"So it really is annihilation power…"
"Drawing in external reishi and converting it into one's own spirit bow…"
"But the annihilation power contained within is the key. How can he, a Shinigami, wield a Quincy ability…"
The Quincy's body trembled as he stared at Cole in disbelief.
Quincies and Shinigami might look the same on the outside, but their essence was that of two completely different races.
There was a fundamental gap at the soul level.
That was why Quincies couldn't possess zanpakuto, and Shinigami couldn't obtain spirit bows.
Yet this black-haired youth before him had broken that iron law.
"It really is interesting. Annihilation power—another kind of excavation into the essence of spiritual power, completely different from a Shinigami's strength…"
Cole looked at the spirit bow in his hand with great interest.
Now that he possessed this ability, he finally understood the essence of Quincies.
First, it was worth mentioning that the biggest difference between Quincies and Shinigami wasn't the soul itself, but the relationship between "vessels" and reishi.
Because both of their power sources came from reishi.
A Shinigami was born after an intelligent lifeform died—absorbing reishi as a soul.
But a Quincy was born while still possessing a physical body—absorbing reishi as a living body.
The reason for that difference was life and death.
Shinigami represented death.
Quincies represented life.
So Shinigami possessed the power of creation—turning death into rebirth, allowing countless souls to return to the grand cycle.
Meanwhile, Quincies possessed the power of destruction—turning life into death, holding the ability to completely erase a soul's existence.
The reason he couldn't learn Quincy power before was because in a soul state, he couldn't grasp the Quincy essence.
But now he understood.
To become a Quincy, one had to merge soul and flesh into reishi—making the body a reishi vessel.
And that was something a Shinigami could never do.
Because Shinigami were already dead—souls without living flesh.
But his own essence was still human.
As he thought, Cole let large amounts of reishi fuse into his body and flow into his right hand, causing the blue flames in his palm to burn even more fiercely.
The blue bow also changed shape along with it.
For a moment, it became a blade.
Then a staff.
Then a spear-axe.
Cole even shaped the reishi into the form of a handgun—but when he pulled the trigger, he couldn't fire the reishi out.
"Do I need to fully understand the internal structure of a handgun before I can make reishi function as one?"
Cole's lips curled slightly. He looked at the Quincy and said:
"This really is a fascinating ability. I didn't expect that as a human, mastering reishi could lead to this kind of power."
Now he finally understood why Seireitei didn't want Substitute Shinigami to exist.
Because Substitute Shinigami were still human in essence.
If they could master reishi as humans, they could comprehend the true core of Quincy power.
Of course, that was hard—many humans couldn't even sense spiritual power.
But there would always be a few exceptionally gifted ones.
Like Ichigo, Karin, and even those influenced by the Hōgyoku.
And if those kinds of existences increased, it would inevitably affect the cycle of the three realms, potentially collapsing the entire system.
At that moment, the Quincy reacted too, staring at Cole in terror.
"Y-you… you're not a Shinigami. You're human."
Shinigami couldn't wield annihilation power—this was practically common sense among Quincies.
So the only possibility was that the one before him was human.
"Pretty much."
Cole didn't deny it. He looked at the Quincy with interest.
"Let me ask you—once a human learns to use reishi, can they be called a Quincy?"
"How could that be possible!?"
The Quincy shook his head reflexively.
"A normal human will never sense reishi in their entire life. Only those who are born Quincies can sense it…"
Cole realized something and recalled certain information about Yhwach from the canon.
The world knew Yhwach as the Quincy King, but few knew he actually wasn't the first Quincy.
Even before him, Quincies would occasionally be born in the human world—just without his kind of power.
As for the Quincies he could currently command, at their core they were merely puppets catalyzed by his power.
True naturally awakened Quincies wouldn't be affected by Seibetsu (Holy Selection).
But that kind of Quincy was extraordinarily rare—like phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
With that thought, Cole looked at the Quincy with great enthusiasm.
"I've heard real Quincies have many abilities—like Still Blood Arm and Moving Blood Armor. Can you demonstrate them for me?"
He understood the basic principles of Still Blood Arm and Moving Blood Armor, but not the fine details.
Their essence was the same:
Infusing reishi into a human's blood vessels to strengthen defense and offense.
But he didn't know exactly which blood pathways were involved.
That didn't matter—if the Quincy demonstrated it once, Cole could use reiraku (Spirit Threads) to perfectly replicate it.
The Quincy broke out in cold sweat, not daring to agree.
Because that was like digging out the Quincy race's foundation.
If Shinigami researched a counter-tool or counter-technique from this, he'd become the greatest sinner of the Quincy race.
Swallowing hard, the Quincy forced a smile.
"M-my lord… if you're human, then you're not on the Shinigami's side. And since you've already mastered annihilation power, why not join the Invisible Empire?"
"Our Invisible Empire's battle power is far stronger than Seireitei's. In the coming war, the Shinigami have no chance."
"If you join us, with your strength, you'll definitely be able to enter the Sternritter. And then…"
"Hahahaha…"
Cole couldn't help laughing and interrupted him. He turned to Yoruichi and said with a grin:
"Did you hear that? He's inviting me to join the Invisible Empire. I'm pretty popular now."
Yoruichi had still been shocked by what happened earlier, but after hearing Cole, she snapped back immediately and rolled her eyes.
"What 'popular'? You're so stinky. You haven't bathed in days, have you?"
"How could that be!?"
Cole protested right away.
"I use spiritual power to clean myself every day. I'm cleaner than humans who take showers."
Yoruichi blinked, then silently took a few steps farther away, wary.
"So that means you really haven't taken a bath in a long time, huh?"
"More or less… it's been a month."
Cole rubbed his chin.
