Clang—!
Yhwach drew the Quincy Cross Sword from his waist. After shattering the incoming slash, he held the blade horizontally in front of him.
The clang of metal echoed, and ripples of illusory waves spread out between the two, causing the gray mist domain below to churn wildly. However, under Ishikawa's continuous Reiatsu replenishment, it stubbornly held its ground.
This also meant that…
The Quincy and Sternritter members trapped within the domain suffered no harm whatsoever.
Ishikawa hadn't intended to protect them; it was simply that if the domain collapsed, the Sternritter members' abilities would become a nuisance for him.
While he could analyze abilities, he couldn't afford to be distracted by analyzing them while fighting Yhwach.
Strictly speaking…
Even without Yhwach, Ishikawa couldn't analyze so many abilities simultaneously. He could only focus on analyzing a few, avoiding or enduring the rest in various ways.
Therefore, Ishikawa had to continuously maintain Kokumei's Shikai domain with his Reiatsu. Although with the Reiatsu Crest fully active in his body, the domain's consumption was negligible for Ishikawa.
Ishikawa and Yhwach stared at each other across their blades, strange and terrifying energy fluctuations surging around both of them at that moment!
Above the two, purple eyes, like the sun and moon, looked down.
Rumbling echoes reverberated between them. The two vastly different blades trembled slightly, yet for a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.
This war reached its peak from the very beginning!
Yhwach felt the pressure and the inexplicable ability emanating from the blade. His free left hand swung forward abruptly, and above the two, a giant Reishi bow appeared. Multiple arrow-like spears materialized on the bowstring, aiming at Ishikawa below with an aura that seemed capable of destroying everything!
The bowstring contained a locking-like ability. Once aimed, it gave Ishikawa a feeling of being unable to dodge. Furthermore, an aura of destruction emerged within it. As soon as it condensed, the omnipresent black shadow flames in this space surged towards the giant spear arrows, staining the azure arrowheads black.
"Territory buff, huh?"
Seeing this, Ishikawa's lips curled into a mocking smile: "The King of the Quincy actually needs external assistance when fighting an enemy?"
As he spoke, Ishikawa also raised his left hand, making no grand gesture, simply extending it forward and loosely clenching his palm.
The moment his left hand completed its loose clench, the sound of the Great Saint Bow above their heads, like a vibrating bowstring, was abruptly choked off.
"Hmm?"
Yhwach looked up, his eyes widening. A giant purple hand, as if pinching a fly, had grasped the nearly hundred-meter Great Saint Bow in its palm.
At the same time, Ishikawa's left hand closed its fingers.
Crack!
The massive Reishi bow instantly dispersed into Reishi, but before it could fully scatter, it was all absorbed into Ishikawa's body.
And after doing all this, Ishikawa's clenched left hand suddenly slammed towards Yhwach's face.
All of this, though seemingly long, from the Great Saint Bow's condensation to its destruction, was but a moment's speech.
From crushing the Great Saint Bow to clenching his fist and striking, it was all done in one fluid motion, completely without any sense of delay.
Yhwach frowned, but a contemptuous, strange smile appeared on his face. He didn't use his left hand to block, but instead, a layer of textured, semi-circular barrier appeared on his body, rapidly expanding.
External Blut Vene.
But he didn't notice that the moment this layer of External Blut Vene appeared, the purple eyes suspended above his head noticeably brightened.
The next second!
Bang!
Ishikawa's left fist struck Yhwach's face without obstruction. The immense force caused Yhwach's face to cave in, and then a surge of Reishi energy erupted from the fist.
Blood splattered as Yhwach was sent flying like a kicked football, rocketing backward.
Even as his feet firmly pressed against the void, he still slid back tens of meters. Yhwach, covering his bloody and battered face, looked at Ishikawa, who maintained his punching posture, through the gaps in his fingers. His eyes were filled with gloomy killing intent and towering rage brought on by his dignity being trampled.
"It went through!"
His External Blut Vene was an enhanced extension of Blut Vene. Upon activation, it could expand the defensive Blut Vene outside the body, turning it into a textured, semi-circular barrier to block incoming attacks from enemies.
At the same time, it could also corrode anything that touched it, thereby corroding the opponent's body.
In other words…
Whether the opponent broke through the outer barrier or attacked his main body, they would suffer damage.
But…
Ishikawa's fist directly passed through the semi-circular barrier and struck him. Even after he was knocked back, the External Blut Vene remained perfectly intact.
Thinking of this, Yhwach looked up at the top of his head.
To be able to analyze and nullify External Blut Vene the moment it formed, Ishikawa's Bankai was even more terrifying than he had anticipated.
Withdrawing his gaze, Yhwach looked at Ishikawa, who had pulled back his fist and was looking at him with disdain. The anger in his eyes gradually subsided into calmness.
