"Look—the Extinction Masters over there have stopped fighting. Is it because of that sacred purge earlier, or did Aizen halt his Mirror Flower, Water Moon?"
While Aizen and Yhwach were locked in their fierce battle, Daniel stood atop an abandoned building surveying the situation. Although Yhwach's recent sacred purge had claimed countless lives among the Extinction Masters in the Ice Palace, a few lucky ones had managed to evade the purge's fatal grasp. Among those were several members of the Star‐Crossed Knight Order who had previously fallen under Aizen's Mirror Flower, Water Moon—some had even survived.
Within the Invisible Empire, only a very few of the Extinction Masters were survivors from a thousand years ago—people like Hassworth and Bazbi. The majority of the Extinction Masters had joined later; most had been inducted only within the last decade or so. Although most Extinction Masters live long lives, surviving for a millennium is no easy feat. After the great battle in the Soul Society a thousand years ago, the Invisible Empire quickly collapsed when it lost its king, yet the Extinction Master lineage persisted. In truth, many Extinction Masters had survived back then, but today their numbers are so few that pure-blood Extinction Masters are nearly extinct—mainly because Yhwach has repeatedly enacted his sacred purge over the centuries.
"It seems that Aizen—now at his fourth Hōgyoku evolution—is no match for Yhwach. The destructive power of these two is enormous; it's best to keep our distance."
Even though Aizen's fourth-stage Hōgyoku evolution made him incredibly powerful, Yhwach's side was clearly even stronger. The Extinction Masters wielding the Cross of Destruction against Aizen could only force him to continually retreat—and even Shunpo couldn't shake off Yhwach's lightning-fast kicks.
"Wait a minute—you aren't planning to keep fighting, are you? They're already closing in," Daniel called out as he pointed toward the shifting melee where Aizen and Yhwach clashed.
The territory of the Invisible Empire wasn't small at all. This was the shadow world of the Seireitei, theoretically about the same size as the Seireitei itself. In practice, however, the Invisible Empire spans roughly the area of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads—presumably limited by troop numbers or because the primary foes are the Court Guard themselves.
"Your Majesty,"
A few surviving members of the Star‐Crossed Knight Order stared with mixed expressions as Yhwach advanced. In earlier times, Yhwach's mere appearance would have thrilled them—but after nearly dying in the sacred purge, they no longer dared openly oppose Yhwach. Nor were they willing to continue fighting on his behalf. These few were no Bazbi; in the original story, Bazbi, after being purged by Yhwach, immediately sought retribution—his hometown had been destroyed by Yhwach. Even though Bazbi later became one of Yhwach's subordinates, that did not erase the deep grudge he carried.
"Littoto, what should we do now?"
The other two shifted their gaze to the small, yellow-haired girl wearing the white military cap of the Invisible Empire.
"Let's observe for now," Littoto replied after a brief pause. Then she looked over at Daniel and said, "Since we share a common enemy now, how about we join forces?"
"You're quite decisive," Daniel remarked in surprise—he hadn't expected them to decide so quickly.
"Hmph, if he's going to kill us anyway, why should we risk our lives fighting for him?"
Perhaps among the Star‐Crossed Knight Order there were die-hard loyalists willing to sacrifice everything for Yhwach, but these three clearly were not in that camp. In fact, if Littoto hadn't been forced to witness the final outcome firsthand, she'd have preferred to slip away with the other two. With their strength, staying safe wouldn't be an issue—provided Yhwach fell. But Yhwach possessed all‐knowing, omnipotent power; if he didn't die, Littoto wasn't confident they could remain hidden forever.
"Joining forces? I wouldn't mind that—but can you even intervene effectively?" Daniel's words made Littoto raise an eyebrow.
"Why don't you step in yourself? Aren't you worried he might get killed by His Majesty? If he's taken out, Your Majesty won't spare us," Littoto countered, clearly perplexed. Although most of the Star‐Crossed Knight Order prided themselves on their independence, the few women among them—who were close friends—felt differently. (Strictly speaking, there was one member who wasn't female, but by appearance and personality she was grouped with the women.)
"That is His Majesty's requirement. Rest assured—he will not lose so easily."
Daniel silently added the unspoken caveat: if we can't defeat him, we can always run and hand Yhwach over to Captain Yamamoto and the monks.
