Chapter 126: The Scarlet King—Jilianka
"Timing? Do you mean the timing when we can go up?"
Ten minutes ago, he had told her that no one would ever be able to pass through this thundercloud storm. Why was he saying it was possible now? Inoue was very puzzled by this contradiction.
"The reason is quite simple—it wasn't appropriate to go up before."
"After all, there are some things that won't take the bait without sufficient temptation."
"Also, I said no one in Soul Society can pass through this thundercloud storm because the world above has already become another dimensional space."
"Crossing through an unfamiliar spatial channel isn't as simple as running a few steps between the boundary of Soul Society and the living world."
"It can only be achieved by forcibly resisting the tearing forces of storms across countless dimensional spaces, while not getting lost in the spatial turbulence."
As he spoke, Fiander's eyes changed slightly again, and glacier-white pupils appeared in his irises. As he suddenly extended his arms, several blue ice rings arranged themselves neatly above his limbs.
Although he didn't directly touch those rings, just the intensity of his gaze caused a soul-penetrating chill that instantly dropped Inoue's body temperature to near freezing.
Sensing something was wrong with Inoue's condition, Fiander quickly said: "Don't look directly at them. They're not something you can handle right now."
Afterward, a warm current drove away the cold air in Inoue's body, allowing her to regain her strength.
"Then... what is that? Why does just looking at it cause..."
At this moment, Inoue was first frightened, then pale, speaking haltingly.
"Don't worry about it. You'll understand soon enough!"
After Fiander finished speaking, he raised his arms vertically, and the ice rings were released at tremendous speed, flying into the thundercloud.
At this moment, the ice rings, which had originally been only arm-sized, suddenly expanded into rings with diameters of nearly one hundred meters after launching.
As these massive ice rings gradually submerged into the thundercloud, after a short while, concentrated ice began freezing the thundercloud and gradually spreading downward at remarkable speed.
Soon, the thunder quieted, and the huge storm and thunderclouds gradually calmed, forming a brand-new ice passage.
"That's... that's amazing!"
At this moment, Inoue's mouth hung open, her eyes staring straight ahead in disbelief.
Only when you experience it yourself can you know how thrilling it is to stand under a thundercloud storm at such close distance. But such a terrifying thundercloud was actually frozen solid by the man before her—it was simply unbelievable.
"Hey, are you hungry? Why are you opening your mouth so wide?"
Fiander glanced at Inoue and said with a chuckle.
"It's... it's not that! Don't talk nonsense."
Inoue blushed and immediately closed her mouth, falling silent.
"Alright then, get ready. Here we go."
After Fiander spoke, a barrier formed by flowing water appeared around them. Then Fiander's body began rising gradually, soon entering the ice tunnel.
Passing through the nearly hundred-meter-long icy tunnel was a genuinely terrifying experience.
The entire passageway was filled with floating ice fog. Even the barrier created by Fiander, after rising to a certain height, began resembling frosted glass with frost patterns covering its surface.
As a huge bright light flashed, Fiander and Inoue finally reached the top of the zenith platform. The battlefield was completely chaotic—above the sky, a bright red blood moon hung ominously, with dark clouds below where crimson lightning flashed through the darkness.
"Is Kurosaki-kun really here?"
Fiander set Inoue down, and she looked around nervously. The eerie, ultimate quiet atmosphere made her shudder.
"Here it comes!"
Suddenly, Fiander spoke.
Before Inoue could react, a massive air wave spread hundreds of meters and sent dozens of meters of smoke and dust rushing toward their location.
BOOM!!
The rolling air wave left Inoue stunned, standing there motionless.
Seeing this, Fiander stepped in front of Inoue, raised his hand and brushed gently through the air. With the sound of freezing ice, a huge glacier stretching hundreds of meters appeared before Inoue's eyes.
It turned out that these air waves had all been frozen solid by Fiander's ability. The spectacle before her made Inoue's eyes widen and lips part slightly. However, compared to freezing the storm thundercloud earlier, this scene seemed almost mundane.
Just as Inoue slightly parted her lips to say something, a figure broke through the hundred-meter glacier and appeared directly before Fiander and Inoue.
At this moment, Ulquiorra, with one horn broken off his forehead, flew past Fiander with wounds covering his body, but was caught by one of his remaining horns and successfully rescued.
Looking at Fiander who had saved him, Ulquiorra grabbed his broken right arm and said with his usual calm: "Why did you bring this woman here?"
Looking at Ulquiorra's puzzled expression, Fiander shrugged and said indifferently: "This girl's sweetheart is up here. She was worried."
After listening to Fiander's words, Ulquiorra looked at Inoue, who was watching him anxiously, then turned his head and said: "I hope... you won't regret this!"
After saying this to Inoue, Ulquiorra transformed into a black shadow and rushed back into the glacier at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
CRASH!!
With intense blood-red light shining above, Ulquiorra's figure flew out again. This time Fiander didn't bother reaching out to catch him, since he'd been so unpleasant just moments before.
Just as Fiander was humming a little tune, a tall figure slowly walked out from the direction where Ulquiorra had been knocked back, revealing its form.
Inoue looked expectantly, hoping it was Kurosaki Ichigo.
But as the figure slowly revealed itself, she saw a huge horned demon with long orange hair and a body mixed with black and white coloring.
With a pair of massive bloody wings on its back and a slender tail that swayed randomly, no matter how you looked at it, it resembled a monster like a Menos Grande—not even an Arrancar.
However, it was precisely such a monster that could easily defeat Ulquiorra in his Second Resurreccion.
Crack
Following a sound from the pile of rocks, Ulquiorra extended one arm and crawled out gasping, looking again at the demonic figure before him.
"He... isn't a Hollow, and he's not an Arrancar either. He's..."
"He is a demon, and specifically the demon lord known as 'The Scarlet King—Jilianka.'"
Fiander completed what Ulquiorra was trying to say.
Fiander's words made Ulquiorra's eyes widen as he whispered: "How do you know this?"
"Because..."
"I'm the one who placed him inside Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Fiander raised the corner of his mouth in a smile, then looked at the completely demonized Ichigo with ecstasy on his face.
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