Seiya Arima.
The moment this name was spoken.
The air at the scene seemed frozen.
Many people showed different levels of confusion, as if this name didn't exist in their memories.
To the point where they were now puzzled, even showing expressions close to bewilderment.
Who is he?
Only Yhwach frowned tightly at this moment.
He seemed to know this person's identity, and vaguely recalled some hazy things.
However, this hazy feeling like seeing flowers through fog prevented Yhwach from making any further judgments at this moment.
As if...
His memory was missing this corresponding piece of the puzzle.
However, at this very moment, as the other's 'self-introduction' settled, that missing part was filled in, now presenting a strong sense of existence.
He remembered.
Everything.
An extremely disgusted expression appeared on Yhwach's face.
Because the moment he recalled, he completely understood the reason behind this.
His lips slightly closed, yet as if squeezing out those short syllables from between his teeth, he hatefully called out that name at this moment.
"Soul King..."
That's right.
Using Soul King-level power, the memory named 'Seiya Arima' was removed and stripped from the three worlds.
This also led to even someone as powerful as Yhwach losing all impressions of him.
Even when keeping him by his side, even when granting him Quincy power...
He still couldn't remove this 'concealment.'
Rage.
Perhaps even this description wasn't enough to explain one ten-thousandth of Yhwach's current mood.
"Foolish!!!"
Blue light flows surrounded his body, spiritual pressure began to undulate like substance, making Yhwach's voice sound fierce and terrifying at this moment.
His hair and beard flew, rolling upward into the air.
Even without Yamamoto's terrifying power, just through the eruption of spiritual pressure alone, he completely scattered the dark clouds in the sky.
The ancestor of the Quincies, who always believed the strong should be composed and not show their emotions, had... lost his composure at this moment.
"Are you willing to personally act just to scheme against me?"
"Do you think that with such a person who isn't even worthy of being a chess piece, you can once again disrupt my destiny?"
"What do you think you are?! Do you think I'm still the same person from a thousand years ago?!"
That naive person who understood nothing, who tried to change things through cooperation, yet was secretly schemed against, had his power taken away, and died in the end?
No longer.
Yhwach let out a fierce shout.
His left hand pointed directly to the sky at this moment, making a grasping motion.
Like fruit trees planted by one's own hand, after cultivation and waiting...
Laden with fruit.
But still needing to wait for the sweetest, most delicious moment.
But Yhwach was no longer willing to wait.
Since it was something I gave... it should all be taken back.
Melodious chimes came from the sky. Although nothing similar appeared in the air, everyone in the Soul Society clearly heard such sounds at this moment.
What was it?
Yhwach naturally wouldn't provide an answer.
He just slightly narrowed his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body, and those branches and remnants scattered outside like scattered stars.
Quincies who had already died, lost resistance, or were completely useless, Sternritter...
Your power, it's time to be repaid.
Auswählen.
A group of Quincies in the distance could only watch as pillars of light descended from the sky, rushing fiercely toward them!
Robert Accutrone, who was already severely injured and being taken into custody by Kyoraku's subordinates, prepared to be imprisoned awaiting disposal...
He suddenly opened his eyes, began screaming, and flailed about trying to escape.
"Hey! You... be honest!"
A warning was given.
But Robert continued struggling as if he couldn't hear at all... letting out desperate cries.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't do this... we still have value, it's not time for this yet!"
His voice became increasingly shrill.
Although he had already been beaten to near death by Kyoraku and Starrk working together.
But now, he seemed to forcibly squeeze out all his remaining strength... so that while screaming, he directly broke free from the restraints of the guard squad members.
"Hey, don't..."
The two instinctively wanted to chase after him and capture him again.
However, the pillar of light descending from the sky instantly covered him completely.
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Accompanied by an extremely shrill scream, Robert's body was like an insect thrown into a furnace.
His flesh disintegrated in the blink of an eye, like evaporated rainwater, instantly losing the concept of 'form.'
