Suppressing Shūwamon!

Dark!

The sky over the Seireitei was oppressively gloomy.

Silent!

Amid the flames of war spreading relentlessly through the Seireitei, the silence before Shūwamon seemed incomparably bizarre.

The Quincy who had invaded from the Human World's "Lichtreich" alongside their "great emperor," Yhwach, were now gripped by despair!

They looked upon the figure sitting "quietly" atop a throne forged from the fresh hearts of countless Quincy, their hearts filled with terror and dread...

The man on the throne had given them a choice, yet they could not make it so easily! Whether it was trading their comrades' heads for a chance to live, or heeding the man's temptation and raising the "blades" in their hands against their great "emperor," both seemed far too cruel for them!

"A choice? What choice is there..."

Every Quincy understood it clearly.

The man appeared to have given them a chance to choose, but in truth, he had left them only one path...

No matter which path they chose, the Quincy who had attacked the Seireitei through Shūwamon were destined to become traitors forever "reviled" by later generations in Quincy history!

The man did not speak, as though giving them time to choose. Yet those forced to make that choice could not bring themselves to answer his question.

For a time, deathly silence descended before Shūwamon, and the atmosphere grew ever stranger.

Thump! Thump! Thump...

When no one spoke any longer, when the battlefield's "roars" gradually faded into the distance, when the scene fell into silence, sounds that had once gone unheard were magnified without limit!

"Thump, thump..." Like the beat of drums, rhythmic and dense, the sound continuously echoed from the throne beneath the man!

Yet the Quincy knew clearly that those were not drumbeats. They were the beating hearts in their chests. But today, those sounds that had once reassured them were incomparably piercing, grating against every Quincy's nerves...

"You bastard! Is this some kind of joke?!"

"I will not betray my comrades! And I certainly will not betray my emperor..."

"Evil Soul Reaper, die!!!"

At last, a Quincy's mind collapsed...

He could no longer endure the horrifying scene before him, nor could he accept his own heart being sat upon by another and crying out in endless anguish! So he decided to fight back. In an instant, an arrow formed of Reishi aimed at Araki on the throne.

"So this is your choice? Pathetic..."

Araki looked at the Quincy whose mind had nearly broken, his expression utterly calm, with even a trace of pity in his eyes.

Whoosh!

With a flash of bright silver blade-light, Araki drew the Zanpakuto at his waist and stabbed it backward through his throne of "hearts," piercing row after row of hearts that formed its left armrest!

"Puh..."

As though responding to Araki's action...

The instant one heart after another exploded atop Araki's throne, countless Quincy immediately "vomited blood," collapsing to the ground like broken puppets and falling silent in the blink of an eye...

What was tragic was that the Quincy who had drawn his bow and prepared to attack Araki did not die.

"Why?!"

As this broken Quincy watched his companions continuously fall around him, the hand gripping his bow trembled without end.

Even though he had drawn his weapon, even though he had made up his mind to attack Araki, the hand holding his bow could not release the arrow. He was afraid... afraid that his arrow would land upon the throne behind Araki.

"Sorry. There are too many hearts here, so I don't know which one belongs to you..."

"But that's fine. I can try them one by one. One of them is bound to be yours."

As Araki spoke, the blade-light in his hand swept across the "throne" once more.

Immediately, another group of Quincy clutched their chests and collapsed, unable to rise...

Yet regrettably, the Quincy who had intended to attack Araki was still alive.

And so, the Quincy despaired. Amid the grief of his companions' deaths, he lowered his bow, and the instant it was lowered, Araki's blade stopped as well...

"Ha, hahaha, hahahaha..."

A "sorrowful," "desolate" laugh continuously escaped the Quincy's mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted into a hideous mask like that of a demon. Hatred filled his gaze toward Araki, yet his knees could only press tightly against the ground as he submitted to Araki upon the throne.

Thump! Thump...

After the first Quincy knelt before Araki, large numbers of Quincy followed suit...

For a moment, it was as though countless ministers were paying homage to their emperor. The proud Quincy knelt beneath the Throne of Hearts!

Yet there were still Quincy who craned their necks, stood tall, and glared furiously at Araki.

They disdained showing submission to Araki and did not fear death! They were Yhwach's subjects and would kneel to Yhwach alone in their lives! The only reason these proud subjects of Yhwach had not attacked Araki was because he held the lives of countless comrades in his hands.

"Very good..."

Araki sat upon the throne and accepted their homage. Then he raised a hand and bestowed the greatest honor upon those Quincy who would "rather die than yield"—eternal slumber! Lapis Lazuli light flashed in the sky, turning into streaks that passed through the bodies of every Quincy standing before the throne who refused to "kneel in worship." One upright Quincy after another collapsed, never to rise again, closing their eyes...

"Bring me your comrades' heads! Or take the life of that 'false emperor' of yours for me!"

"Do not try any little tricks. I am always watching you..."

Once Araki finished speaking, he vanished into the thick mist together with the hearts beneath him.

"Ah!!!"

As Araki's figure vanished without a trace, the Quincy raised their heads and let out anguished roars.

The Quincy understood that they had no other choice now. Whether for themselves or for their comrades, they could only force themselves onward.

Unfortunately, what these Quincy had not expected was that this was only the beginning of their suffering! From the moment Araki had dug out their hearts, their fates had no longer been under their own control.

"This is Araki, Captain of the 11th Division. The Quincy at Shūwamon have all been suppressed!"

"The Quincy 'emperor,' Yhwach, is not at Shūwamon..."

After leaving, Araki immediately used Tenteikūra to relay the situation on his side to every captain of the Gotei 13.

Even within the Seireitei, where talent abounded...

It was extremely rare to find someone like Araki who used Binding Spell Number Seventy-Seven so frequently! After all, once Kidō reached the high numbers above seventy, whether Binding Spells or Destructive Spells, they imposed extremely high demands on Spiritual Pressure and control...

As for Araki, bolstered by the Reishi Manipulation of his Fullbring, he directly treated Tenteikūra as his most basic means of communication, ensuring that he could promptly relay the information he obtained to all the captains of the Gotei 13.

"Then next, it is time to clean up my battlefield."

Araki narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the "corpses" scattered across the battlefield.

Quincy were treasures from head to toe~

Even dead Quincy, reduced to nothing but corpses, had their own unique uses!

Thanks to Daoist Master Haoyue for the 100 reward~