"See?"
"I told you already…"
"In front of the power of the Schrift, every Shinigami Captain is worthless! Their Bankai—fragile as glass—shatters at a touch!"
Inside Silbern's ice-crystal palace,
Lille Barro folded his arms arrogantly, his tone dripping with conceit.
Watching his future self on the screen, glowing with divine might in Vollständig, he couldn't hide the satisfaction curling across his lips.
Yes—this was exactly how it should be.
No audience, not even the Shinigami of the Gotei 13, could possibly remain calm after seeing that destructive display.
And this wasn't even his final form.
He still had one more stage—his ultimate transformation.
With that trump card still in reserve, how could he lose?
Across from him, Kyōraku Shunsui had already played his last hand—Bankai released, no more tricks to draw.
In Lille's eyes, the outcome was absolute.
But—
Before the Quincies could even react—
the screen shifted.
And what followed overturned everything in an instant.
The mighty purebloods stared, dumbstruck.
Even Lille Barro himself froze, eyes wide, mouth open.
On the screen—
Lille's back faced the camera.
He stared down at the inferno below, voice cool and detached.
"Kyōraku Shunsui…"
"I may not have your Bankai's data…"
"But one thing is certain—once a Zanpakutō's master dies, its Bankai dies with it."
He didn't finish the sentence.
BANG!
A sharp crack rang out—like a bullet striking flesh.
A moment later, a huge bloody hole opened in Lille's shoulder, spraying crimson through the air.
The audience gasped.
No warning.
No sign.
Just sudden, shocking injury.
"Captain—did you see that?"
"The wound… it's in the same spot where Captain Kyōraku was injured earlier!"
Inside the 4th Division barracks,
Kotetsu Isane's voice trembled as she pressed her hand to her lips, eyes wide.
Unohana Retsu's gaze softened, her tone quiet but firm.
"You're right. The very same place—and not just one injury."
As if on cue, a second wound burst open at Lille's waist, blood soaking his white uniform.
Two wounds—two mirrors.
His immaculate robes, symbol of Quincy pride, were now stained red.
"Is it recoil damage?" Isane murmured, stunned. "Or… shared pain?"
If both combatants suffered the same wounds, then any strike dealt was suicide.
An ability like that—if unknown—was impossible to defend against.
Unohana's eyes glimmered faintly.
"This is only the opening act," she said, calm as ever. "Soon the next scenes will begin. And with them… his death."
And she was right.
On the screen, Lille Barro, now bleeding from multiple wounds, roared in anger and confusion.
Kyōraku gave him no chance to recover.
His twin blades spun like pendulums, black pine trees blooming behind him as his voice echoed:
"The Bed of Shame…"
"When a man injures another and feels remorse, he lies bedridden, stricken by an incurable disease born of his own guilt."
The words fell like a curse.
At once, Lille's skin erupted with dark blotches—black spots spreading like ink across his flesh.
The audience recoiled.
Each mark pulsed, oozed, multiplied—until his entire body was covered in them.
Even hardened warriors felt their stomachs twist at the sight.
"This is insane…"
"Each black spot… that's a wound!"
"There must be hundreds!"
"He looks like a dying man, rotting from within!"
In an abandoned warehouse in the Human World, the Visoreds' faces turned pale.
Just watching made their skin crawl.
"How awful…" Love mumbled. "Even through the screen, I can feel it."
Shinji's voice trembled, half in awe, half in fear.
"Good thing we got along with him back in the Seireitei… If we'd ever ticked off that drunk, we'd never even know how we died."
"Yeah…" Kensei nodded grimly. "Let's just keep Lisa between us and him from now on."
Unanimous agreement.
The Katen Kyōkotsu Bankai was too grotesque, too cruel.
No one wanted to test it firsthand.
Then came the next shift—
The final act.
The last curtain.
The dark pine forest faded—
and was replaced by an endless, suffocating abyss.
Water.
Dark, cold water rose around them both, filling the entire scene.
Kyōraku and Lille sank together into the depths, falling silently through a blue-black sea.
It was as if even their reiatsu was being crushed, drained, consumed by the abyss.
"Third Act: The Deep Abyss of Drowned Souls…"
"When two souls accept their fate, they sink together, until their reiatsu is spent and life is gone."
Suspended in the water, Kyōraku's calm face never wavered.
His eyes were steady.
Serene.
The water pressed in—but he did not struggle.
He accepted it.
Across from him, Lille writhed in agony, eyes bulging, limbs flailing as his divine form began to break apart.
The ocean itself was dyed black and red.
His screams vanished into bubbles.
The light faded.
And then—silence.
The divine Quincy who had boasted of being "closest to God"
was dragged into the depths by the very curse of a man who fought in shadows and games.
Lille Barro—defeated.
The strongest of the Sternritter Guard.
The power beyond the Shinigami apex.
Brought low by Katen Kyōkotsu's final dance.
The curtain fell.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[10 Reviews = 5 Extra Chapters]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]