Drawing a Zanpakuto

The crazed Xiutake charged forward, only for Rover to send him flying with a kick.

He slammed hard into the wall and slid down it, but couldn't help laughing.

"Good, good! What have I done to deserve all three of you joining forces against me? Even if I die, I'll have no regrets!"

He slumped at the foot of the wall, his white coat in tatters, his face smeared with dust and blood, and his glasses hanging crookedly on his nose. He looked utterly miserable, yet one last glimmer of madness still burned in his cloudy, pale yellow eyes.

"There's one more thing I want from you. Hand it over, and you can live."

Rover stared at him, every word deadly serious.

He stepped forward slowly, the Blood Oath Covenant hanging at his side, its tip scoring a shallow line in the ground. There was no pity in his golden eyes, only a bone-deep indifference.

Xiutake had too many secrets and was far too dangerous. Even if Rover spared him, he would have to keep him under constant, close watch to prevent him from doing harm and committing evil!

"I know. The Philosopher’s Stone, right?"

Xiutake smiled, showing no fear.

"Not just that. I also want the method for refining the Philosopher’s Stone."

Rover got straight to the point.

The thing was simply too useful. If it could be mass-produced, even ordinary people could gain the power to fight Laments.

The knowledge he had brought back from the Gate of Truth had shown him that the Philosopher’s Stone, as a universal substance, could break the iron law of equivalent exchange.

If they could master its refinement, the balance of humanity's fighting power would be completely rewritten.

Those ordinary people who were defenseless against Laments, those civilians who could only hide behind city walls and pray, might gain a way to protect themselves.

"Hahaha... Don't even dream of it. This is for your own good too, great savior. You wouldn't want to know where the Philosopher’s Stone comes from."

Xiutake doubled over laughing, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

He coughed as he laughed, coughing up blood, but he kept laughing.

Rover's brow twitched at those words. He sensed that something was amiss: there had to be a secret behind it, and an exceptionally weighty one.

"Enough nonsense. Hand it over. Whether to use it or discard it is for me to decide!"

"In your dreams!"

Xiutake laughed, his voice full of mockery.

He braced himself against the wall and tried to stand, but his legs trembled so badly that he failed twice. He gave up and remained slumped there, looking up at Rover with a flash of contempt in his eyes.

"All glory belongs to Edward III. You mortals can forget about laying a finger on it."

His voice suddenly grew solemn, and he even brought his hands slightly together in a gesture of prayer.

His body swelled violently, and an aura of destruction rippled outward.

Beneath his skin, it looked as though countless snakes were slithering about. His bones creaked, his features twisted out of shape, and his whole body resembled an inflated balloon, ready to burst at any moment.

This guy was going to self-destruct!

"A futile gesture."

Rover sneered, seemingly unconcerned.

He had seen plenty of situations like this. It was no threat at all.

He didn't even take half a step back. He simply held the Blood Oath Covenant across his body, his reiatsu quietly spreading out as he prepared to protect Cartethyia behind him at the moment of the explosion.

"Savior, you've lived for so many years. Haven't you ever thought of looking for companions?"

Xiutake had clearly swollen to his limit, his face turning purplish red, yet he seemed utterly unconcerned, as though he were chatting with an old friend.

His tone was eerily even, with a hint of teasing and mockery.

"They're both my companions."

Rover looked at Jinhsi and Cartethyia, finding the question inexplicable.

"No, no, no... I mean companions who share your roots, who come from the same hometown!"

Xiutake shook his head, his gaze growing more curious. He stared intently at every tiny change on Rover's face, as though observing something new he had never encountered before.

At those words, Rover's whole body trembled.

He had long forgotten where his hometown was, and he had even less recollection of companions from there.

Those memories were like ink soaked in water, blurred beyond recognition no matter how hard he tried to see them.

All he knew was that, at this very moment, his heart was racing.

He cared!

Though he had forgotten so much, he still longed to go home, longed to meet someone from his hometown.

That longing had been buried so deeply that he had nearly forgotten it himself, yet a single sentence from Xiutake had dug it up.

"What do you know?"

His voice dropped, but each word seemed to be squeezed through his teeth.

"The great Edward III met someone similar to you and was entrusted with a request. If we met you, that person hoped we would pass on a message."

"What message?"

"Do you miss home?"

Rover froze, as if deeply moved.

Those few words sounded light, yet struck his chest like a heavy hammer.

Firelight illuminated his face, revealing an exceedingly complicated expression: confusion, longing, and a trace of something even he couldn't quite explain.

"Haha... What's the point of thinking about such useless things? Get out of here alive first!"

Xiutake burst out laughing. The next moment, a towering blaze erupted, threatening to devour everything.

The light poured out of his body, crimson streaked with dark purple, so scorching that even the air burned.

The man had actually detonated the Philosopher’s Stone itself. The power it contained was far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand.

"Time Stop!"

Jinhsi remained calm in the face of danger and unleashed the power of time. Invisible ripples spread outward, freezing the explosive flames in midair and suspending the flying fragments of stone where they were.

Quick to react, Rover grabbed the two women and used Shunpo, crossing space itself to escape the danger zone.

The three reappeared on a hill dozens of miles away. They had barely found their footing when a deafening roar came from behind them.

Xiutake had died in battle and the stronghold had been destroyed. Even from dozens of miles away, the destructive blaze remained brilliantly dazzling.

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky, lighting the night as brightly as day. Even at this distance, they could feel the heat wave, which whipped the hems of their clothes.

Meanwhile, the familiar voice sounded in Rover's mind once more.

"Mission complete. You have gained one chance to draw a Zanpakuto, complete with its Shikai and Bankai. Draw now?"

"Yes!"

Anticipation appeared on Rover's face.

Zanpakuto came in all kinds, and nearly all of them possessed tremendous power.

Tensa Zangetsu and Kyōka Suigetsu, for example, or Hyōrinmaru and Sode no Shirayuki, or even Kamishini no Yari and Senbonzakura—all were objects of desire.

He had spent time in the world of Bleach, so he naturally knew what those swords meant.

He quickly ran through them in his mind, until only one thought remained: Anything but Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō. That sword is a bit too weak; aside from being huge, it's almost useless.

Amid a burst of dazzling light, a card descended from the sky and landed before Rover.

The card was pitch-black, with dark gold patterns along its edges and a crimson flame burning on its face.

As the flame flickered, the shape of a blade could faintly be seen within it: ancient, profound, and brimming with the Dao!

Rover's pupils abruptly contracted.

He stared at the card, his breathing growing somewhat hurried.

The corners of his mouth rose!

He'd hit the jackpot!