And with the disappearance of flesh and blood, the remaining bones and windcoat all fell to the ground, becoming a pile of 'dead objects' with no vitality.
"?!!!"
How could these two young ones, who were just completing an escort mission, have seen such a scene?
That they didn't go weak in the knees and fall directly to the ground already showed they had some backbone.
"Go... go notify the lieutenant!"
The two scrambled back in the direction they came from.
Similar scenes occurred throughout the Soul Society.
Even Sternritter members who had been slain on the spot, leaving only severed limbs, couldn't escape being 'liquidated' at this moment.
Watching the corpse in front of him being extracted and stripped by the soaring pillar of light until not even the slightest remains were left.
Byakuya, who was bandaging his wounds, showed a thoughtful expression.
—Of course, he wasn't concerned about this 'defeated opponent' in front of him.
But rather in the distant place, on the other side of the Soul Society...
A familiar presence that appeared at this moment, one that even made him somewhat excited.
That familiar spiritual pressure...
There was no mistake.
Standing up silently, Byakuya instinctively took two steps forward, but then stood still in place.
His brow uncontrollably twisted into a knot, and at this moment he raised his right hand, gently pressing the area of his abdomen.
The wound from earlier was nowhere near healed.
Now, let alone using spiritual pressure to confront others, even simple movement required full preparation to face the severe pain that could make one's scalp tingle!
Yet even with such difficulty.
Byakuya showed no intention of retreating.
He had to go, and he had to see with his own eyes... to witness whether that was truly the figure he thought it was in his heart.
At the same time.
Bazz-B and others who were communicating with the female group also showed extremely disheveled appearances at this moment.
"What kind of joke is this?! Yhwach!!!"
Bazz-B, covered in wounds all over his body, roared.
He raised his right hand, heavily striking the stone wall beside him at this moment, as if to vent the anger in his heart, his tone becoming extremely furious.
"What the hell is Auswählen?! Taking back our power at a time like this... you bastard, does this mean you've already given up on us?!!!"
Being a hot-tempered person to begin with, he couldn't possibly listen to anything at such a time.
Bazz-B thoughtlessly shouted to the people around him.
"Hey! How are you all?!"
Although the female group was equally disheveled, they were all victims who hadn't used the 'loan shark' for very long.
At this moment, none of them were in mortal danger.
But...
Liltotto's attention wasn't here. She just frowned, looking at Candice who had fallen unconscious in front of her, continuously checking on her condition.
The other female group members surrounded her, more like waiting for some result.
Bazz-B quickly stepped forward.
"Hey, is this the time to be concerned about this person?!"
"It's precisely because of times like this that we need to calmly judge and find ways to solve problems... if you can't help for now, then shut up, you bastard."
This 'comprehensive' rebuke left no room for rebuttal.
Bazz-B was speechless for a while, until he slightly gritted his teeth and made a 'tsk' sound, then chose to silently observe.
So what exactly was the situation?
Liltotto tentatively touched Candice's face, confirming her breathing and heartbeat.
Finally, she said somewhat uncertainly:
"Although she was also affected by Auswählen, there's a more troublesome power at work..."
Bazz-B stood beside her.
"What do you mean?"
Liltotto turned her head, raised her hand, pointing to her temple.
"Didn't you notice just now? Didn't we suddenly have information about one more person in our heads?"
"...?"
Bazz-B, who wasn't good at using his brain to begin with, pondered for a moment, then showed a surprised expression.
"This, this is..."
"Don't ask me, I don't know either. I only know that this person called 'Seiya Arima' was lurking on our side, and even His Maj... even that bastard Yhwach didn't know."
And just now.
Undoubtedly, the two sides must have reached the point of turning against each other.
"Combined with Yhwach suddenly activating Auswählen, the two are probably already fighting."
Bazz-B's eyes lit up slightly.
"Then shouldn't we take advantage of this time..."
