One Wilder Than the Next

"HAHAHAHA!!! Just a mere Hollow! And you dared to be this arrogant!"

Facing Harribel's golden Cero sweeping toward him like a breached celestial river, the nearest Sternritter Knight burst into wild laughter.

Tsukishima showed no intention of dodging. Instead, his eyes gleamed with contempt for Harribel.

"Watch me block it for you!"

The next instant, the white sand beneath his feet exploded, and he shot high into the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

At the same time, his skin instantly took on a metallic sheen. His entire body transformed into an indestructible steel statue, forcibly positioning itself before the Cero that could annihilate everything, intending to intercept it with his flesh alone.

"Tsukishima! Dodge, now!! You idiot!!!"

Standing at the very back of the group, Uryu Ishida's pupils suddenly constricted as he shouted angrily.

But it was too late.

BZZZ!!!

There was no violent explosion, only a low-frequency hum powerful enough to deafen one's soul.

The dazzling golden Cero, like a furious dragon of light piercing heaven and earth, swallowed Tsukishima's proud steel body without the slightest obstruction.

A brief instant seemed to stretch into eternity.

His interception did end up having one tiny, insignificant effect.

The Cero that had originally been capable of engulfing the entire Quincy camp shifted slightly because of his sacrifice, failing to explode in the densest part of the crowd.

The light faded.

Nothing remained in the air.

"Hey, hey, isn't that a little too absurd?"

Love Aikawa, former Captain of the Seventh Division and a member of the Visored, tightened his grip on the Zanpakuto shaped like a spiked club. His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty as he instinctively swallowed.

Every Shinigami and Quincy had witnessed Tsukishima's death.

Along the path of the Cero, there was only a patch of emptiness