"You brat, you actually held back even your own Bankai?!"
Yhwach floated in the air, the reishi around him moving with his will and transforming into streaks of azure-blue blazing flames that burned toward Araki.
"Boom!"
Yet before those blazing flames could come within an inch of Araki, they were swept away by the Lapis Lazuli radiance reflected from the sky.
"Tch..."
Yhwach frowned slightly as he watched the scene before him.
"Dong~"
"Yhwach! Now that you have beheld me, why do you not surrender?"
"Cultivate alongside me in this world and share in eternal bliss!"
Just as Yhwach frowned, a long, distant bell rang beside his ears. His expression went blank, and in an instant, everything around him changed. It was as though he had left the Soul Society and arrived in an unfamiliar realm!
This was a land Yhwach did not recognize. The sky and earth were both fashioned from lapis lazuli! Even the sun that illuminated the world and the moon that guided the night were enormous masses of lapis lazuli. It was as though this place was a Pure Land forged entirely from lapis lazuli! At the center of this Pure Land sat a supreme being with skin the color of Vaiḍūrya blue, dressed in three robes. His right hand formed the wish-granting mudra while holding a medicinal myrobalan fruit, and his left held a medicine bowl. Possessing the thirty-two marks and eighty auspicious signs, he sat in the vajra posture upon a lotus moon-wheel throne. The one urging Yhwach to surrender was the holiest of all holy men.
"Dong~"
"Dong~"
"Dong..."
As that holy man spoke, bell chimes rang one after another from within Yhwach's heart. His vigilance and desires gradually calmed with each successive chime.
Not good! An illusion? What a strange illusion— even I nearly fell into it!
Just as Yhwach's desires were about to reach zero, just as he was about to become a cultivator of this world and chant sutras with the gods and Buddhas beneath the heavens, sharing in eternal bliss, he suddenly woke up. Faced with such an eerie scene, Yhwach furrowed his brow. In an instant, he reached a conclusion.
"An illusion attack using sound waves? In that case, as long as I stop the sound from reaching my ears, your sound waves will have no effect on me at all!"
Listening to the ceaseless bell chimes by his ears, Yhwach's eyes filled with disdain as he instantly used reishi to plug his ears.
Silence!
The moment Yhwach blocked his ears, every sound around him vanished completely! Then, the world made of lapis lazuli instantly collapsed...
Even the immortal Buddha seated at the center of the world slowly dissipated into nothingness after the bell chimes ceased. Yet as that holy man vanished, he seemed to still be murmuring, "Foolish child! Foolish child..."
Yhwach could not hear what that being, which he found utterly bizarre, was saying. Still, seeing it disappear, he finally let out a slow breath of relief...
He did not know whether it was an illusion, but the instant Yhwach saw that being, alarm bells began ringing madly in his heart. Since his birth, he had never encountered anyone who gave him such a powerful sense of danger.
"Whew..."
Yhwach exhaled deeply. No matter how bizarre that being had been, it was over now.
Yhwach steadied himself and used Hirenkyaku to rapidly move through this collapsing unfamiliar world. He seemed determined to leave this eerie Pure Land as quickly as possible.
However, even after using Hirenkyaku for a full half hour, Yhwach still could not escape this collapsing world! Though the lapis lazuli around him had vanished along with the world's collapse, the black borders seemed endless. No matter how far he advanced, he could not leave this pitch-black world where he could not see his hand before his face...
"Could it be that I still haven't escaped this illusion?!"
Yhwach instantly realized what was happening, and his expression abruptly changed.
"Foolish child! Have you not awakened yet?"
At the moment Yhwach noticed something was wrong, the world around him, which had gradually fallen into darkness, suddenly lit up!
The Buddha who had originally sat at the center of the world, infinitely far away from Yhwach, had unknowingly arrived right before him. The path beneath Yhwach's feet was naturally illuminated by the pure lapis lazuli light!
