it go like that?"
"The Shinigami reinforcements have arrived. If we continue, more will keep coming. Besides..." Haschwalth glanced toward Aizen Sōsuke. "Your Zanpakutō's ability... it clearly isn't just using mist and water to create reflective illusions."
"So I couldn't fool you after all..." Aizen chuckled softly. "Didn't expect to be exposed this quickly."
"Mirror reflection might fool vision, but your ability goes far beyond that. Dragging this out will only make it harder to defeat you in a short time."
Haschwalth drew his sword. A dazzling beam of light burst into the sky, forcing Aizen to back away.
By the time the light faded, the Quincies in the forest had vanished without a trace.
"How did they leave? A method similar to Garganta?" Aizen wondered silently.
Elsewhere:
"Ah... they got away, huh..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi rubbed his chin. He'd already sensed that the Quincies' Reiatsu had disappeared. "Now that I think of it... the way that young Quincy escaped was intriguing. Very similar to your Zanpakutō's ability, Captain. Could it be powered by... imagination?"
God's Footsteps — Robert — had stopped engaging Shiba Isshin the moment he saw the light pillar. He intended to withdraw directly.
A black fissure opened behind him.
But just then, black threads suddenly appeared across the fissure, stitching it shut.
"What the...?"
Robert's gaze sharpened. The shadow passage had been sealed by an unknown force!
"This Quincy can summon shadows?" Urahara Kisuke raised a brow. "Could it be like Heilig Pfeil or Hiryūkyaku—a learnable universal ability?"
The Dreamer—Gremmy had previously used a similar shadow ability right in front of Urahara and Mayuri.
They had assumed it was unique to him... but now, another Quincy had used the exact same move.
"Interesting... the other end connects directly to a target destination. Seems more convenient than the Dangai," Mayuri murmured as he stepped in front of the sealed fissure, ignoring Robert entirely.
Looking through the shadow rift, he saw the other side—a remote island in the World of the Living. It wasn't directly connected to the Wandenreich.
The Sternritter had considered the risk of exposing their homeland. They'd set up transit hubs in various locations throughout the human world.
"They're creating shadow spaces in different places and linking them to achieve long-range displacement."
Nanatsuki descended, locking eyes with Robert.
Robert's Vollständig form made him instantly recognizable.
His combat record was impressive—strong enough to trouble even the future Kyōraku Shunsui.
"A next-generation Shinigami Captain, huh..."
Before he even finished his sentence, Robert appeared behind Urahara.
Nanatsuki and Mayuri had just landed—leaving Urahara isolated!
Bang bang bang! Three Reishi bullets fired nearly simultaneously, targeting Urahara's head, chest, and abdomen.
"So fast!"
Urahara shouted and barely dodged the headshot—but a bullet still pierced his heart.
"When faced with overwhelming speed, numbers mean nothing."
Group tactics couldn't keep perfect synchronization. Robert had used his speed to create a brief 1v1 opening.
Robert glanced down at the fallen Shinigami—the three of them seemed too shocked to react.
But Mayuri, despite seeing Urahara Kisuke fall, showed no visible reaction.
Had Robert known Mayuri better, he might have realized something was wrong from that calm response.
"Bakudō #78: Enkafu."
A voice from behind made Robert's heart jolt.
Several chains shot toward him, wrapping around his waist and limbs.
Turning, Robert saw Urahara standing unharmed—while the body falling to the ground was another Urahara Kisuke.
"Sorry, you hit a fake."
Urahara smiled. Fire surged along the chains, racing toward Robert's body.
While not obsessed with artificial body technology like Mayuri, Urahara had done his own research. He'd created a special Reishi shell stored inside his hat, ready to take his place at any sign of danger.
Robert tried to break free, but this was Bakudō #78—exceptionally strong—and he couldn't escape instantly.
The flames closed in.
Bang bang bang bang! He shot at the chains, breaking several—but the fire still reached him through the two he couldn't sever in time.
His luminous wings unfolded and slashed the remaining chains away.
But before he could react further—a wave of unbearable heat struck from behind.
Thanks to God's Footsteps, he barely managed to turn—but that was all.
A blinding golden light filled his vision.
A long blade burning with flame and thunder slammed into his shoulder. Blut Vene activated instantly, forming a tight weave across his body.
But in his Shunkō: Thunderfire Wild Blaze state, Nanatsuki was unstoppable.
Crack—
The defensive weave fractured. Solidified Reishi burst apart like glass from his veins.
Shhhkkk! The blazing sword pierced his body. Robert finally reacted—retreating fast to widen the distance between them.
"No... I can't die here...!"
His body split in two—but a glowing Reishi cloud hovered above his head, with countless threads anchoring him like a puppet.
"Ransōtengai... Great. Guess we'll have to chop him up."
Nanatsuki clicked his tongue.
