Chapter 31: Lost Entropy
The very air began vibrating violently as the Quincy King and I faced one another, our spiritual pressures rising higher with each passing second.
Mine glowed a beautiful teal.
Yhwach’s was pitch black.
‘Astra, be ready to support me in case I have to go all out,’ I warned internally. ‘Help me keep my power contained within Hueco Mundo. I don’t want anyone else sensing this.’
“Leave it to me, Caius-sama,” Astra responded immediately. “I also recommend storing your subordinates and the other two Arrancar inside Imaginary Space. I can begin treating them there.”
‘Thanks.’
Narrowing my eyes, I vanished from my position.
I appeared beside Yhwach an instant later, my sword already descending in a diagonal slash meant to cleave him in two.
Yhwach’s eyes widened.
Barely managing to react in time, he raised his sword to block—
—but it wasn’t enough.
My blade, now Legend-grade and coated in the crimson power of Asmodeus, possessed the ability to reap the life force of anything it touched. A weapon made purely from Reishi stood no chance against it.
Yhwach’s sword shattered instantly.
My slash carved deeply across his chest.
It wasn’t fatal, but it would absolutely leave a scar.
“Gghh—! B-Bastard!” Yhwach grunted in pain as he jumped backward, Blut immediately activating across the wound to stop the bleeding.
I was already expecting that.
My leg lashed out in a brutal roundhouse kick that slammed into the side of his head and launched him crashing into the distance.
Not wasting even a second, I used Instant Motion to appear beside Tier and Starrk.
Holding out my hand, I spoke quickly.
“Rest inside me for now. We’ll talk later.”
Before either could respond, I absorbed them into Imaginary Space.
I disappeared again.
This time, I reappeared before the two Arrancar Tier and Starrk had been protecting. To my accelerated perception, they appeared nearly frozen in time.
Only now did I fully register that they were a pair of twin female Arrancar with blue and red hair respectively.
‘Wait… aren’t they from that Toshiro movie?’ I wondered briefly.
Still, I didn’t waste time asking questions.
A moment later, they vanished into Imaginary Space as well.
Now—
It was just me and Yhwach.
The Quincy King suddenly appeared directly in front of me wielding another massive broadsword formed from condensed Reishi, already swinging downward.
Unfortunately for him, it met the exact same fate as the last one.
My blade shattered it effortlessly while devouring the surrounding Reishi in the process.
This time Yhwach was prepared, immediately abandoning the weapon and leaping backward before my follow-up slash could land.
Seeing direct attacks proving ineffective, he changed tactics.
Massive Reishi constructs instantly formed around me, crackling like blue lightning before transforming into enormous Heilig Bogen.
A split second later—
They all fired gigantic Heilig Pfeil toward me from every direction.
“Qual Kreis!”
“Hmph. Didn’t you learn the first time?” I scoffed. “You’re basically feeding me. Not that I even need my ability to deal with this.”
Using the countless swordsmanship techniques and battle experience accumulated from everyone I had devoured, I moved my blade effortlessly, intercepting every incoming strike with precise swings.
“Tsk.” Yhwach clicked his tongue calmly as he touched the slash across his chest. His ripped clothing revealed the wound beneath. “That sword of yours is dangerous, despite clearly not being a Zanpakutō. I see now how you managed to defeat Sōsuke Aizen while possessing such abilities.”
“Finally taking me seriously now?” I mocked.
At the same time, I fully unleashed my Demon Lord’s Haki.
The air trembled violently.
A massive shockwave erupted from my body, causing the sands beneath our feet to instantly melt into glass while a small earthquake spread across the surrounding desert.
Violet and crimson aura poured off me ominously in waves.
“...Such power,” Yhwach muttered while eyeing me warily.
For the first time since this battle began, he seemed genuinely cautious.
After several moments of silence, he let out a small sigh.
“It seems I was right to be wary of you. However…” Yhwach began calmly. “Our battle—and your death—will have to wait until after my plans come to fruition.”
As he spoke, his shadow suddenly expanded.
Four additional shadows rose from it before taking humanoid form.
Moments later, the darkness receded, revealing four Quincy standing beside him.
The first I recognized immediately.
Long blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
Jugram Haschwalth.
The Grandmaster of the Sternritter and Yhwach’s second-in-command.
The next was a black-haired man of Asian descent with a scar running across his lips.
Cang Du.
The Quincy who would eventually steal Tōshirō’s Bankai.
The third took me a moment longer to recognize.
A man with blonde and purple hair along with blue eyes stood there grinning arrogantly at me.
“That’s Berenice Gabrielli, Caius-sama,” Astra helpfully informed me. “Sternritter Q: The Question.”
‘Thanks, Astra. I honestly forgot about him,’ I admitted silently.
Finally, the last Quincy emerged.
I tilted my head curiously at the bald man with three eyes.
That appearance could only mean one thing.
Either Loyd Lloyd or Royd Lloyd.
The twin Sternritter possessing the designation Y: The Yourself, an ability capable of copying another person’s appearance, power, and even personality.
‘I wonder if that ability would work on me?’ I wondered silently while carefully observing the newcomers.
“Your Majesty, are you alright?” Jugram immediately asked as he took in Yhwach’s injured state, drawing the attention of the others as they looked toward me with extreme caution.
The remaining Quincy clearly looked shocked at seeing their King wounded, though Berenice in particular glared at me with outright hostility.
“I am fine, Haschwalth,” Yhwach replied calmly. “As you can see, just as I predicted, Caius Aurelius is an opponent I must face at a later date.”
“I see,” Jugram muttered quietly as one of his hands moved toward the sword at his side.
“There’s no need for that, Haschwalth,” Yhwach stopped him before turning toward the remaining three Quincy, who immediately straightened.
“Cang Du. Berenice Gabrielli. Loyd Lloyd.”
“You three will remain behind and cover our retreat. Do not fail me.”
The cold authority in his voice made all three instantly kneel.
“Of course, Your Majesty!”
“Running away with your tail between your legs, huh?” I mocked with a smirk. “So much for all those stories I heard about you.”
My words immediately infuriated the Quincy.
“How dare a mere creature speak to His Majesty in such a way!” Berenice exploded furiously.
I ignored him completely.
My gaze remained fixed solely on Yhwach.
Even if his face didn’t show it, I still noticed his spiritual pressure spike for the briefest instant before stabilizing again.
Good.
So my words did affect him after all.
“Until we meet again, Caius Aurelius,” Yhwach stated calmly before turning around. “Let us go, Haschwalth.”
Jugram followed immediately after him.
Seeing them casually expose their backs to me actually annoyed me a little.
Raising my hand, I condensed a sphere of pure darkness above my palm as violent violet flames erupted around it.
“Nuclear Flame!”
The attack shot forward instantly, passing harmlessly through the frozen Sternritter standing between us.
‘Let’s see how effective Nuclear Magic really is against these guys,’ I thought coldly, interested to see Ultima’s signature move in action.
The moment they sensed the danger, both Yhwach and Jugram spun around with widened eyes.
Jugram reacted first.
A shield materialized in his hand at the last possible second—
—and then the world exploded.
“YOUR MAJESTY!!”
The remaining Sternritter finally reacted, staring in horror toward the explosion while shielding themselves against the scorching winds and violent shockwaves produced by my attack.
Eventually, the explosion subsided.
My gaze remained locked on its center where I could still sense both Yhwach and Jugram alive.
Though their condition was another matter entirely.
As the smoke cleared, Jugram’s battered form was revealed now forced to kneel protectively in front of Yhwach.
Only the handle of his shield remained.
If I remembered correctly, that shield worked in tandem with The Balance, allowing him to redirect any misfortune onto it and even redirect any damage back to the sender in certain circumstances.
Unfortunately for him—
It hadn’t been enough.
One of Jugram’s arms was completely gone while blood poured from nearly every wound across his body. He looked barely conscious, breathing weakly as he struggled to remain kneeling.
Yhwach behind him looked significantly better, though even he wasn’t unharmed.
One hand clutched his chest where blood now seeped through his clothing.
My Nuclear Magic had managed to pierce even his defensive Blut.
Apparently, the shock of seeing both their Grandmaster and King injured finally snapped the remaining Quincy out of their stunned silence.
Three pillars of Reiatsu erupted into the sky as they simultaneously activated their Vollständig forms, luminous wings of Reishi spreading from their backs.
“You bastard! I object to everything about you, Caius Aurelius! Die!” Berenice screamed in fury.
He appeared before me in the very next instant, a blade of condensed Reishi already descending toward my neck.
At the same time, Cang Du appeared at my flank, both clawed hands stacked together and aimed directly at me.
Behind him, a gigantic serpentine construct formed from Reishi opened its jaws before firing forward.
Finally—
Loyd appeared behind me.
Now wearing Yhwach’s appearance along with a copy of his sword, he pointed the blade toward my back with visible rage on his face.
“Die for your transgression, creature!” Loyd declared in Yhwach’s voice.
I ignored all three of them.
Instead, my eyes remained fixed on the original Yhwach and Jugram as shadows slowly swallowed their bodies before they vanished completely from my senses.
‘Tsk. There was no helping it,’ I thought irritably. ‘I probably could have killed him here… but that would make my future plans far more troublesome.’
Finally, I turned my attention toward the attacking Sternritter.
“I suppose there’s no need to hold back anymore,” I muttered coldly.
Concentrating for a brief moment, I uttered a single phrase.
“Lost Entropy.”
A wave of darkness erupted from my body.
Born from Ultimate Skill Mammon, the dark energy instantly engulfed the three Quincy before they could evade it.
An instant later—
All three abruptly froze mere centimeters away from striking me.
Cang Du’s serpentine blast destabilized and vanished into thin air.
Then their eyes turned hollow.
A moment later, all three collapsed lifelessly onto the sands.
Lost Entropy was an Art created through Mammon.
Rather than attacking the body, it corrupted the target’s very will to live, twisting it into a desire for death instead.