"So that's how it is. It seems I did underestimate you."
As he spoke, Yhwach removed the hand covering his face. His face, which had been bloody and caved in just seconds before, had already returned to normal. He looked at Ishikawa: "Not only is your Zanpakuto ability powerful, but in both Zanjutsu and Hakuda, you have reached a level almost at the limit for a Shinigami."
"Hahahahaha— This is truly surprising."
Ishikawa watched Yhwach, who had suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, and frowned slightly.
"Compared to a fellow like Yamamoto Genryusai, you, someone who is not a member of the Gotei 13, have instead walked the furthest. Originally, I thought the only ones who could make me feel slightly troublesome were Yamamoto Genryusai and the so-called Shinigami leader."
"Now it seems, there's one more."
Although the two blades had only clashed for an instant, the will transmitted from Ishikawa's Zanpakuto was so clear.
Yes, it was will.
A will that, with a single slash, could cleave everything in two.
This indicated that Ishikawa's understanding of Zanjutsu had reached an extremely terrifying level.
And the punch he personally experienced gave Yhwach a strange feeling, because even though he was only hit once, it felt like he had endured two attacks.
The first attack had no spiritual power at all, but was a pure burst of physical strength.
The second attack, however, was a combination of spiritual power and energy, injecting new vitality into a punch that had already reached its peak and was about to dissipate, causing the punch's power to surge explosively.
"Monster!"
Even Yhwach, at that instant, couldn't help but evaluate Ishikawa as a 'monster' in his heart.
He had seen those with powerful Reiatsu, those with terrifying Zanpakuto abilities, and those with formidable Zanjutsu and Hakuda… But when all of these were concentrated in one person, that person could only be described with the word 'monster'!
At that moment, Yhwach's regard for Ishikawa surpassed that for Yamamoto Genryusai for the first time.
Ishikawa didn't speak, merely bowed slightly. It wasn't a bow of respect, but a lowering of his upper body as if charging, and at that moment, his long blade was held horizontally at his waist!
Boom!
Vast Reiatsu surged from the blade, so dense that it even formed purple flames, engulfing Ishikawa entirely.
His short, black hair danced wildly. At this moment, Ishikawa, simply by standing there, caused the surrounding black space to collapse.
No holding back.
At this moment, all of Ishikawa's Reiatsu was released. Its terrifying intensity even caused Ishikawa's body to creak, but Ishikawa's physique completely withstood his fully unleashed Reiatsu. No matter how fierce the Reiatsu storm, it caused no harm to his body.
"It's coming!"
Upon seeing this, Yhwach's smile vanished, replaced by a look of solemnity.
Expected, yet unexpected!
He sensed Ishikawa's impending arrival, but he didn't sense…
Ishikawa had already arrived!
Yhwach only saw Ishikawa, tens of meters away, sway slightly, and then a pain in his waist.
Ishikawa vanished from his sight, and behind him appeared a figure wrapped in purple Reiatsu flames, looking like a deity.
That was…
Ishikawa.
Yhwach looked down, and what met his eyes was his lower body gradually separating from his upper body.
Extreme speed.
It wasn't traversing space, or traversing time; it was simply extreme speed.
It was the instantaneous exertion of Reiatsu, physique, and Zanjutsu to their utmost, thereby giving birth to…
Extreme speed that transcended time and space!
Once the blade was swung, there was no dodging it.
But…
Yhwach turned to look at Ishikawa behind him, not panicking despite being bisected. Instead, a smile appeared on his face.
Because he could tell that this slash was the pinnacle of Ishikawa's Zanjutsu, and performing it would place a great burden on him.
Muscle tremors, Reiatsu disorder, blade wailing… The negative effects brought by the extreme speed, while not enough to cause Ishikawa to suffer a backlash, prevented him from recovering quickly and from launching a follow-up attack.
Although for any other enemy, this single slash, even if not fatal, would completely incapacitate them.
However, his opponent was himself!
Azure flames burned on his right hand, and Yhwach's falling lower body seemed to be drawn, stopping in mid-air.
At the same time.
Within the domain constructed by Kokumei, azure flames ignited on hundreds of Quincy, excluding the Sternritter, causing them to turn to ash before they could even scream. Their bodies, souls, powers, cores… everything instantly merged into Yhwach's body.
The demise of hundreds of Quincy instantly healed Yhwach's bisected body.
And simultaneously with the Holy Selection, there was also…
Sankt Altar!
His left hand formed a claw, and multiple spiritual bullets appeared instantly around Ishikawa, forming a Quincy pentagram.
"Give me your power!!"
Ishikawa, in the center of the pentagram, felt his power vanish in an instant.
