Where Mercy, Love, and Pity Dwell, There God Is Dwelling Too

Where Mercy, Love, & Pity dwell / There God is dwelling too.

--William Blake, Songs of Innocence (1789)

Halfway up Peony Mountain, Hanatarō knelt on the ground tending to the seriously injured Cheng. The green light on the Kaidō was much dimmer than when Sylvan had left.

"Hold on, hold on, you have to hold on..." Hanatarō was covered in sweat, and it was hard to tell whether he was encouraging Jun or cheering himself on.

Beside him lay four or five patients awaiting treatment, and further away, under the rubble, lay even more who had not yet been dug out. The faint breathing and occasional groans were like needles pricking his eardrums, reminding him of his helplessness.

Hanatarō gritted his teeth, trying to increase the output power of his Kaidō, but having worked almost non-stop, his Reiatsu had clearly dropped significantly, and the efficiency of his Kaidō had decreased considerably.

He subconsciously tried to summon his Zanpakuto, but it all seemed to have vanished without a trace. Even now, the anomaly of the Zanpakuto's rebellion had been thoroughly analyzed, and many Soul Reaper had begun to regain their Shikai abilities. However, the so-called "many Soul Reaper" only referred to Soul Reaper of the rank of Senior Seated Officer and above.

Only high-ranking Seated Officers with high Reiatsu and the captains and Lieutenant of each squad can recover their Soul Pulse and Shikai their Zanpakuto during this period. Other Soul Reaper's Soul Pulse is far from being able to recover to the point where they can Shikai without relying on the physical form of their Zanpakuto. This naturally includes Hanatarō.

"Where are you...? I need your help..."

Hanatarō finished bandaging the bundle in front of him, but looked helplessly at the rest. His body and Reiatsu told him that he was no longer able to save the rest.

Just when Hanatarō was about to despair, a sound of footsteps came from the mountain path. The sound was strange, and there were also some clanging sounds of metal parts in the footsteps.

"Da", "Da", "Da".

Hanatarō suddenly raised his head.

A short figure emerged from around the bend in the mountain path. He was just over a meter tall and his entire body was made of bronze-colored metal, with fine rivets and hinges at the joints. His limbs were slender but agile.

He wore a tattered linen trench coat, the hem of which reached his ankles and swayed gently with his steps, the hood obscuring his head in shadow.

The little metal puppet stopped in front of Hanatarō, raised its slender metal arm, and gently patted his shoulder. "Don't panic, Hanatarō, you can definitely do it."

The puppet quickly rescued the whole thing, which was still trapped under the rubble, and arranged it neatly.

"I can't use the Kaidō, but I can deal with them first. Before that, you should recover your Reiatsu, Hanatarō."

The puppet crouched down and took a flat medicine box from the medical bag of the Hanatarō. He opened the lid, revealing four neatly arranged rows of medicines. The little puppet pulled out the one he needed, opened it, and applied it to the wounded. His movements were extremely skillful, as if he were using his own belongings.

Hanatarō felt a lump in his throat as he watched the puppet's movements.

"Welcome back, Hisagomaru."

A gentle breeze lifted the hood of the Hisagomaru, revealing its metallic face and its left eye, which resembled an energy bar.

He nodded, and then a clear, gentle voice came from beneath the metal surface. "Time is tight and the mission is heavy, Hanatarō, there's no time for catching up."

Hanatarō nodded, saying nothing more, wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingers, and focusing on restoring his Reiatsu.

The two worked silently, one treating the wounded and the other using healing Kaidō.

The battle atop the mountain continued.

The Tenken Wisdom King's fist slammed onto the rock platform, sending boulders flying in all directions like projectiles launched from a catapult, causing the entire mountaintop to tremble.

"Gegetsuburi!"

"I know!"

Gegetsuburi and Marechiyo Ōmaeda spread out to the left and right, dodging the rubble, and at the same time swung their Meteor Hammers. The two hammerheads struck the wrist of the Wisdom King, and the sharp needles sparked a string of sparks on the surface of the armor, but it was just a string of sparks.

Wisdom King didn't even flinch, and slammed his fist down again, the force of the punch landing Marechiyo Ōmaeda's blocking arms.

"Boom--!"

Marechiyo Ōmaeda was slammed into the ground, his back carving a deep trench in the rock, with rubble and dust gushing out from both sides of his body.

"Marechiyo Ōmaeda!" Sylvan, holding Rook's one eye, commanded Oren to cut in. Oren, in his shadow leopard form, swept past the Wisdom King's ankle. His black and red tail blade was incredibly sharp, but it could only leave a shallow mark on the armor.

