Nanatsuki and Yoruichi had each dispatched their opponents.
"That Quincy's ability was seriously strange… He actually restricted me from using my Zanpakutō!" Yoruichi returned to Nanatsuki's side, pulling a Reiatsu-Converging Pill from her pocket and swallowing it. They still had more enemies to face—she needed to recover as much as she could.
"Many Sternritter possess rule-type abilities. Be cautious."
"Our Reiatsu has already been detected by the Quincies in Silbern—I can sense several powerful presences heading this way." Nanatsuki narrowed his eyes.
"How long do we need to hold out?" Yoruichi felt the pressure mounting. If her teacher hadn't been here, she never would have stood a chance at taking the Sun Gate.
"We've already overwritten the Sun Gate's authority. The shadow passage is almost ready. Just give us two or three more minutes and we'll have it open!" came the report from the tech team.
"Alright. You all focus on finishing the setup—we'll buy you that time!" Nanatsuki confirmed the progress through his Communication Interface.
"Two or three minutes till the gate opens, and Shinigami reinforcements will probably take just as long to get here. We only need to hold out a little longer." Yoruichi mentally counted the seconds on her fingers.
"Looks like the enemy isn't going to let us complete the mission that easily." Nanatsuki's expression chilled as he turned toward the sky above Silbern.
Six white-uniformed Quincies approached, flying with Hiryūkyaku.
Each one was a full-fledged Sternritter.
"Schrift 'R' — Jerome, ability: The Roar."
"Schrift 'O' — Driscoll, ability: The Overkill."
"Schrift 'I' — Cang Du, ability: The Iron."
"Schrift 'L' — Pepe, ability: The Love."
"Schrift 'V' — Gremmy, ability: The Visionary."
"The last one... I don't recognize. Likely a newly promoted Sternritter."
Nanatsuki's gaze swept over the six and he quietly briefed Yoruichi on their identities.
For the known ones, he had already tagged their abilities in his previous intel briefs. With his reminder, Yoruichi instantly recalled who they were.
"This many at once?" Cold sweat gathered on Yoruichi's smooth cheeks.
"Love, The Visionary… and Massacre, plus the unknown one… I'll take those four." Nanatsuki said calmly.
"I'll handle the remaining two." Yoruichi's eyes were resolute.
"How scary… the Shinigami actually found their way here and even have intel on us."
Gremmy, The Visionary, shoved his hands into his pockets, eyes locked on the captain he'd briefly crossed paths with in the World of the Living.
"It must've been Ishida Sōken who betrayed us!"
Jerome, The Roar, was furious. A supporter of Haschwalth's faction, he had long resented Ishida's secretive actions.
"That idiot BG9 didn't even use his Vollständig and got taken down."
Cang Du, The Iron, glanced at the fallen suit of armor on the ground and shook his head.
BG9 wasn't some rookie—he had the ability to enter Vollständig, and still lost without even using it. Overconfidence had been his undoing.
"Take them down first. They're clearly here to seize the Sun Gate—we can't let them get close and disrupt His Majesty!"
Driscoll, The Overkill, quickly reported the situation to Silbern. Reinforcements were sure to arrive soon.
"I won't be careless!"
Jerome raised his pentagram pendant as dense Reishi surged from it, forming a six-pointed star pillar.
DONG—DONG—DONG...
A sacred, long, echoing chime rang out from within the pillar of light.
Jerome entered Vollständig.
Moments later, Driscoll, Cang Du, and Pepe followed suit—activating Vollständig in unison.
Four columns of light pierced the heavens.
Having witnessed three full Sternritter defeated in short order, none of them were willing to take the Shinigami lightly.
As the Reishi pillars fractured and dispersed, the four figures emerged in their transformed states—each surrounded by differently colored wings and halos of spiritual light.
At the same time, Nanatsuki raised his hand—his shadow rapidly expanded outward.
From the shadowed ground, several dark silhouettes slowly rose.
Shosō Eijin: Eikō Mugen'ei.
To counter being outnumbered, Nanatsuki summoned Shadow Clones.
Three identical clones emerged—each one carrying 60% of Nanatsuki's full combat capability as a Shinigami.
In truth, he could divide the shadow further, but doing so would dilute their strength too much. Sternritter were not weaklings. If the power split too thinly, the clones would fall too quickly.
The three clones each engaged Driscoll (Overkill), Pepe (Love), and the unknown rookie Sternritter.
Nanatsuki's true body stepped forward to face Gremmy, The Visionary.
"We meet again, Shinigami." Gremmy showed no urgency—still casually eyeing the clones. "Your Zanpakutō's ability is impressive… even a single clone is enough to hold them off."
While Nanatsuki's shadows couldn't replicate his full strength, they had one major advantage: they felt no pain. Even for powerful Quincies, eliminating them wouldn't be easy.
Nanatsuki said nothing. Reiatsu surged through his body as arcs of thunder wrapped around him.
Back in the World of the Living, he'd fought Gremmy briefly. The Visionary could strengthen his imagined body and rapidly recover from injuries. Conventional attacks were nearly useless.
"Still the silent type? How boring."
"My previous creations weren't that great. I made some upgrades this time—hope you'll like them."
Gremmy snapped his fingers.
In the sky, a dozen old men with pink hair materialized out of thin air.
Then, the old men lunged toward Nanatsuki.
"Human bombs?" Nanatsuki's expression darkened. He sensed the unstable Reiryoku radiating from them.
A wave of intense heat surged around him, flinging the pink-haired old men away in an instant.
The heat and flashing arcs of thunder intertwined—forming a golden spear of lightning.
Nanatsuki hurled the spear into the air.
Gremmy, watching closely, dodged the moment the spear left Nanatsuki's hand.
"Opening with that already?"
But as he evaded, Gremmy realized—
The spear wasn't aimed at him.
When the golden spear reached a hundred meters in altitude, it shattered into dozens of fiery thunderbolts.
And in the next moment—
A golden rain fell from the sky.