"Have you forgotten that person's ability? Or do you think that person called Seiya Arima... would suddenly turn against him without being confident?"
Compared to hot-tempered people who weren't good at thinking, Liltotto was obviously much calmer.
Giselle, who had been listening the whole time, came over, raising both hands, saying somewhat excitedly:
"Then if this assumption is true, doesn't it mean... Candice has also been controlled by that person this whole time?"
"So their constant intimate activities day and night were all mental manipulation?"
"Wow wow wow, this kind of development feels so exciting!"
This person got more excited as he spoke.
However, Liltotto held an opposing view.
"There's no such necessity... if he just wanted to do that kind of thing, that slutty Candice would throw herself at him."
"And with that person's ability, killing her would definitely be easy."
"But Seiya left her alive..."
Giselle lightly said "oh," clasped his hands together, his eyes slightly brightening.
"So these two really have some feelings involved?!"
Meninas, whose pink hair had completely exploded due to Auswählen and now looked disheveled, gave a sharp comment.
"A forbidden relationship..."
Meanwhile, Bambietta, who was seriously injured and now affected by Auswählen, barely had the strength to breathe.
At this stage, not dying would be a blessing.
And Liltotto looked noncommittally toward the distance.
"I don't know, but regardless, we must protect Candice's safety at this time... I think she might know some more important information."
The focus had always been on the main battlefield.
Looking back.
Through the power redistribution of Auswählen.
Yhwach stood upright in place, bathed in blue radiance, his arms stretched out while his momentum continued to climb.
The essence of Auswählen was to reclaim the blood and power that had been distributed.
It could even bring back some insignificant 'interest.'
No need to panic.
Even so, this was merely preparation for the great journey.
All Quincies would become the foundation of the Wandenreich, becoming stepping stones for Yhwach's journey.
And now was the time for these deceased to exert their full power.
Feeling the surging power within his body, his originally somewhat anxious heart returned to normal at this moment.
Yhwach calmly opened his eyes.
He looked toward the figure in the distance.
Yamamoto was being supported by the other person, sitting on the ground, the attitude between the two somewhat subtle.
The former sword demon, who had never shown fear to anyone, now had an indescribable sense of conflict.
Like a lonely elderly person who hadn't been visited for a long time.
Wanting to say something.
Yet not knowing where to begin.
Only the unease and confusion revealed in his eyes showed the mindset that a young person should have.
"Old man Yama, just leave the rest to me for now."
"But..."
"At this point, is there anything about me you're still worried about?"
"That's not what I mean..."
"Then rest here peacefully, otherwise... will you go yourself?"
A frivolous and playful tone.
Plus these extremely familiar movements and expressions.
At this moment, Yamamoto seemed to feel the surging thoughts in his heart, became choked up, and lowered his head.
What he wanted to say was simple.
It was just something he had never said long ago, until everything was settled, until he was about to face failure...
Only then did he realize it.
"I'm sorry, Seiya Arima."
For this former Captain-Commander, who was stubborn to the extreme yet conflicted to an incomprehensible degree, to say such words, no matter who was present, they would probably show amazement.
This didn't sound like something Yamamoto could say.
But...
This was more like words that could only be spoken by some aged elderly person who repented for his actions and was willing to make corrections.
The thin figure trembled slightly, then... he also showed a relieved smile.
Although he had quite anticipated such a scene before.
But after actually experiencing it, the person involved understood... this behavior had no meaning.
Seiya Arima hadn't struggled until now for this apology.
Being understood.
At most, it was just a 'bonus.'
"Yes, I accept it, Old man Yama."
So next...
Seiya slowly turned around, looking toward the distant figure.
It was time for all the arrangements to reach their conclusion.
"Nice to meet you, Yhwach."
The ancestor of the Quincies had a cold expression, then calmly uttered a few words.
"Well done, Seiya Arima."
----------
Powerstones?
For 20 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates