Chapter 38: The Last Flame
Yhwach vs Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto
“It’s time I ended this, Yhwach. Your flesh, blood, sword, and soul... I intend to crush you until there’s nothing left!” Yamamoto declared.
As he spoke, his Zanpakutō transformed into a worn, scorched katana. At the same time, every flame produced by Ryūjin Jakka vanished from the battlefield as though they had never existed.
“Bankai: Zanka no Tachi.”
Standing opposite the elderly Shinigami was Yhwach, while Jugram Haschwalth stood several paces behind him with a calm expression.
“Bankai? That scorched little sword is his Bankai?” Haschwalth asked in confusion.
“Don’t underestimate it,” Yhwach replied immediately, his gaze never leaving Yamamoto. “Zanka no Tachi is a Bankai that seals all of his flames within that single blade.”
“One swing and it’s over. Everything it cuts is burned away by explosive flames. It is a sword of hellfire.”
“I see.” Haschwalth's expression grew slightly more serious. “Is all the water in the atmosphere evaporating?”
“That’s right...” Yamamoto suddenly spoke, his eyes narrowing. “You saw this Bankai a thousand years ago, didn’t you?”
His grip tightened around his sword.
“But are you sure about that? Feel for yourself whether it’s still the same as it was a thousand years ago.”
The battle resumed immediately afterward.
Neither Quincy nor Shinigami noticed the tiny blue blob that briefly emerged from a pile of rubble before vanishing once more.
=====
Nelliel vs Robert Accutrone
Nelliel waited patiently with her sword at the ready after launching her opponent through several buildings with a powerful kick.
She didn't have to wait long.
A moment later, Robert Accutrone appeared before her using Hirenkyaku. Nelliel immediately recognized him, having memorized his appearance and abilities from the information Caius had shared with them before the war began.
“An Arrancar,” Robert said with a frown.
The spot where Nelliel's kick had connected glowed faintly with Blut Vene.
It was obvious the defensive technique hadn't been enough though.
Blood was still running down the side of his head.
Nelliel studied him for a moment before responding.
“I don't know if anyone informed you, but just like Tier and Starrk, I'm no longer a Hollow. I would appreciate it if you didn't call me one.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Or did the lack of a mask and Hollow hole not give it away?”
She was proud of what she had become thanks to Caius.
Robert blinked before briefly examining her more carefully.
“I see. So the report was true after all.” His expression twisted into one of disgust. “To think someone was capable of evolving creatures like you. It is the height of heresy.”
The way he looked at her made it clear he considered her nothing more than trash.
“If you're not going to refer to me by my name, which is perfectly fine, since I don't particularly want to share it with someone as rude as you, then at least refer to me by my new race.”
Nelliel raised her sword slightly.
“A Death Paladin.”
“Then die, Death Paladin!” Robert declared as the halo above his head and the wings on his back shone brighter. “Don't worry. Your master will be joining you soon!”
Nelliel's eyes narrowed.
The next moment, Robert spread his arms.
“Sklaverei!”
Watching as all the Reishi around her, including the surrounding buildings, was absorbed by the Quincy, Nelliel let out a small sigh before lowering her sword to her side.
“If you're going all out, then allow me to do the same. Let me show you a form that transcends Resurrección.”
As soon as the words left her lips, her body was engulfed in a dark pink light.
A moment later, the light faded, revealing a drastically transformed Nelliel.
Her appearance now resembled her former Resurrección much more closely, taking on the shape of a centaur, though there were many notable differences.
Her once-brown mane had darkened considerably, with portions of it becoming nearly black. Strands of that same hair extended along parts of her body, covering her chest and arms while leaving her stomach exposed. Rising from her head were four curling black-and-white horns that swept upward elegantly.
The only remnants of her old appearance were her teal hair, tail, and eyes.
Even those had changed.
Her golden eyes had deepened into a darker shade, while her pupils had become narrow slits.
Finally, her old double-ended jousting lance was gone. In its place was a beautifully crafted spear glowing with pink Magicules.
The result was both beautiful and intimidating.
Robert stared at her with widening eyes.
Fear had begun to creep into them.
“W-What is that form?”
“This is my Intrinsic Skill, True Form,” Nelliel replied calmly, her voice noticeably deeper than before as she adjusted her grip on her spear.
“It is an ability that Tier, Starrk, and I gained after evolving under Caius's guidance.”
She glanced down at the glowing spear in her hand.
“It greatly enhances all the abilities we possessed as Hollows while also allowing us to utilize Magicules to strengthen our attacks.”
Within the weapon rested a monstrous amount of Reiatsu.
Enough to erase the Seireitei from existence if unleashed recklessly.
Fortunately, a thin layer of Magicules surrounded and stabilized that power, preventing it from spiraling out of control.
“I must admit,” Nelliel continued as she looked back at Robert, “this form took far longer to master than I expected.”
A small smile appeared on her face.
“But it feels good to finally have complete control over it.”
Her thoughts drifted briefly toward a certain slime.
“With this power, I can finally stop being a burden to Caius and begin repaying even a fraction of everything he's done for me and the others.”
