The Choice

[Urgent Quest: Become Yhwach's Son!]

[Reward: Gain Quincy Powers!]

[Main Quest: All traitors shall meet their end by the sword!]

[Defeat the Gotei 13, clear out the Seireitei, and conquer the Soul King Palace! Create a world without death, a truly 'peaceful' world, with Yhwach!]

[Reward: ???]

As Yhwach extended an olive branch to Araki, a rumble instantly echoed in Araki's mind as the System displayed lines of quest data before his eyes.

The quest panel in Araki's mind wasn't fixed; it served as an auxiliary tool, providing maximum assistance based on Araki's choices regarding his destiny. The decision of whether to accept or decline always remained in Araki's own hands.

At that moment, the main quest for a 'Soul Reaper' and the main quest for a 'Quincy' both seemed to be laid out before Araki.

"Do I even need to choose?!"

Araki's eye twitched slightly as he looked at his System quests.

Leaving aside which side, 'Soul Reaper' or 'Quincy,' would better serve Araki's current interests, Araki simply couldn't accept the primary condition of becoming a 'Quincy': being Yhwach's son.

While both were obsessed with collecting sons, Old Man White had literally poured his heart out for his son, had his chest pierced, and half his head blown off, yet still shouted "ONE PIECE" was real with his dying breath, without a single regret! In comparison, look at how Yhwach treated his subordinates: when in doubt, a single 'Auswählen,' and boom, all his disciples and grand-disciples collectively ascended!

Both were 'fathers,' one pouring his heart out for his son, the other making his sons pour their hearts out for him, even sugarcoating it by saying, "This is all for true peace! My children aren't 'dead'; they've merely become the cornerstones on the path called 'peace'!"

"Don't even start!"

In a fit of anger, Araki swung his sword and cut down Yhwach's horse.

"Brat, you're too impatient!"

"I had planned to talk with you slowly, seeing as the Soul Reapers are tied up and we have ample time! But now it seems I'll have to subdue you with force first!"

After his white horse died beneath him, Yhwach flew up and landed a short distance away. He lightly pulled back his dark cloak, revealing his white Quincy Sternritter uniform underneath, and placed one hand on his hip, gazing at Araki.

"Your Majesty! Please allow me to act on your behalf! There's no need for you to personally deal with such an ignorant fellow!"

Just as Yhwach's hand reached for the cross-shaped blade at his waist, a young man with a white military cap, who had been guarding Yhwach's side, drew his blade from his waist a step ahead of Yhwach.

"Hm? Schubert?"

Yhwach's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the young man who had interrupted him, and a hint of displeasure flickered in his ancient, unmoving eyes.

"Alright! Since you're so eager to help, then I'll leave him to 'you'."

Yhwach said, putting the blade back at his waist.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

The Quincy youth named Schubert said, already drawing the blade from his waist and walking in front of Araki.

"Ignorant brat! I am Schubert, Vice-Captain of the Sternritter! I will be dealing with you now..."

"And you will soon pay a heavy price for refusing His Majesty Yhwach's good intentions and killing His Majesty Yhwach's horse!"

Schubert held his cross-shaped sword, standing before Araki and speaking angrily.

"You say I'm about to pay a price for my actions?"

"If I recall correctly, 'about to' refers to something that hasn't happened yet in the future, right?"

"So, are you perhaps a 'prophet'? Can you see a future even further than your Quincy Emperor, Yhwach?"

Araki asked, looking calmly at Schubert after hearing his words.

"Hm?!"

Schubert, who had a smile on his face, ready to gain favor with His Majesty Yhwach, the most revered emperor among the Quincies, instantly changed his expression after hearing Araki's words.

Ignoring the fact that he was facing Araki, he immediately turned to look at Yhwach a short distance away and nervously said, "Your, Your Majesty! Please don't listen to this person's nonsense! I absolutely did not mean what he said! Everyone knows that in the vast three realms, only Your Majesty can see into the future!"

"Pfft~"

Just as Schubert was flusteredly explaining to Yhwach, a sharp Zanpakuto, accompanied by a flash of cold light, pierced through Schubert's chest.