Daniel harbored no personal grudge against the Extinction Masters; as for the enmity between them and the Shinigami, that was none of his concern. However, since Yhwach's goal was to destroy this world and rebuild it, it was imperative to stop him—regardless of personal sentiments or duty.
Yhwach's original intent in remaking the world was noble—he longed for a world without fear. But no matter how good that idea sounded, destroying the old world was still destruction. Much like Uchiha Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi, most people would never choose to live in a false world. Moreover, strictly speaking, a world of humans without fear would be even less appealing than Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi; if humans were unafraid, they'd cease to progress—since fear is what births courage, and courage is humanity's greatest hymn.
"Aizen, Sozōsuke—I know your objective. We can cooperate to create a world without fear," Yhwach declared after repelling Aizen's assault.
"A world without fear, Yhwach? If that is truly your pursuit, then I find it utterly disappointing."
Aizen's words elicited a mocking smile on his face.
"You're asking for death," Yhwach retorted, his features immediately hardening. Suddenly, his left palm unleashed a barrage of spiritual pellets that spread around Aizen.
"Broken Radiant Formation—Yhwach isn't as reckless as I imagined," Daniel observed as he watched the pellets coalesce into a massive pentagram that trapped Aizen within.
Boom, boom, boom.
With the formation of the five-pointed star, a dazzling white light surged upward from its center. This pure white radiance was nothing other than the result of a massive spiritual particle explosion—the very array Yhwach had set up underground during his fight with Aizen.
Yhwach's purpose in speaking to Aizen was twofold: to both invite his surrender and to trigger the Broken Radiant Formation. For an Extinction Master like Arisan, this formation was as standard as a spiritual bow was to others—although for ordinary Extinction Masters it required special tools and setup.
When the white light finally dissipated, the spot where Aizen had stood was replaced by a crater tens of meters deep—a testament to the formation's destructive power.
"Now it's your turn. Who exactly are you?"
Yhwach, clearly confident in his Broken Radiant Formation, barely bothered to check whether Aizen had truly been disposed of. His gaze shifted directly to Daniel.
"Are you planning to betray me?"
Before Daniel could reply, Yhwach's eyes swept over the three figures standing not far away—Littoto and her companions.
"Your Majesty, it isn't that we've betrayed you—it's that you abandoned us. And since that's the case, don't blame us for being unceremonious," the three declared. Despite their deep fear of Yhwach, the memory of the sacred purge had driven Littoto and her comrades to risk everything. If Yhwach were truly going to kill them, they wouldn't let him off easily—even if they were outmatched, they would not go quietly.
"Is that all you've got?" Yhwach sneered coldly at the three before shifting his gaze back to Daniel. To him, the betrayal of Littoto's group was trivial compared to the unknown that was Daniel.
"I already told you—I'm just an ordinary passerby," Daniel said, glancing at the crater where Aizen had once stood. He refused to believe that Aizen—who wielded the Hōgyoku like Kutsutsuki Kaguya himself—was truly gone. Aizen was more like one who must be sealed rather than killed.
"Hopefully you can still say that later," Yhwach muttered.
"Do you really think I'm afraid of you, Yhwach?"
With that, Daniel suddenly Shunpo'd right beside Yhwach and, without delay, swung his weapon in a wide arc.
Boom!
Yhwach, unwilling to back down, gripped his Extinction Cross and met Daniel's strike. At the moment their weapons clashed, an overwhelming surge of reiatsu erupted, forcing both combatants to stagger backward involuntarily.
As Yhwach retreated with a swift, airborne kick, his Cross sliced through the air. In an instant, a spiritual bow materialized before him, and three sacred annihilation arrows were fired at Daniel.
"You've taken a page from Yuntian He's playbook—using your sword as an arrow?"
The three sacred arrows initially appeared as normal projectiles; however, halfway through their flight, as spiritual light began to shimmer upon them, they transformed into luminous swords.
"Yhwach, are you getting old? To be so forgetful as to use this move against me?"
Seeing the three blazing light-swords streaking toward him, Daniel immediately interposed his semi-Initial Bankai state of Kyūten Kyōkoku. In a flash, the three light-swords were deflected and sent ricocheting back toward Yhwach.