The smile lingered for a moment before fading.
“I know the others feel the same.”
Her expression hardened.
“Now let's get this over with, Quincy.”
She leveled her spear at Robert.
“I want to return to Caius's side as soon as possible.”
Elsewhere in the Seireitei, similar scenes were unfolding.
Across the battlefield, some of the Quincy invaders were beginning to encounter powers unlike anything they had ever seen before.
=====
Tier vs Driscoll Berci
“While you may not be worthy of facing this form, rejoice in the fact that you'll die to my strongest one, Quincy,” Tier said calmly as she faced Driscoll Berci.
The Quincy was literally trembling on his feet as he stared at her transformed appearance.
“T-That isn't Resurrección!” Driscoll shouted angrily.
“Indeed, it is not,” Tier replied without emotion as she glanced down at her new form.
Like Nelliel's, it closely resembled her former Resurrección while remaining fundamentally different.
Her outfit still left much of her body exposed, but several noticeable changes had occurred. Her hair had turned completely white, while her eyes now glowed with a brilliant blue light. A shark-like tail fin extended from her back, and her left leg was covered in elegant black-and-gold armor that radiated power along with her right arm.
Her weapon had also changed.
While it retained the general shape of Tiburón's original blade, it was now composed primarily of condensed yellow Reiatsu. Surrounding it was a thin veil of Magicules that acted as both a stabilizer and an anchor for the tremendous power contained within.
Tier calmly raised the weapon and pointed it toward her opponent.
“Now we've talked enough, Quincy.”
Her expression remained cold and composed.
“It is time for me to end this battle and return to Caius-sama's side.”
=====
Starrk vs NaNaNa Najahkoop
“Haaah... it's troublesome using this form.”
Starrk let out a long sigh as he lowered his weapons and looked down at the corpse of NaNaNa Najahkoop.
The Sternritter's body contained two massive holes.
One had pierced straight through his chest where his heart should have been, while the second was a little lower making it obvious that it had torn through most of his vital organs.
“You were pretty tough,” Starrk admitted with a yawn. “I couldn't afford to hold back against someone like you and then get nagged at later.”
His gaze drifted down toward his transformed body.
Like Nelliel and Tier, his appearance had changed drastically.
His hair had grown significantly longer and taken on a gray coloration. His upper body was completely bare save for a sleeveless black vest, while jagged black energy composed of both Reiatsu and Magicules formed his pants.
His weapons had evolved as well.
The twin pistols of Los Lobos had transformed into short one-handed Henry rifles. They were predominantly black in color, with gray crescent moons decorating the barrels and stylized wolf skulls adorning the base of each grip.
“I'm just glad this ended quickly.”
Another yawn escaped him.
“If I'm lucky, I can spend the rest of this war taking it easy.”
With those words, Starrk bent down and picked up the silver badge left behind by his fallen opponent before leisurely making his retreat.
=====
Back With Caius
Coming to a stop a short distance away from Gremmy, the Bambies, and PePe Waccabrada, I frowned slightly as my gaze settled on the latter.
The way he was staring at the female Sternritter with greed and desire was enough to make my skin crawl.
Deciding I had already tolerated his existence for long enough, I made a decision.
“Before we begin this little charade, let me take care of something real quick.”
The words had barely left my mouth when I vanished from everyone's senses.
An instant later, I appeared directly behind PePe.
My sword was already buried through his chest.
The tip emerged from the other side exactly where his heart should have been.
PePe's eyes widened.
A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
Then, before anyone could react, the devouring darkness of Beelzebuth surged forward and consumed him entirely.
One moment he existed.
The next, there wasn't even a trace left behind.
“Fuck! Where did he go!?” Bambietta yelled in shock as she frantically looked around.
“The bastard is fast!” Candice exclaimed with a similar expression.
“He disappeared?” Meninas asked in confusion.
“Of course not, you dumbasses! Use your heads!” Liltotto said with a snort before turning in my direction and clicking her tongue. “Well, at least that takes care of PePe.”
“He's pretty strong, huh~?” Giselle remarked, the smile on his face never wavering.
“Huhuhu, I would expect nothing less of you, Caius Aurelius,” Gremmy said with an excited grin.
“I just wanted to get rid of one disgusting freak,” I said with a shrug as I reappeared in my original position.
The moment they noticed me standing there again, several of them tensed.
“After all, there's no way I can tolerate being in the presence of two disgusting freaks at the same time, so I got rid of one.”
I deliberately looked at Giselle as I said that, causing him to blink innocently and point at himself.
“Ara, are you perhaps referring to me?” Giselle asked while tilting his head and pretending to be oblivious.
“Do you see any other vile creature here now that the bald freak is gone?” I asked in return, raising an eyebrow.
For the first time since arriving, Giselle's expression cracked as his eyebrow visibly twitched.
“Pfft—hahaha!”
Bambietta suddenly burst into mocking laughter, quickly followed by the others.
“Can't say I disagree with him,” Candice said with a smirk and a shrug.