No, that was not a path. It was the palm of the Buddha's hand. Yhwach had been running across this holy man's palm for half an hour, yet he still could not escape...
"Damn it!"
Yhwach stared at the great Buddha before him, cold sweat covering his forehead. In his fury, he created countless bows, and endless Heilig Pfeil streamed toward the Buddha's body like a flood.
Unfortunately, no matter how Yhwach attacked the great Buddha, it remained immaculate and unmoving! It seemed that all of Yhwach's attacks were completely ineffective against it!
"I once made twelve great vows!!"
The Buddha ignored Yhwach's attacks. Those eyes, capable of seeing through all things in the world, gazed upon Yhwach, filled only with compassion for all living beings. That compassion was not merely for Yhwach alone, but for every suffering being in the Three Worlds.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut your mouth!"
Yhwach's expression changed sharply upon hearing the great Buddha's words. He seemed unwilling to let the Buddha speak those vows, so he attacked it like a madman. Heilig Pfeil after Heilig Pfeil shot straight for the Buddha's head, but it was useless!
"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong..."
Amid one bell chime after another, the Buddha finally spoke.
"I vow that my own radiance shall illuminate boundless realms..."
The moment the Buddha's words fell, the entire dark world was illuminated by Buddhist light. The lapis lazuli realm Yhwach had destroyed appeared before him again, completely restored.
"Why are those bells still ringing? Why?!"
Yhwach became increasingly agitated and roared at the Buddha.
"These bells are not ringing outside. They are ringing within your heart! You may plug your ears, but how can you block your own heart?"
The Buddha answered softly.
"What?"
Yhwach froze after hearing the Buddha's explanation. So long as one heard those bells even once and the mind remembered their pattern, would one be unable to escape their chimes for the rest of one's life?!
"I vow that my body shall be like lapis lazuli, clear and pure within and without!"
Before Yhwach could think further, the Buddha had already begun his second vow.
As the Buddha's voice fell, both the Buddha's body and Yhwach's body transformed into pure lapis lazuli—transparent, flawless, and clear within and without!
"May all sentient beings attain complete fulfillment!"
"May all practitioners among living beings peacefully enter the teachings of the Great Vehicle!"
"May all sentient beings cultivate Brahma conduct in accordance with the Dharma and remain pure!"
Before Yhwach could notice the changes to his body, one great vow after another rang beside his ears.
For a time, Yhwach's consciousness gradually sank, and he slowly forgot where he was...
"May all sentient beings cast off false views and cultivate all the practices of the Bodhisattvas!"
Another great vow rang out. Beneath this vow, Yhwach had completely forgotten that he was the ancestor of the Quincy. He pressed his palms together and softly chanted Buddhist scriptures.
"May all sentient beings be freed from every sorrow and suffering!"
"May all sentient beings be satisfied as they wish and abide in peace and joy!"
"May all sentient beings obtain all manner of exquisite garments and know no suffering or affliction!"
As the final great vow sounded, Yhwach suddenly smiled. "Why bother with such meaningless things? This world contains too much suffering. Just let it go!"
Yhwach was like a devout cultivator, taking refuge beneath the Buddha, beneath the Medicine Master Buddha, seated within the Eastern Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli as he endlessly recited scriptures and cultivated himself!
Until...
A bell sound utterly unlike the ancient chimes of this Buddhist world rang out, and Yhwach suddenly realized something.
"Disappear!!"
With Yhwach's furious roar, his cold, sinister eyes seemed to split into three!
"Boom!!"
The next second, the Buddhist scriptures, Buddha realm, Pure Land, and Holy King all turned to smoke and dissipated!
The entire heaven and earth completely collapsed at that moment. Facing the black world, Yhwach waved his hand, and a massive gate shimmering with white light appeared before him.
"How laughable. How could I possibly sink into that?!"
Yhwach sneered and stepped through the enormous gate. In an instant, everything around him changed, and when his vision recovered, he was once again standing in the skies above the Soul Society.