Ishikawa was no stranger to this technique, as he had repeatedly reviewed and deeply studied all his memories concerning Yhwach over the past year.
Sankt Altar.
It could be said to be an extension of Yhwach's own soul distribution and retrieval, an ability that transcended rules, and strictly speaking, should be called a 'conceptual' ability, allowing him to usurp the opponent's power.
In Ishikawa's memory, even the so-called oldest Shinigami, the leader of all Shinigami, could not be immune to this usurpation. However, although his power would be taken, that Shinigami leader himself also possessed a 'conceptual' ability that prevented his usurped power from being controlled by Yhwach and allowed him to retrieve it instantly.
It's not that concepts are necessarily stronger than rules; they are merely one being relatively clear and the other relatively vague.
But precisely because of their clarity, under certain conditions that satisfy clarity, they can unleash rules that transcend rules!
In other words…
To break this technique, one only needs to transcend rules, even if only for an instant.
Ishikawa's power was never just Reiatsu alone; its complexity far exceeded Yhwach's imagination, and even Ishikawa himself hadn't fully grasped it!
So, the moment he was usurped, his muscles surged, and the power of his physique erupted. The Reiatsu Crest in his body began to tremble at this moment. The Reiatsu Crest, inscribed on his Spirit Core and seemingly unrelated to his body, actually began to resonate with Ishikawa's body at this instant.
Purple, branch-like patterns instantly appeared on Ishikawa's body, looking remarkably similar to Cirucci's and others' second Cero!
That was…
This scene caused the smile on Yhwach's face to freeze.
Because the moment the purple patterns appeared on Ishikawa's body, the pentagram formed by Sankt Altar instantly collapsed, and a Reishi vortex, piercing through the Schatten Bereich, enveloped Ishikawa.
In an instant, Reishi flames once again surged around Ishikawa.
"My power, you cannot control it yet."
Ishikawa's cold voice entered Yhwach's ears. This technique of his could be said to have been created specifically to counter Sankt Altar, and the inspiration… came from the changes in Cirucci and others' bodies.
Yhwach didn't speak, but lowered his hands, his eyes fixed on Ishikawa.
At this moment, hesitation emerged in the depths of his eyes, as if he were deliberating something.
And Ishikawa immediately caught the hesitation in his eyes. Though his face remained cold, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
"Did I push him too hard?"
He had no intention of settling the outcome with Yhwach here.
Just as he had said at the beginning, his goal was merely to leave as an absolute victor, thereby making Yhwach wary.
Not to push Yhwach to a dead end, forcing him to open his eyes prematurely.
Yhwach before and after opening his eyes could truly be called two different beings.
The difference between them could even be described as a false god and a true god!
Even if opening his eyes prematurely would have some flaw, Ishikawa absolutely did not want to face Yhwach after he opened his eyes alone. At the very least, he would need to team up with Captain-Commander Yamamoto to have any chance of victory, though… it would only be a slim one.
A glimmer of hope brought by that flaw.
And this possibility of victory…
Was only victory, not his annihilation.
Therefore, his Bankai, integrated into this space above his head, certainly had concerns about its concept being usurped, but more so, it was to analyze Yhwach while fighting him, rather than to provide assistance to himself in this battle.
Ishikawa's Reiatsu, enveloped by his terrifying physique, could be said to have been in a fully released state from the very beginning, without needing a Zanpakuto as a medium.
In other words…
Ishikawa's Bankai would not provide a Reiatsu boost to himself.
So, for Ishikawa, there was no difference in dealing with Yhwach before he opened his eyes, with or without a Zanpakuto.
The Shikai Zanpakuto was only for trapping the Sternritter.
The continuous analysis was not for this battle, but for the future decisive battle!
But at this moment…
Ishikawa began to fully activate his Bankai, integrated into this space above his head, fully analyzing all the changes in Yhwach.
And just then, dense pillars of light, illuminating the entire Wandenreich, descended from the sky.
Almost all the Quincy, including the Sternritter, were enveloped by the pillars of light.
"Holy Selection?"
This scene caused all the Quincy to show expressions of horror.
But the next second, they realized something was wrong.
Because…
They didn't disappear, but instead…
Everyone, at this moment, was connected to His Majesty, as if they had completely merged into His Majesty's body.
"What is this?"
Ishikawa's pupils constricted, and then his expression changed.
He suddenly realized he had made a mistake, a fatal mistake.
That was…
Underestimating the territory buff of this world, the Wandenreich, on Yhwach.
Being in this place was essentially being inside Yhwach's body.
In other words…
He could use methods other than Holy Selection, using the Schatten Bereich to concentrate everyone's power on himself.
Not devouring and retrieving, but merging into one!
He should have realized this earlier…