Chapter 181
A last-ditch effort in a life-or-death moment:
"Asahi!"
The scale and power of the tsunami were extremely exaggerated.
But it was precisely because of that overwhelming effect that the entire land was swallowed up by shadow—the darkness provided ample opportunity for the Asahi to shine.
Trying to cut water with a knife is pointless.
But as long as he can buy himself some space to escape, just like he did when he first cut down the Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, that will be enough for Seirin Tsunayashiro.
Pity...
Haruto had already taken this possibility into account.
Above the massive and overwhelming Reishi tsunami, a radiant canopy suddenly appeared, instantly reducing the power of the Asahi to freezing point.
"Magic #68"
That was Numbered Spells cast using Reiatsu mimicry magic:
"Supernal Jail!"
Translation: Heavenly Imprisonment
"Boom!!"
――――
"Despair."
The battle is over.
Haruto slowly descended towards the school rooftop.
Seitō Academy, located at the center of the battlefield, was largely unharmed, but the casualties among other surrounding buildings and personnel were...
Even Haruto, who isn't exactly a saint, felt a sense of unease after looking around:
Karakura Town, which accounts for one-fifth of the area, looks like it was plowed up by battleship main guns... In more Japanese terms, it should be called the Li Mei Barbecue.
Casualties, property damage, and intelligence cover-up.
One can imagine how difficult it will be for Haruto to write this report after he returns to Soul Society, not to mention that a core member of the Tsunayashiro Clan has died here:
Her own fault cannot be made public.
Certainly.
Haruto and Seirin Tsunayashiro can only be considered accomplices; the real culprits are the two Quincy in the sky:
Their standoff is the key to all of this.
But.
The battle in the sky has also temporarily come to an end.
In terms of strength, Schubert and Sōken Ishida are roughly equal, and their ruthlessness and cunning are equally matched.
Pity...
Sōken Ishida's "helper" is still too human-like.
As the two simultaneously charged up their ultimate attacks, Adjuchas, which Schubert had been raising, emerged from its hiding place.
Suddenly, a sneak attack was launched against Sōken Ishida from the Garganta.
Originally hidden in the Reishi space, Isumi Ishida — Sōken's recently married wife—did not interrupt Schubert as planned. Instead, she took the hit in Sōken Ishida when Adjuchas launched its sneak attack.
Although Isumi Ishida, as a Pure-Blood Quincy, possessed the Blut Vene, her weakness of only being at the Vice-Captain-level meant she was still unable to completely defend against the attack.
Enraged, Sōken Ishida instantly killed the Adjuchas, but was also severely injured by Schubert's Heilig Pfeil.
In addition, his wife was being eroded by the poison...
To put it nicely, it's come to an end; in reality, Sōken Ishida has already lost the battle.
—If Haruto weren't here.
"Whoosh."
Haruto Shunpo to appear beside Sōken Ishida.
Do you need any help?
Haruto spoke to Sōken Ishida without turning his head.
"... You are Soul Reaper."
He rejected Haruto's suggestion, but not entirely.
Sōken Ishida also knew that the current situation was not optimistic, and it was unwise to force himself to continue for the sake of saving face... If it were just him, it would be fine, but his wife, who had been implicated, needed to be treated as soon as possible.
"This is not about any particular faction; it's just a suggestion from a personal standpoint."
"Good."
"..."
Although his grandson is arrogant and spoiled from the moment he appears, he is actually quite honest when you talk to him.
"Sōken Ishida!"
Schubert did not take the opportunity to launch an attack.
Haruto and Seirin Tsunayashiro, and knew in his heart that neither of them were easy opponents to defeat.
At the same moment the two finished their conversation—
"You actually intend to accept Soul Reaper's help?"
"A traitor to the Empire, willing to abandon even the last vestige of dignity of the Quincy!?"
Schuber, his voice laced with suppressed sneer, mocked loudly.