With a normal Quincy, an explosive blow might have finished it. But Robert's speed was too great—even with a direct hit, he escaped.
"I've actually done some research on Ransōtengai myself," Mayuri said, pulling out a jar. "As we all know, Quincies are especially sensitive to Hollow Reishi."
He twisted off the lid and scattered its contents into the air.
Countless white particles floated toward the Reishi cloud above Robert's head, sticking to it.
Soon, grotesque white nodules began growing all over the cloud.
"I won't make it to the end..." Robert's expression finally cracked. "Then let me wait for you at the finish line!"
The halo above his head flared. Reishi surged toward him—and absorbed even the white particles Mayuri had released.
With the Hollow Reishi absorbed, Robert began to mutate grotesquely.
His skin bulged. His body swelled.
His wings bloated, covered in white lumps and crawling blood vessels—like tumors.
"He's... undergoing Hollowfication?!"
Mayuri's eyes gleamed. He hadn't expected this.
He thought the Hollow Reishi material would destabilize Robert's body.
But instead of collapsing, the Quincy mutated toward a Hollow form.
Robert soared into the sky. The white tumors on his wings exploded, revealing a swarm of holes.
"DIE!!"
The voice from above echoed like a divine decree.
Bang bang bang bang bang...! Countless Reishi beams shot from the holes in his wings.
The beams fell like a meteor shower—inescapable.
A saturation barrage!
Nanatsuki spread his shadow, deploying Shadow Space as a barrier against the rain of beams.
Ripples danced across the barrier's surface as the barrage hit.
Cracks began to appear.
The more Reishi he released, the more grotesque Robert became. His consciousness grew unstable.
"I... can't stop!!!"
Even more black holes opened across his wings. He was going to fire again.
The forest's Reishi had been nearly drained dry.
At that moment, a shadowy figure appeared on the wall of the Shadow Space.
It held a massive circular ring attached to a black blade, slowly spinning it in its hand.
Robert's vision blurred for a moment—then the world flipped upside down.
Panicking, he spread his wings—more beams erupted—
—but they didn't strike the shadow barrier below.
They fired straight into the sky.
His full-power strike completely missed!
"No way!!"
Robert howled in disbelief.
He didn't understand why his aim failed—but there was no energy left for another shot.
His skin began to bubble with white spheres.
Crack!
The spheres burst—green fluid sprayed everywhere.
Mayuri's white particles hadn't just been Hollow Reishi—he'd laced them with all kinds of poisons.
Robert had absorbed his own death sentence.
He raised his gun one last time. The halo on his head flared again—even his Ransōtengai threads were being drained.
BOOM—he fired the strongest Reishi beam of his life.
And it still missed, blasting harmlessly skyward.
"NO!!!"
He couldn't accept it.
But his body was already beyond saving.
BOOM!
Robert exploded in midair. Bloody pieces rained down, tinged green.
The Shadow Space faded, revealing Nanatsuki and the others.
"How unfortunate."
Mayuri sighed as he watched the remains fall. "The body's wrecked... I'll have to use fewer toxins next time, or I won't have anything left to study."
Strong Quincies like this were rare. Losing even one sample was a shame.
Still, he made sure to collect every scrap and planned to bring them back to the R&D Division.
Nanatsuki landed in front of Isshin, who looked completely drained, and began treating him with Kaidō.
"That Quincy was insanely strong. Those Reishi beams felt like rain—I thought I was dead for sure," Isshin panted. "If Sensei hadn't arrived, I wouldn't have lasted much longer."
"I knew you were in trouble when you stopped replying," Nanatsuki nodded softly.
He checked Aizen's direction. That battle seemed to have ended too, as the other Quincies had withdrawn. But Aizen hadn't joined them yet.
Once Isshin's injuries were stabilized, Nanatsuki headed toward Aizen.
He found him standing before the Divine Seat, examining the statue inside.
"Sensei," Aizen stood and explained, "I figured you could handle your opponent, so I didn't interfere."
"Did you discover anything here?"
Nanatsuki nodded toward the statue. If Aizen was curious, it had to be important.
He quickly noticed that the short figure on the statue looked familiar.
"So many powerful Quincies gathered here—it had to be for a reason. I found traces of a Reishi formula on this statue... possibly some kind of seal," Aizen continued, sharing his deduction. "I believe this statue was their main objective."
"One of the Quincies I fought looked exactly like this statue. And when Isshin and I arrived, we didn't see him. All the others were standing before the statue, and their leader treated it with great reverence."
"You think the Quincy came from the statue?"
Nanatsuki immediately grasped Aizen's point.
"Yes," Aizen nodded.
"Your theory is reasonable. He may have been sealed away long ago—and the Sternritter came to unseal him."
Nanatsuki affirmed the theory.
Though in truth, he'd already figured out the identity of the figure carved in stone.
It could only be...
Pernida Parnkgjas — the Left Arm of the Soul King.