And humans—with only the rarest exceptions—possessed an instinctive desire to continue living.
The stronger the individual—
The stronger that desire became.
A moment later, the devouring darkness of Beelzebuth engulfed the corpses and consumed them completely, leaving not even a trace behind.
And just like that—
This clash came to an end.
“Nicely done, Caius-sama,” Astra immediately praised with a smug and proud tone. “I always knew they wouldn’t pose any threat to you whatsoever.”
“Thanks, Astra,” I replied calmly. “Though we still need to remain cautious. Yhwach wasn’t at full power yet, and I only intend to confront him after he reaches that state.”
As I spoke, I disappeared from sight and reappeared beside Quilge’s corpse, immediately devouring it before vanishing again and doing the same to Jerome.
“By the time that occurs, Caius-sama will likely have already surpassed him to an absurd degree regardless,” Astra continued confidently. “Especially with your plan to devour Quincy during the war and weaken the Quincy King by preventing their power from returning to him.”
“Speaking of that,” I said thoughtfully, “does that mean we successfully acquired the Schrifts of the Quincy I killed?”
“You would be correct, Caius-sama,” Astra answered smugly before her tone turned slightly sheepish. “Well… at least the Schrifts of the last three. Unfortunately, Quilge Opie and Jerome Guizbatt’s powers had already returned to the Quincy King by the time you devoured them.”
I only smiled and shook my head, finding her attitude adorable.
“It’s fine. That’s what I expected anyway since they had already been dead for a while by the time we arrived.”
Stretching lazily, I let out a long sigh.
“Well, I suppose it’s time to head back and meet the two Arrancar girls Tier and Starrk nearly lost their lives protecting,” I muttered to myself.
Giving the battlefield of Hueco Mundo one final glance, I opened another portal and stepped through it without hesitation.
There was nothing left keeping me in that dump.
=====
Back on Earth — New Zealand
Stepping out of the portal a short distance from the front door, I casually made my way inside as the portal closed behind me.
The moment I entered, I immediately sensed everyone gathered together inside the house.
Most likely waiting anxiously for our return.
As soon as the front door shut behind me, hurried footsteps echoed throughout the house before everyone quickly came into view.
Tier’s subordinates and Lilynette in particular looked especially worried.
“Caius!”
Before anyone could bombard me with questions, I raised both hands in a calming gesture while letting a relaxed smile spread across my face.
“Relax everyone. Tier and Starrk are fine. I made it there in time.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the entire room visibly relaxed.
Lilynnette immediately ran toward me and threw herself into a teary hug.
“Thank you… You’re seriously the best,” she muttered into my shirt.
I simply hugged her back, not minding the wetness soaking into the fabric.
Tier’s subordinates weren’t much better.
The three of them practically collapsed onto their knees in relief, leaning against one another for support without even caring about personal space for once.
“Thank goodness…” Apacci muttered weakly.
“I-I never doubted Caius-sama for a second,” Mila Rose added nervously, though she looked just as relieved.
“Caius-sama is the best after all,” Sung-Sun said calmly, a grateful smile hidden behind her sleeve as she looked toward me.
Meanwhile, Pesche and Dondochakka had already started loudly celebrating in the background.
A moment later, Nelliel and Riruka also approached before quietly joining the hug with visibly relieved expressions.
I let them stay like that for a while.
Only once I felt the tension fully leave their bodies did Nelliel finally pull back and tilt her head curiously toward me.
“Did you run into any problems, Caius?” she asked softly.
At her question, everyone else finally pulled themselves together and turned toward me expectantly.
“How about I bring out Tier and Starrk first,” I suggested with a smile. “Then we can explain everything together.”
I immediately received several eager nods.
Thankfully, while inside Imaginary Space, Astra and I had already completely healed both Tier and Starrk. I doubted anyone here wanted to see the condition they had originally been in.
Especially Lilynette.
Starrk had genuinely been close to death.
With a casual wave of my hand, I released both of them from Imaginary Space.
Tier and Starrk landed smoothly on their feet looking perfectly healthy despite the horrific injuries they had suffered earlier thanks to one of Asmodeus’s sub-skills.
The instant she appeared, Tier immediately dropped to one knee before me.
“Thank you for saving us, Caius-sama,” she said seriously. “Forgive us for failing in our mission against the Quincy.”
Meanwhile, Starrk simply yawned lazily and gave me a nod.
“Yeah… thanks for the save, Boss.”
Tier instantly shot him a sharp glare before kicking him lightly in the leg.
Starrk only sighed.
“It’s fine, you two. Don’t worry about it,” I reassured them calmly. “You were fighting the Quincy King after all.”
Gasps immediately spread around the room from those hearing that for the first time.
Gesturing for Tier to stand, I started walking further into the house.
“Now come on,” I said casually. “I want to hear exactly what led to your confrontation with Yhwach… and I’m also curious about those Arrancar you rescued.”
As everyone followed after me, a thought quietly crossed my mind.
‘I wonder if my confrontation with Yhwach changed the future… and more importantly, whether it altered the timing of the Quincy invasion?’