The Throne of Hearts!

Yet the enemy understood this as well...

"So that's how it is. You could run for the sake of your companions, so you planned to make yourself a sacrificial decoy?"

"A wise choice! Unfortunately, it's meaningless. I'll kill you soon enough, then catch up to those Soul Reapers who fled earlier and shoot through their chests with my arrows..."

The Sternritter member instantly understood Sugiki's intentions. Smiling, he drew the bow in his hand at Sugiki.

"Burn, Hidanmaru!"

Sugiki roared, gripping a flaming blade as he swung it toward the Sternritter member.

Unfortunately, there were simply too many incoming arrows. His flames could not block that ocean of projectiles. In an instant, Sugiki's body was riddled with arrows, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Farewell, Soul Reaper!"

Looking at Sugiki lying on the ground, the Sternritter member drew his final arrow. Sugiki would die beneath this shot—or at least, that was what the Sternritter member believed...

Whoosh!

As the arrow tore through the air, Sugiki slowly closed his eyes. He seemed to have already seen the outcome of his imminent death. Though tragic, he had expected it long ago...

Sugiki only hoped that the squad members who had been with him could retreat quickly, return to their respective divisions, report the situation to their captains, and receive their protection.

Bang!

Just as Sugiki saw his own "death," a faint breeze swept past him, and the arrow about to pierce him was slapped away.

The breeze made Sugiki squint, but he could still clearly see the person standing before him: the white haori and the number eleven embroidered on its back.

"Shine, Ruriko!"

The newcomer was Araki, who had sprinted over from the 11th Division. Looking at Sugiki lying on the ground, he expressionlessly released his Zanpakuto...

As a gentle green light shone down, Sugiki, who had been on the verge of death from excessive blood loss, immediately regained the color in his cheeks.

"Y-you're... Captain Araki!"

Seeing Araki appear before him like a god descending from heaven, Sugiki's expression changed at once. He instinctively tried to rise and salute Araki, only to forget that he had lost half a leg and fall awkwardly back to the ground.

"Stay down!"

Araki left only those words for Sugiki before turning toward the Quincy standing opposite him.

Whoosh! Whoosh...

Naturally, the Quincy did not stand around idly. While Araki treated Sugiki, he fired several arrows at him in quick succession. Unfortunately, Araki casually slapped every one of them to the ground as though swatting mosquitoes...

"Who are you?"

At that moment, the arrogant Sternritter member finally panicked. He admitted that he had underestimated the Soul Reapers' strength. At the very least, the man before him was unfathomable.

"ROOM!"

Araki ignored the man's shouting and calmly activated his ability.

"Huh?!"

The Sternritter member watched as translucent light enveloped him, unable to hide the terror in his eyes.

He asked Araki, "What did you do to me?!"

Whoosh!

Before the Sternritter member could think any further, the light had already faded.

Then, the Sternritter member felt himself lose all support, and his body uncontrollably toppled toward the ground...

"My legs! Where did my legs go?!"

Only after falling did the Sternritter member abruptly discover that both of his legs had vanished at some point.

"You should be able to get up now."

Araki ignored the Quincy lying on the ground and spoke expressionlessly to Sugiki behind him.

"My leg is back! My leg... it's back!"

Sugiki Sōichirō had never imagined that the leg he had lost could be reattached.

"Run. Remember to flee toward the 11th Division. The captains of the other divisions are currently moving through the Seireitei, hunting Quincy as well! They have no time to care for wounded men like you, whose Spiritual Power has been depleted too severely to fight."

Araki looked at Sugiki, whose body had recovered, and gave him the reminder after a brief moment of thought.

Because Araki had foreseen the Quincy invasion several minutes in advance and used Tenteikūra to notify all the Gotei 13 captains, the Gotei 13's captains had reacted faster than they had in the original timeline...

At this moment, those captains had already led their respective divisions into a Quincy-hunting "competition" throughout the Seireitei. No one had time to care for the Soul Reaper squad members whose Spiritual Pressure had been exhausted and who could no longer fight.

Of course, Araki had left contingencies behind in his own 11th Division...

"I will obey Captain Araki's orders!"

Sugiki rose to his feet and deeply bowed to Araki.

"Mm..."

Hearing that, Araki simply turned and walked toward the Sternritter member lying on the ground.

"Thank you, Captain Araki, for granting me new life! I am Sugiki Sōichirō of the Sugiki Family, and I am willing to serve you faithfully for the rest of my life!"