“Heh, he's got you there, Gigi,” Liltotto added with her usual blank expression.
“That was a little mean, even if it was true,” Meninas commented calmly, not seeming particularly invested one way or the other.
“Heh, you've got quite the mouth on you despite only being a cute slime,” Giselle replied mockingly, though it was obvious I'd managed to get under his skin.
“I really don't care about anything you have to say, if I'm being completely honest,” I said with another shrug before shifting my attention to the other Bambies and Gremmy, who had thankfully decided not to attack yet.
“Now then, with the exception of Giselle, because the mere thought of interacting with him makes me want to vomit, I have a proposition for all of you.”
I completely ignored the sound of Giselle grinding his teeth in anger as he lowered his head, his hair obscuring his face.
Meanwhile, the remaining Bambies looked intrigued.
Meninas and Liltotto in particular seemed genuinely curious.
Gremmy simply looked amused.
“A proposition?” Gremmy repeated before shrugging.
“Sure, why not? It's the least I can grant you before I kill you with my own hands and prove that imagination is the greatest power in the world!” he declared arrogantly with a slightly deranged grin.
“And you girls?” I asked, focusing specifically on the Bambies and pointedly excluding Giselle.
“Eh, why not?” Candice replied with a casual shrug. “It's not like we've got anything to lose by hearing him out.”
The others seemed to agree, offering shrugs or nods of their own.
Pleased that they were at least willing to listen, I adopted a more serious expression before extending a hand toward them, much to their surprise.
“Join me.”
The simple offer immediately caught them off guard.
“I know for a fact that Yhwach will betray all of you once he realizes he can't defeat Ichigo yet alone me in his current state. When that happens, he'll activate Auswählen and sacrifice you to empower both himself and his Schutzstaffel.”
For a brief moment, their eyes widened in shock before the emotion quickly turned into anger and disbelief.
Not particularly caring about their initial reaction, I turned my attention toward Gremmy and continued with something I knew would capture his interest.
“As for you...”
His attention sharpened instantly.
“How would you feel about having a real body?”
Silence descended over the battlefield.
“A real body?” Gremmy repeated, his expression completely blank.
I nodded.
“I can create one and transfer your consciousness into it. I can't imagine being a disembodied brain is particularly enjoyable.”
For the first time since arriving, Gremmy looked genuinely shocked.
Apparently, he hadn't expected me to know his secret.
The battlefield fell silent as everyone processed my words.
After a few moments, I slowly lowered my hand.
Judging from their expressions, I already had a pretty good idea what their answer would be.
“Well?”
I smiled slightly.
“What's your answer?”
=====
With Ichigo
“…No way.”
Ichigo stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.
Having arrived at the battle between Yamamoto and Yhwach several moments earlier, he had initially been relieved by what he saw.
The old Captain-Commander stood over what appeared to be Yhwach's defeated body, a massive section of the Quincy's torso completely missing from a devastating blow that had clearly been fatal.
For a brief moment, Ichigo had thought it was over.
The enemy leader was dead.
The war was won.
Soul Society had survived.
Then Caius's words echoed through his mind.
"You're saying the old man is going to lose?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
"You'll understand why once you see it for yourself."
The memory sent a chill down Ichigo's spine.
A cold pit formed in his stomach as he immediately began searching for something, anything, that he might have overlooked.
That was when both he and Yamamoto noticed it.
The dying Quincy on the ground suddenly spoke.
He was apologizing to someone.
The cold feeling in Ichigo's stomach instantly turned to ice.
A moment later, another figure appeared.
Yhwach.
The real Yhwach.
Standing over the dying body of a Quincy with pale skin and three eyes, the Quincy King thanked the man for his service before personally ending his life.
Everything clicked into place.
The man Yamamoto had defeated hadn't been Yhwach at all.
It had been a substitute.
A decoy.
A trap.
The realization had barely settled before Yamamoto reacted, immediately reactivating his Bankai in preparation for battle.
It didn't matter.
The moment Zanka no Tachi appeared, Yhwach stole it.
Just like that.
Ichigo felt his teeth grind together as disbelief and anger surged through him.
Without hesitation, he launched himself forward, intending to join the old man against the Quincy King.
Unfortunately, he never made it.
A Quincy with long blond hair suddenly intercepted him, forcing him to stop and engage.
By the time he broke free, it was already too late.
Everything happened in an instant.
Yhwach swung his sword.
Yamamoto was bisected from shoulder to hip.
And just like that—
It was over.
The strongest Shinigami in Soul Society had fallen.
Ichigo froze.
For a brief moment, he could only stare.
Then anger unlike anything he had felt in years exploded inside him.
He had failed.
Failed to save the old man.
A monstrous wave of Reiatsu erupted from his body.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The air trembled.
A curved horn emerged from the side of his head as pale white spread across his skin. His left eye transformed into a sickly yellow color and his sclera turned black, while his larger Zanpakutō turned completely white.
The pressure pouring from his body skyrocketed.
Every nearby Quincy instinctively recoiled.
Ichigo's rage reached its peak.
“YHWACH!!” he roared.