Chapter 122: Distant Blue Ice Flame
"Ability seal?"
Fiander's expression remained unchanged as he rested his hands on his chin and asked with an amused smile, "I don't know, Captain Kurotsuchi, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Hmph, are you asking the question knowingly? Isn't this sentence easy to understand?"
"It literally means I used a special spiritual field to seal your abilities."
"However, this doesn't only affect you, but also us. That is to say, in this hall, everyone's Zanpakuto abilities will be sealed. No Shikai, no Bankai."
"That's how I planned to defeat you."
With his final sentence, Kurotsuchi Mayuri restrained his arrogance and looked grimly at Fiander.
But his trembling fingers showed that at this moment, Kurotsuchi Mayuri's heart was not as calm as it appeared on the surface. After all, their opponent was the one who had knocked Zaraki flying with his bare hands. Even if he had sealed the enemy's Zanpakuto abilities and made the battlefield more favorable for combat between Zaraki Kenpachi and Unohana Retsu, Kurotsuchi Mayuri still had no confidence in achieving victory.
Clap clap clap!
"That's really excellent, Captain Kurotsuchi!"
Fiander applauded vigorously, then smiled and continued addressing Kurotsuchi Mayuri: "It's truly you. I've always thought you were the most underestimated member among the Gotei 13."
"Even that fool Urahara Kisuke isn't as capable as you. How about it—join me, and I'll take you to explore the secrets of this world and even higher levels of existence."
Fiander opened his arms and began making tempting offers to Kurotsuchi Mayuri. It wasn't mere pretense—he genuinely appreciated Kurotsuchi Mayuri's abilities. Although Urahara Kisuke might be superior in some ways, that man's thinking had become fixed, and what he wanted was a stable world, which didn't align with Fiander's philosophy.
Therefore, compared to Urahara Kisuke, he preferred Kurotsuchi with his strong desire for exploration and discovery.
"I refuse. You must defeat Zaraki Kenpachi first!"
After Kurotsuchi Mayuri's declaration, Zaraki Kenpachi swung his Zanpakuto again with tremendous speed and force.
Facing the powerful and terrifying blade, Fiander spread out his palms and said softly.
"Besides, there are additional complications, correct?"
"However, you seem to have misunderstood one crucial thing. For me, Zanpakuto is not a necessary tool. Secondly, my Reiatsu—it's not that I'm hiding it and preventing it from leaking out."
"It's that you can't sense it at all, because the difference in our fundamental levels of existence is too vast."
Fiander's expression suddenly changed as he stood upright in the sky, looking down at the group below. His eyes shifted from ice blue to brilliant white-blue once again.
An indescribable pressure was released from his body. It happened faster than words could describe.
In the blink of an eye, Zaraki Kenpachi's blade had already reached Fiander's chest. The moment the steel touched Fiander's skin, ice instantly condensed on Kenpachi's weapon. At tremendous speed, the ice ran along the blade and continued spreading until half of Zaraki's body was completely frozen.
"How is that possible?!"
"Your ability... your ability should be sealed! Why can you use it without your Zanpakuto?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri found it difficult to accept the scene before him. Originally, he had envisioned "hand-to-hand combat" with Zaraki Kenpachi, a combat specialist, and Unohana Retsu on his side. Even if they couldn't defeat their opponent, they could at least maintain a stalemate.
As long as Zanpakuto abilities were sealed before their opponent could use Bankai, this strategy should have succeeded.
At this moment, Rukia held her own Sode no Shirayuki and confirmed to Kurotsuchi Mayuri: "Captain Kurotsuchi, the device you created is working properly. My Sode no Shirayuki is no longer usable."
Glancing back at Rukia, Kurotsuchi Mayuri instantly realized a terrifying possibility.
"You... have no need to use Zanpakuto at all. The reason you used Zanpakuto in front of us was simply to make us believe that was the source of your abilities!"
"You've already progressed far beyond such limitations, haven't you?"
With more than one hundred years of captain experience, Kurotsuchi Mayuri had long known many secrets that were forbidden by the upper echelons of Soul Society—why Shinigami use Zanpakuto, and what Shinigami used to fight with before Zanpakuto existed. These matters were hidden in darkness, secrets that could not be disclosed.
"Sigh..."
Fiander exhaled and continued: "I always considered you a dangerous individual, but I didn't expect you to know these particular secrets."
As he spoke, Fiander extended his hand and pushed Zaraki Kenpachi back toward the crowd. Ishida Uryu and Sado Yasutora immediately caught their frozen ally, while Inoue began using her abilities to heal him.
At this moment, a brand-new Zanpakuto appeared in Fiander's hands. Looking at this crystal-clear ice blade, like a weapon carved from thousands of years of accumulated ice, it created a sense of breathtaking beauty under the ceiling lights.
"Zanpakuto is the key, and the key is what opens the box."
"Then the question becomes: what is the box?"
"The box is yourselves. The strength of your soul and the resilience of your body determine what you can access after opening the box with the key. Do you understand my explanation?"
Looking at the group below, he saw anger, bewilderment, confusion, and even unwillingness after they clearly heard his words.
"So—do you find this answer unsatisfactory?"
At that moment, violent noise erupted from above the zenith, and the entire Hueco Mundo palace began shaking. The suffocating Reiatsu that followed was so intense that except for the several captains present, even Renji, a lieutenant-level fighter, could only breathe with great difficulty under this spiritual pressure.
"Ulquiorra? What are you doing up there?"
Fiander's spiritual senses swept across the upper levels, becoming aware of the battle above, and rare surprise appeared on his face.
"It actually succeeded?"
Suddenly, Fiander turned his attention back to the captains below. "My apologies, but I need to temporarily incapacitate all of you."
"After all, I don't want you interfering with plans I've been developing for nearly a century!"
As he spoke, Fiander sheathed his Zanpakuto and stretched out his hand to grasp at empty air. Inoue Orihime below was pulled upward by tremendous force and caught by Fiander.
"You're still useful, so you'll have to come with me."
Afterward, Fiander extended his right hand and opened it slowly. An ice lotus with blue flames rotated gently in his palm.
The crystal-clear ice lotus, like the Zanpakuto at Fiander's waist, was breathtakingly beautiful to behold.
As Fiander tossed the ice lotus into the air, he whispered: "Distant Blue Ice Flame."
The ice lotus burning with blue flames burst instantly and scattered throughout the entire hall. Strangely, the falling blue ice flames didn't possess the high temperature of normal fire, but they seemed capable of attaching to people and objects directly, burning them with supernatural cold.
Splat!
First, a spark landed on one person, followed by a second, then a third...
In an instant, the entire hall was filled with blue ice flames.
Seeing that Inoue had been captured, Ishida leaped up and rushed through the ice flames to rescue her, but the ice flames at his heels pursued him relentlessly. He was frozen from his thighs to his entire body mid-air, maintaining a pose with his hands reaching outward.
"Ishida-san..."
Not just Ishida Uryu, but all the intruders in the entire hall—as the blue ice flames receded, the air began filling with ice fog carrying intense cold. A gust of frigid wind blew through, and the ice fog that had concentrated in the hall's center began scattering outward.
As the ice fog dissipated, only a dozen or so ice sculptures in various poses remained in the center of the Hueco Mundo palace's great hall.
At this moment, Inoue covered her mouth and screamed involuntarily. The horrific scene below nearly caused the kind-hearted girl to faint from shock.
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