"Hm? Yhwach, you actually broke through my Yakushi Twelve Vows so quickly?!"
In the Seireitei, Araki sensed it the instant Yhwach broke out of the Pure Land. He raised a brow as he looked toward Yhwach in the sky.
"Araki, I'm afraid I've disappointed you!"
"Your Bankai truly is powerful. Even I nearly sank into it and became one of the inhabitants of your Pure Land!"
"Unfortunately, destiny is on my side! I will never fall here!"
Yhwach stood in the sky, calmly watching Araki. His face was filled with composure, as if everything in the world had already been ordained. He, Yhwach, would surely ascend to the Soul King Palace and replace the exalted Soul King. Until then, he was invincible and would never be defeated.
"Destiny?!"
Araki seemed to think of something upon hearing that, then shook his head helplessly.
Fortunately, Araki had long anticipated that his Yakushi Twelve Vows would be unable to trap Yhwach...
More accurately, Araki had never expected the Yakushi Twelve Vows to activate successfully in the first place. Now that it had not only activated but had also drained a tremendous amount of Yhwach's power, it had already exceeded Araki's expectations.
"Since the Yakushi Twelve Vows can't trap you, then I'll defeat you head-on..."
As Araki's words fell, the Chakravartin Holy King behind him suddenly moved. One palm after another appeared from behind the Chakravartin Holy King like blooming flowers. The next second, those palms howled through the air and attacked Yhwach.
"Boom!!"
Yhwach had expended far too much power escaping the great vows. Faced with the barrage of palms Araki had prepared for so long, he had no time to evade...
For a time, Yhwach was like a target in the sky, battered by countless palms!
"Pfft..."
Yhwach had not expected Araki to attack so decisively. He had not even been allowed to finish speaking before the next wave of attacks reached him.
"Bastard!!"
In his fury, Yhwach instantly raised an enormous Blut Vene! The Blut Vene appeared not only over Yhwach's body but also formed a massive shell that blocked all the Buddha palms filling the sky.
"Araki! What do you think of this move?"
After blocking the palms, Yhwach roared at Araki.
"Boom!"
Araki ignored Yhwach and pointed his Zanpakuto toward the sun in the sky.
The next second, a figure seemed to flicker within the sun. A flash of brilliance shone, and a Bodhisattva descended from the heavens, gripping a sword burning with endless solar fire. It landed beside Yhwach's Blut Vene shell and swung its blade down.
"Hm?!"
Yhwach's expression changed. He did not feel any scorching heat from the flaming sword in the strange Bodhisattva's hand, but he sensed another kind of power within it—the power Araki had used before to break through his defenses, one that could bypass an enemy's attacks and act directly within their body.
"Damn it!"
Yhwach stared at the approaching blazing sword, endless cold sweat pouring down his forehead. If he dropped his defenses, the Buddha palms would strike him. If he did not, and continued holding his position, he would be struck by that defense-ignoring sword. Wasn't this simply tormenting him?!
Of course, Yhwach had not neglected to counterattack Araki. Ever since he had appeared in the sky, the Quincy Cross had continued to shine without stopping. Heilig Pfeil after Heilig Pfeil rained down upon Araki, but all of them were blocked by a massive Bodhisattva radiating gentle moonlight.
"A Bankai that combines offense and defense like this cannot possibly be without weaknesses! With that weak Spiritual Pressure in your body, let's see how much longer you can keep it up!"
Yhwach shouted. At that moment, the sword in Sunlight Bodhisattva's hand broke through his Blut Vene shell, and countless Buddha palms slammed down from the sky, smashing Yhwach toward the ground.
"Shut up!!"
Araki looked at the Yhwach he had sent flying, his forehead covered in sweat.
As Yhwach had said, he was already at the end of his rope! He admitted that his Bankai was powerful enough—so powerful that it integrated every force within him and was the ultimate manifestation of all he had learned! Yet precisely because his Bankai was so powerful, its consumption of Spiritual Pressure was beyond anything ordinary people could imagine...