Are you scared?
Haruto simply responded with a question in return.
"...#!"
"Are you kidding me!"
Schubert's personality is clearly not as composed as Seirin Tsunayashiro's.
"I am Schubert, the Sternritter, the man who will one day be bestowed with Schrift by His Majesty!"
Schubert held his sword upright in front of him.
"Now I'll show you the true power of my Vollständig— "
"Call out!"
It was perfectly straight, pointing 15 degrees toward the sky.
"The Army of Gods!"
"Click--"
Countless Reishi surged forth from the depths of the earth, quickly coalescing into a blurry humanoid shape behind Schubert.
"Waaaaa!!"
Body shape, weapon, facial features.
"?"
Familiar face, familiar Reiatsu:
There are six figures behind Schubert, from Hiyori to Kanmuri Yasu, from Sōken Ishida to Isumi Ishida.
—There were even figures of Haruto and Seirin Tsunayashiro.
"How is that possible!?"
Sōken Ishida looked incredulous.
"... What an amazing ability."
Haruto was also somewhat surprised.
The Army of Gods.
While it sounds impressive, it's actually more like a copying ability: recording the Reiatsu of targets within a certain range around Schubert the moment he Vollständig, and then refining it through a massive number of Sklaverei.
While its Reiatsu reserves are certainly not as abundant as its physical body, they can be continuously replenished and restored through the environment.
The Sternritter's Vollständig are mostly achieved by drinking Yhwach's blood, which directly and rapidly unleashes their innate talents.
The speed of enhancement is almost as fast as the methods used by the Soul King Palace, but it is based on insufficient stamina and excessive exploitation of potential.
But.
Schubert's Vollständig is somewhat different.
His Vollständig was completed during Yhwach's slumber. Although it was through the shared power of his soul that the Quincy: Letzt Stil was made up for, most of his power actually came from his own cultivation.
Although Sōken Ishida mocked him, Schubert wasn't actually as bad as he made him out to be.
"Ishida- kun."
"... Just call me Sōken."
"Ishida -kun, can you stop him from copying?"
Haruto's perverse sense of humor dictates that it's impossible for him to get his way so easily.
"My Sklaverei is not as good as him."
Sōken Ishida shook his head.
Schubert's Sklaverei is among the strongest in the entire Sternritter, which is the foundation for his ability to cultivate the Vollständig.
Even if I use my full power to activate the Sklaverei, I can at most negate the copies made by those two vice-captains.
What if I were included?
"... you?"
――――
Volume 1: Chapter 110, I'm Really Not Quincy
Haruto revealed that he was Soul Reaper.
Furthermore, he killed Captain-level Soul Reaper with his Zanpakuto Shikai in front of Sōken Ishida, which is enough to prove that Sōken Ishida's initial guess was wrong.
Even he himself thought he had misread it.
However.
"You know how to Sklaverei?"
The surface of Sōken Ishida's glasses was shimmering.
"No... the method of absorbing Reishi on a large scale is not limited to Sklaverei."
Haruto smiled and shook his head—in terms of tactics, the best approach would naturally be to launch a sneak attack when Schubert had finished using his Vollständig ability; however, since Haruto dared to let the opponent unleash his full power, it meant that he had a more cost-effective plan.
"Can you handle three Captain-level at the same time?"
Sōken Ishida widened.
Sklaverei is an advanced ability Reishi Subjugation. Quincy at the Vice-Captain-level can comprehend it, but to cultivate it to the point where one can forcibly extract Reishi from a fellow Quincy opponent... Sōken Ishida considered himself quite strong, yet he could only dispel Vice-Captain-level Reishi aggregate.
After all--
The prerequisite for Quincy: Letzt Stil without damage is that one must use the Sklaverei on ordinary days.
Accumulate a large amount of Reishi.
"Well..."
Haruto opened his palm towards Schubert, whose expression remained arrogant.
"More or less?"