Behind Schubert, Araki expressionlessly swung his blade, backstabbing him!

"Fool! How dare you show your back to the enemy on the battlefield! You're asking for death!"

As Araki swung his blade, his voice slowly entered Schubert's ears.

"Ugh..."

Schubert felt a stinging pain from his chest. His neck stiffly lowered, and then he saw the sharp, half-blade sticking out of his chest, stained with viscous blood. Immediately, a large mouthful of blood spewed from Schubert's mouth.

"You bastard! How dare you ambush me?! You'll pay for this!"

Schubert gritted his teeth, staring at the blade piercing his chest, and directly used the advanced Quincy combat technique, 'Ransōtengai.' Although this ability was far more complex than 'archery' or 'swordsmanship,' it wasn't difficult for a member of the Sternritter, especially someone of his rank as Vice-Captain, to use!

With his heart pierced, Schubert was now fighting for his life. At the very least, he absolutely couldn't die so ludicrously. In the worst-case scenario, he would make the Soul Reaper who ambushed him pay a heavy price, only then could he rest in peace.

Swish!

Before Schubert could turn around, the sharp Zanpakuto had already slashed upwards from his chest, directly splitting Schubert's entire upper body in two...

Wham!

Amidst the spilling crimson, Schubert's upper body, from his chest all the way to his brain, was completely severed, turning into a mindless corpse. With a 'thud,' it collapsed to the ground, its breathing stopped.

"Look at you, talking about the future in front of 'His Majesty' again," Araki remarked flatly, his gaze cold as he looked at Schubert's bisected corpse.

"Hm?"

Just as Araki killed Schubert, he suddenly felt a chill and instinctively recoiled.

WHOOSH!!

As Araki moved, several arrows made of spirit particles landed where he had just been standing.

BOOM!!

With a roar, the spirit particle arrows instantly exploded, completely engulfing Schubert's corpse.

Tsk~ Araki clicked his tongue, watching the scene unfold, then looked up at the man who had fired the arrows.

"You fool! How dare you meddle in my fight and discuss the future in my presence! You deserve to die! This is what happens when you act on your own…"

Indeed, the man who fired the spirit particle arrows, destroying Schubert's remains, was none other than Yhwach, the emperor whom Schubert served!

Yhwach showed no trace of pity in his eyes over the death of Schubert, his Vice-Captain of the Sternritter. He stared coldly at the ground ripped open by his attack, then lifted his head and said to Araki, "Alright, Araki! You've vented enough! Now, become my child! You will replace Schubert as the Vice-Captain of the Sternritter…"

"Araki, I believe someone as intelligent as you will make the right choice! You should know that I value 'freedom' and 'peace' and dislike using violence. Domination through violence is not what we desire! However, if you remain stubborn, then I will have no choice but to resort to the violence I detest."

The moment Yhwach finished speaking, he drew the cross-shaped blade from his waist—a Quincy's blade.

"Intimidate! Ruriko…" Araki immediately released his Zanpakuto. Unlike his previous release command, 'Illuminate! Ruriko,' this time Araki used a different one! It was much like the unscrupulous shopkeeper's Zanpakuto, Benihime…

Araki's Zanpakuto, Ruriko, also had more than one release command, and each command produced a distinctly different effect when the Zanpakuto was released.

As Araki's Zanpakuto released, a cerulean light began to illuminate the world. However, this time, Ruriko seemed somewhat agitated. Countless rays of light transformed into arrow after arrow, circling around Araki before shooting towards Yhwach.

"Hmph! Useless!" Yhwach snorted upon seeing this, and with a wave of his hand, volley after volley of arrows blocked Araki's attack. Although Araki's attack had little effect, it served as a response to Yhwach, which made Yhwach somewhat displeased with Araki.

Furthermore, Araki had used 'arrows,' the Quincy's most proficient weapon, against him, the King of the Quincy. While it didn't affect him much, the insult was profound!

"It seems you've made your choice." Yhwach's expression turned cold. The moment his words fell, a powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from his body, transforming into a shadowy figure that lunged at Araki.