Yhwach snorted coldly but did not speak. He hadn't forgotten—the earlier sacred annihilation arrows had been mere probes, a test. His theory had proven correct: although Kyūten Kyōkoku could reflect ranged attacks, it could only send them back to the point of origin. Given Yhwach's speed, by the time the reflected arrows arrived, his position had already shifted.
Boom, boom, boom.
Realizing the limitation of Kyūten Kyōkoku, Daniel abandoned the idea of using it to reflect further attacks. Instead, he closed the distance and engaged Yhwach in close combat.
"Not as strong as I imagined. It seems I'm already pretty formidable," Daniel noted as his swordsmanship began to dominate Yhwach. Had he known this, he wouldn't have called in Aizen—he could have taken on the Invisible Empire all by himself.
"Looks like there's no need to wait for Aizen any longer."
Seeing that Yhwach was weaker than expected, Daniel promptly changed his plan: first, he would subdue Yhwach—the millennia-old Extinction Master and inheritor of the Soul King's power, a being who, in many ways, embodied a Hōgyoku himself. According to the progenitor of the Kamiyadai family, if one were to shatter a part of the Soul King's body and scatter it across the world, then aside from the tiny fraction of the Soul King's power inherited by the Extinction Masters, the bulk of that power would likely be inherited by Yhwach. That, in turn, explained Yhwach's omniscience and omnipotence.
"Ekken Form."
As his thoughts raced, Daniel rested his left hand atop his right and formed a seal. In the next instant, ten shadow clones surged from behind him. This sudden transformation startled Yhwach, who instinctively attempted to retreat using a lightning-fast kick—but it was already too late.
"Room, Slaughterhouse, Binding Technique No. 66: Six-Staff Radiant Prison, and Setorak's Crimson Necklace!"
Determined to prevent Yhwach's escape, Daniel used spatial transposition to swap places with one of his shadow clones, surrounding Yhwach with them. Then, half of the clones unleashed the Six-Staff Radiant Prison while the other half hurled a red chain that locked onto various parts of Yhwach's body.
"It's over, Yhwach."
Seeing Yhwach now completely bound, Daniel closed in without further word. In a single, swift motion, he appeared beside Yhwach and, with one decisive slash, severed his head. Amid the stunned expressions of Littoto and the others, Daniel then wrapped Yhwach's head up in an impossibly large cloth.
"That's your 'Perfect Realization' technique—quite peculiar indeed," came a voice. Moments later, Aizen's voice resounded.
"Normally, such a technique isn't very offensive—it's mostly useful for storing things. But you, you've seen enough," Aizen remarked.
Aizen's timely appearance made Daniel suspect that he had intentionally stayed hidden earlier, waiting for Yhwach to strike so as to gauge his true strength.
"Is that so?"
Aizen chuckled softly. His expression was one of disbelief. Although the giant cloth used for wrapping appeared harmless, appearances could be deceiving.
Suddenly, Aizen swung his right-hand Zanpakutō. A massive surge of reiatsu tore through the air and, in one blow, obliterated all ten of Daniel's Ekken Form shadow clones.
"Now you want to attack me? I was expecting you to wait until you'd finished off the Zero Division first," Daniel said, surprised at Aizen's sudden aggression. However, he quickly recovered.
Aizen was a man who maintained complete control of the initiative—he wouldn't simply follow another's plan. Especially after witnessing Daniel dispatch Yhwach, Aizen recognized that such power might allow him to seize the achievements of the Zero Division for himself.
At this point, Aizen was in his fifth-stage Hōgyoku evolution. Though his appearance was grotesque—with bat-like wings and a white skull for a head—his reiatsu was overwhelming.
"Let's go—get out of here immediately," Daniel commanded.
Seeing the two dueling, Littoto and her two companions quickly fled to the side. These monstrous figures were in no mood to be involved now; but once they regained their senses, if they encountered these foes again, they wouldn't hesitate to finish them off. For Littoto's group, with Yhwach now defeated, there was no further worry. Besides Yhwach, no one would persist in hunting them down—and without omniscience, it would be very difficult for any enemy to locate them.
"Where to?" one asked.
"Back to the World of the Living to check on everyone else," another replied.
Not all of the Star‐Crossed Knight Order were in the Invisible Empire; several were in the World of the Living handling other matters. Whether they had escaped the sacred purge was uncertain.
(End of Chapter)
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