The moment Araki turned away, Sugiki Sōichirō dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed heavily several times to Araki. Only then did he rise on his own and turn to leave.

Sugiki knew that he had something more important to do. He needed to inform the squad members who had exhausted their Spiritual Pressure and could no longer fight to head to the Gotei 13, 11th Division barracks for treatment...

"..."

Araki ignored Sugiki Sōichirō's "pledge of loyalty" and walked over to the Sternritter member.

"Where is your emperor, Yhwach?"

Facing the Sternritter member who had lost both legs and was forced to lie on the ground, Araki asked coldly.

"You think I'll tell you? You garbage from Soul Society! Even if I die, I absolutely won't—"

Before the Sternritter member could finish speaking, his entire head exploded like a watermelon.

"Too noisy! You're hardly the only Quincy with a mouth!"

Blood mixed with brain matter splattered toward Araki. He blocked it with his Zanpakuto's ability, his face full of disgust, then raised his head and looked across the chaotic battlefield at the Quincy in their white uniforms.

"ROOM!!"

A massive "transparent operating room" spread out from Araki in every direction, engulfing the entire battlefield at Shūwamon in the blink of an eye! As huge silver blade light flashed, every Quincy was cut cleanly in half by Araki's single slash!

"Were we cut to death?!"

"What kind of joke is this?! I can see my lower body floating in the sky!"

"Damn it, what is going on?!"

For a moment, not only were the Quincy helpless in the face of this situation, even the Soul Reaper squad members still fighting them had no idea what had happened.

Unfortunately, no one answered their questions...

As streaks of silver light flashed, every Quincy floating in the sky felt a sharp pain in their hearts! They suddenly felt as if they had lost something important...

Once the wandering silver light gradually faded and the transparent "operating room" finally contracted and vanished, the Quincy whom Araki's ability had forced into the sky finally fell to the ground.

"What is that?!"

"Damn it, is this hell?"

When the Quincy landed on the ground, what greeted their eyes was a throne made from countless beating hearts.

In an instant, the Quincy felt their scalps go numb, their SAN values plummeting!

Bizarre. Everything before them was simply too bizarre!

A chair made entirely of hearts? What kind of twisted thing was that? And upon closer inspection, those hearts were still beating even now!

"Then, allow me to introduce myself..."

"My name is Araki. I am the captain of the Gotei 13, 11th Division in the Seireitei of Soul Society—the place you have invaded. You may consider me one of the leaders of the Soul Reapers you have been slaughtering."

Just as the Quincy were gripped by "fear," "confusion," and "helplessness" at the sight before them...

A man with short brown hair and a white haori approached them while speaking, a beating heart clenched in his hand.

A closer look revealed that the heart in the man's hand was identical to the many hearts forming the throne. Clearly, the man was connected to that throne!

"Soul Reaper?!"

Seeing this "white-robed" Soul Reaper suddenly appear before them without warning, the Quincy all drew their bows, ready to shoot Araki down with their arrows at any moment.

"Calm down..."

Araki remained calm as he faced the Quincy drawing their bows at him. Before all of them, he casually crushed the heart in his hand, and bright red liquid immediately flowed from the gaps between his fingers...

Pff!

As the heart in Araki's hand burst apart, the nearest Quincy immediately vomited blood and collapsed. In the blink of an eye, he was dead.

"This is?"

Having witnessed their companion's bizarre death, the Quincy immediately panicked.

"As you can see, these still-beating hearts came from all of you..."

"If anything goes wrong—if the hearts behind me burst on their own, or if your arrows miss and strike your own hearts—then you will die immediately, just like that fellow on the ground!"

As Araki spoke, he shook the blood from his hand and sat upon the throne made from the hearts of countless Quincy.

"Everyone, like your Majesty, I dislike pointless slaughter!"

"So I am giving all of you two choices."

"First, attack me, and every one of you will die here!"

"Second, use your companions' heads in exchange for the hearts in my possession."

"Don't worry. I'm a very reasonable man..."

"As long as you give me five of your companions' heads, you can exchange them for one heart in my hand! Of course, if anyone can take Yhwach's head, then every heart here will be returned to you, without a single one missing."

Araki sat casually upon the Throne of Hearts, like a king high above them, gazing coldly down on the invading Quincy.

"Now choose!"

Araki looked at the Quincy and asked indifferently.

Two more updates! Considering how hard I'm working, everyone, send over some votes!!