Wisdom King simply swept his palm horizontally, Oren was grazed by the edge of the palm wind. The huge impact sent him flying, and he tumbled several times in the air before barely regaining his balance.

"We can't even scratch it."

Oren scratched at the rocks with his claws, letting out a low growl.

Rain hovered above the Wisdom King's head, then spread his wings and swooped down, the magical runes on his wings glowing with a blinding blue light. "Hadō #73 - Sōren Sōkatsui!"

Two balls of azure flame shot out from its wingtips, striking the King of Wisdom King's face precisely. The flames exploded, and the Heat shockwave enveloped the King of Wisdom King's head.

As the flames subsided, without even the mask on the Wisdom King's face being blown off, it raised its head to look at Rain, two deep flames burning in its empty eye sockets. Like a giant whose peaceful dream had been disturbed, it impatiently raised its hand and slapped the Raven in the air.

Rain flapped its wings desperately, the slap brushing past its tail feathers and shredding a few Blue-Violet flight feathers into dust. It barely managed to rise higher into the air, its chest feathers bristling, panting heavily. "So the Kidō can only leave this level of injury!"

"Oren! Rain!"

Sylvan was about to go up to help when his eyes, which were holding Rook, emitted a purple light. Some energy, along with some images, entered Sylvan's brain, causing him to stagger.

The images that flashed through his vision were fragmented, like ink spreading after being soaked in water.

In the quiet night, a four- or five-year-old child squatted by the stream, tears streaming down his face, crying and calling for his family.

An elderly man walked slowly down the hillside with a cane, while a young couple each supported one of his arms. The three of them smiled contentedly.

A man carrying a bamboo basket on his back walked along the mountain path. The basket was filled with freshly picked medicinal herbs, which spilled out of the basket and swayed with each step.

These images kept flashing at the edge of Sylvan's vision, making him feel a little dizzy.

"Rook... what exactly do you want to tell me?"

"Sylvan, what's wrong, Sylvan!"

Marechiyo Ōmaeda noticed Sylvan's unusual behavior, but Sylvan's mind was still reeling from the influence of Rook's transmission, and he was unable to respond.

Unable to get a response Marechiyo Ōmaeda had no choice but to take on the battle himself. He charged forward again, with Gegetsuburi close behind.

As the Wisdom King's fist came crashing down, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, using the momentum of the punch to circle behind the Myo- Wisdom King, his body pressed against the inside of the Wisdom King's arm. Meanwhile, the Gegetsuburi Meteor Hammer struck the Wisdom King's knee from the opposite direction.

"When--!"

The hammer struck the joint, and Wisdom King's left leg bent slightly. Marechiyo Ōmaeda's pupils suddenly lit up. "There's hope!"

But the next second, Wisdom King's right foot was already raised, and that huge foot kicked Marechiyo Ōmaeda hard in the chest.

"Puff--!"

Marechiyo Ōmaeda spat out a mouthful of blood and was kicked away, crashing into the rock wall like a stone that had been kicked. Shards of rock flew everywhere. He got stuck in a crevice, his head tilted to one side, and remained motionless for a long time.

"Marechiyo Ōmaeda!" Gegetsuburi rushed over. Marechiyo Ōmaeda's fingers twitched. He tried to climb up, bracing himself against the rock wall, but as soon as he straightened halfway, another mouthful of blood welled up in his throat. "I... can still..."

"Shut up and stay still!" The Gegetsuburi blocked his way, looking at the Wisdom King who was turning around, his eyes filled with despair.

Rain swooped down from the sky, unleashing all the Kidō she could muster: golden light cones, red fireballs, blue lightning, and purple poison mist. She unleashed all the high-level Kidō she could from her wings, a colorful Kidō raining down on the King of Wisdom King's head like a storm.

The smoke and dust from the explosion engulfed Wisdom King's head, but when the smoke cleared, only a few scorch marks of varying depths and a dozen shallow dents remained on Wisdom King's face. The remaining Reishi in those dents flickered, further highlighting Wisdom King's ferocity.

The Wisdom King raised his hand again and slapped Rain down from the air.

Rain crashed to the ground, its Blue-Violet feathers scattered everywhere. It struggled to stand up, but its left wing was clearly broken, and the wing drooped limply at its side.

"Rain!" Oren lunged forward, but the black shadow panther blocked Rain's path, crouching low and hissing at the Wisdom King.

The Wisdom King raised his foot and stomped down on Oren.

"Boom--!"