"This is the final blow!"
As Araki spoke, he sat cross-legged upon a lotus platform.
Under his control, the Holy King and the two Attendants Araki had summoned arrived before Yhwach.
"Hm?!"
Yhwach's heart trembled slightly as he looked at the three beings before him, each radiating the Buddhist light he loathed.
"Boom!!"
Before Yhwach could think further, the three beings that illuminated the world instantly exploded! Immense Buddhist light completely engulfed Yhwach's body! A gigantic mushroom cloud that made the entire Seireitei tremble continuously rose into the sky!!
Had Araki not compressed the range of illumination from those three beings, the entire Seireitei would likely have been submerged beneath Buddhist light by that overwhelming power.
"It's over!"
Araki looked at the enormous mushroom cloud before him, finally losing all his strength and collapsing to the ground.
"Yes, it's over, Araki!"
At the very moment Araki lay down, a cross-shaped sword rested against his neck. Yes, it was a Quincy sword—Yhwach's sword.
Half his body was charred, his entire right arm covered in wounds, and he looked utterly wretched. Yet Yhwach stood beside Araki with a Quincy sword in hand, his face icy and emotionless.
"I'll give you one final choice: submit or die!"
Yhwach spoke coldly as he looked down at Araki.
In truth, the stronger Araki proved to be, the more reluctant Yhwach became to kill him. After all, the stronger Araki was, the greater the power Yhwach would gain on the day Araki submitted and became a Quincy, when he carried out Auswählen upon him!
"Is that so? If I choose to submit here, I'll be able to live?"
Araki revealed a faint bitter smile, one filled with helplessness.
He, Araki, had already given it everything he had, yet he still could not defeat Yhwach.
"Exactly!"
Seeing the bitter smile on Araki's face, Yhwach's lips curled upward slightly.
"However, sorry about that! All my life, I've loved saying no to self-righteous men like you!"
Before Yhwach could believe that the dust had settled, the bitter smile on Araki's face instantly vanished, replaced by a solemn and resolute expression.
"Then die..."
Yhwach spoke as he prepared to bring down his blade.
How could Araki wait for Yhwach to swing? He had already used ROOM to escape.
"Buzz!"
Then he stabbed a Quincy who was already half-dead.
"Your Majesty..."
Before dying, that Quincy continued murmuring softly to Yhwach.
"Sedlitz?!"
Yhwach's pupils trembled as he looked at the Quincy he had slain. At that moment, he finally made up his mind.
"Araki! Is this your choice? Then go die!"
Yhwach roared, turning toward the direction Araki had fled.
"Boom!!!"
In response to Yhwach's roar came endless flames.
A man with a cross-shaped scar on his forehead held the Sword of Fiery Might and walked toward Yhwach step by step. Behind that scarred man stood the captains of the Gotei 13, all clad in white haori, as well as the corpses of Quincy scattered across the ground.
"You did well, Araki! You didn't disgrace Genryu!"
When the middle-aged man holding the Sword of Fiery Might reached Araki's side, a trace of concern flashed in his eyes. Yet that concern quickly vanished, for he now had something more important to do.
"Hot, hot..."
Upon seeing the middle-aged man pass beside him, Araki immediately leaped to his feet. In an instant, he felt as though his backside was about to be roasted.
"Looks like Old Man Yama's temperature has risen quite a bit again!"
Araki gazed at the middle-aged man's back and muttered to himself. Old Man Yama was reliable when he listened to advice and accepted training!
That middle-aged man was none other than Araki's master, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13!
"So, you are the invader of Soul Society?"
Yamamoto's flame-wreathed feet continuously "scorched" and "ignited" the ground beneath him as he walked. He looked coldly at the badly injured Yhwach and asked.
"Indeed!"
Yhwach revealed a savage grin at those words.
"Bankai..."
Yamamoto Genryusai's expression turned icy as he swung the Sword of Fiery Might in his hand!
Before you continue