"But who cares? Spiritual power can clean you anyway. And I can even hollowfy…"
"Wait—why are you standing so far away!?"
Cole's face darkened as he stared at Yoruichi.
Yoruichi said with disgust, "Stay away from me. No wonder you stink—you haven't been bathing."
Cole's face went even darker. He lunged at Yoruichi with a vicious look.
"I told you, I'm not stinky. If you hate it that much, then today I'll make you smell it properly."
"Hahaha—don't come over here…"
Seeing Cole and Yoruichi messing around, the Quincy wiped sweat off his forehead, thinking he'd figured something out, and hurriedly said:
"My lord, if you join the Invisible Empire, you can choose any women you want here. They'll definitely be whiter than this woman."
"Hah?"
Yoruichi—still struggling in Cole's arms—turned her face dark, her gaze turning dangerous as she looked at the Quincy.
"This is a healthy color. Say one more word and I'll make you suffer before you die."
"N-no…"
Cole blinked and said, "Isn't this your natural color? I remember your little brother—your little pretty-boy—was pretty dark too…"
Bang!
Yoruichi punched Cole hard on the head.
"My brother is not a little pretty-boy."
Cole rubbed his head and complained, "He's that feminine—how is he not?"
After struggling internally for a moment, the Quincy grit his teeth and said:
"My lord, if you don't like ordinary women, there's also a women's group in the Sternritter. They're all nobles of high status, and every one of them is beautiful—"
Cole's eyes lit up as he recalled the Sternritter women.
"Go on. Tell me in detail."
Bang!
Yoruichi slammed a fist into Cole's chest, then bit him, snarling viciously:
"If you dare fool around here, I'll tell Rukia later. I'll make sure she never pays attention to you again."
Cole instantly looked devastated, and stared at the Quincy with deep regret.
"What a shame. There's a black cat turned black tiger next to me. Hurry up and demonstrate Still Blood Arm and Moving Blood Armor."
Only then was Yoruichi satisfied. She cracked her knuckles and walked toward the Quincy.
"Just talking won't make him cooperate. At times like this, it's better if I handle it. I'll make sure he demonstrates properly."
The Quincy's face went pale with terror. With a thud, he collapsed to the ground.
He knew he couldn't outlast this demon woman's interrogation.
So he glared at the two of them with hatred and roared:
"Damned Shinigami!! Our Invisible Empire will definitely defeat your Seireitei! When that time comes, it'll be your doom!"
The moment Yoruichi heard that, she felt something was off.
She shot forward at extreme speed.
But the Quincy—no one knew what he did—his body began trembling violently, and blood seeped from his skin.
"Bakudō no Sanjū: Shitotsu Sansen (Beak-Piercing Triple Flash)!"
Yoruichi shouted. Three golden shards shaped like bird beaks formed out of thin air and pierced into the Quincy's body.
But even then, the male Quincy's body continued to bleed uncontrollably.
In just a few seconds, his life signs hit zero.
"What is this…"
Yoruichi stared grimly at the Quincy's corpse, then at the pool of blood on the ground, completely unable to understand how he managed suicide.
Logically, the instant Bakudō restrained him, he shouldn't have been able to mobilize reishi anymore.
Cole saw the key immediately and said calmly:
"He forced an enormous amount of reishi into his blood vessels. Some of the vessels were too thin to bear it, so all his blood vessels ruptured."
Yoruichi frowned deeply.
Because of the essential difference in their power systems, she couldn't think of any way to stop it.
"Don't overthink it. As long as we restrain a Quincy's body the moment we see them with Bakudō, we can stop them from committing suicide."
Cole wasn't bothered—just a bit regretful he hadn't managed to learn Still Blood Arm and Moving Blood Armor.
After all, judging by the anime, a Quincy's Still Blood Arm defense was even stronger than a Menos's hierro.
And Moving Blood Armor was practically equivalent to a Shinigami's bankai—an instant explosive boost in strength.
If he mastered those two, then fused them with Shinigami and Hollow power, his strength would multiply.
Yoruichi exhaled, nodded, and temporarily set the matter aside. She handled the Quincy's corpse.
Then she looked at Cole.
"So what now? Do we return to Seireitei? Or keep exploring?"
Cole thought briefly, then pointed at his white robe.
"Let's keep exploring. I'm still using this guy's identity—if I leave too suddenly, it might alert the Quincies."
Yoruichi nodded as well, agreeing with his plan.
Even if they returned to report, Seireitei would still have to send people to scout the Invisible Empire.
Better to handle it in one go.
After all, she was Flash Goddess Yoruichi. When it came to reconnaissance, she was unmatched in Seireitei.
"Then where do we go next?"
Yoruichi removed the barrier and glanced around.
The dense cages made her feel deeply uncomfortable, even if they were filled with Hollows.
"Well…"
Cole looked to the southwest—toward the most prosperous part of the Invisible Empire's city district—and said:
"Let's head that way. That should be Silverframe City. According to what that Quincy said, that's where he was patrolling."
Yoruichi nodded, then looked down at her clothes with a headache.
"This outfit won't work, will it…"
She was still wearing Cole's shihakusho. If the Quincies saw it, the entire Invisible Empire would erupt.
And then forget about scouting intel—
Countless Quincies would hunt the two of them down.
Cole raised an eyebrow.
"Then I'll go get you a female Quincy outfit?"
"Forget it…"
Yoruichi sighed, stretched lazily, and transformed back into a black cat.
"On the way here, I barely saw any female Quincies. That means women probably don't have a suitable identity for moving around the city."
As she spoke, Yoruichi leapt lightly and slipped straight into Cole's clothes.
"I'll just hide inside your clothes."
(End of Chapter)
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