Rein and Oren's spirits were crushed and turned into particles, returning to the tattoo on Sylvain's arm.

"I can't hold on any longer..." Sylvan knelt on the ground, holding Rook's eyes with one hand and supporting himself with his cane with the other. His vision had been completely overwhelmed by the images Rook was sending him. Sylvan's consciousness was overwhelmed and Sylvan collapsed to the ground unconscious.

All that remained was Marechiyo Ōmaeda, who was ravaged by the shock and riddled with internal injuries, and Gegetsuburi, who was protecting him.

"Is it all over...?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda pulled himself out of the crevice and wiped the blood from his nose. "My internal injuries are too severe. It's still too difficult for our group to deal with Captain-level Bankai."

"Marechiyo, this Spirit Body of mine was originally borrowed. Even if I die, I can recover within your body. I will cover the rear. You take the others and retreat first." Gegetsuburi stared at Tenken Wisdom King, who was slowly walking towards them, with a resolute expression.

"Retreat? Do you think this guy will let us just swagger away like that? If I leave you here, I'll probably be caught and hacked to pieces before I even reach the foot of the mountain." Marechiyo Ōmaeda nose and stood in front of Gegetsuburi.

"What should we do then?"

"What do you think? We're Stealth Force, you know." Marechiyo Ōmaeda looked at the suddenly fallen Sylvan, a death wish creeping into his eyes. "This time we've really lost. It's our turn to go. Even when Master and Amber fell, they didn't back down an inch. We can't disgrace our sect. When we die, we must face the enemy head-on, understand, Gegetsuburi?"

"When I die, all I have left is a broken sword. What's the point of having a front or a back?"

"Then let's face the enemy head-on. We can't let our brothers think we were cowards when they're collecting the corpses."

"Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, it's a bit too early to say these things now."

"Load it up, Hisagomaru!"

"Load it up!"

Two figures shot out from the mountain path, Hanatarō and Hisagomaru each holding a Zanpakuto with an energy bar as long as the blade.

The blades of both swords pierced directly into the bodies of Marechiyo Ōmaeda and Gegetsuburi, and the energy gauges on the swords and the energy gauge in Hisagomaru's left eye gradually filled with eerie red energy.

As the energy bar was filled, the injuries of Marechiyo Ōmaeda and Gegetsuburi began to heal at a visible speed.

"The bruises and contusions have all disappeared?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda touched his abdomen. "The internal bleeding has stopped too? Hanatarō, is this the power of your Zanpakuto?"

"No, Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, this isn't all." Hanatarō and Hisagomaru drew their swords and uttered the release command once more, "Full load, Red Hisagomaru!"

Hanatarō's Zanpakuto transformed once more, becoming a small scalpel, while Hisagomaru's transformation was even more exaggerated, with its chest cavity opening up to reveal a massive cannon barrel protruding from it.

Hanatarō swiftly unleashed two massive red slashes with his scalpel towards Wisdom King, while a red energy cannon also fired from the barrel of Hisagomaru's cannon.

The Wisdom King was caught off guard by the sudden attack and was knocked down by the massive energy cannon and slash.

Marechiyo Ōmaeda looked at Tenken Wisdom King in surprise. The giant who had stood firm no matter how he attacked was actually defeated by Hisagomaru's attack.

"The ability of the Hisagomaru is to absorb the wounds of those touched by the blade and convert them into energy of equal quality, which is then stored within the blade. Once the energy is full, it is released all at once," Hanatarō explained the Hisagomaru's ability to Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

Is there a limit to the number of times this ability can be used?

"No."

"No, is there any requirement regarding the injury?"

"As long as it's not irreparable damage, it's fine."

"I see..." Marechiyo Ōmaeda swung the Meteor Hammer again, a thought forming in his mind. "It seems there's still a chance, Gegetsuburi!"

"Okay!"

Having grasped Marechiyo Ōmaeda's true meaning, the Gegetsuburi followed Wisdom King and charged towards the Marechiyo Ōmaeda.

Sylvan awoke in complete darkness. "Where am I? Wasn't I fighting the Tenken Wisdom King on Peony Mountain?"

At that moment, streaks of light drifted past him like tiny shooting stars. Upon closer inspection, he realized that each of those streaks of light was actually a picture.

"These seem to be the memories that Rook transmitted to me?" Sylvan looked at the light spots flashing by on both sides and saw some of the scenes that Rook had shown him before. He rushed forward with those light spots.

The points of light converged in one place, and countless small images gathered in front of Sylvan to form a giant eye.

"Rook?"