Infighting Comes First

Wandenreich.

This was a nation shrouded in cold moonlight. Beneath the icy silver glow, the palace complex of the Wandenreich appeared solemn and deathly still.

Above the silent plaza, space split open without warning like a shattered mirror.

Several battered figures then stumbled out and crashed onto the freezing marble floor.

Shunsui Kyoraku's Shinigami uniform had long since been reduced to tattered strips, while Uryū Ishida's silky, meticulously groomed blond hair was now stained with dried blood and the white sands of Hueco Mundo.

"Wh... what happened?"

A startled, suspicious shout rang out.

Bazz-B, who had been guarding the palace gates, frowned and approached.

His flamboyant fiery-red mohawk trembled slightly in the cold wind, while the piercings on his nose and the defiance in his eyes displayed his arrogant nature.

When he saw Uryū Ishida practically collapsed on the ground, Bazz-B's pupils contracted. He hurried forward and grabbed hold of his former close friend.

"Haschwalth! What happened? Why are you the only ones who came back?"

Bazz-B looked around. Apart from a few half-dead Shinigami, there was not another Sternritter Knight in sight.

Even faced with this horrific scene, Bazz-B's tone still carried an arrogance etched into his bones.

"Did you run into an ambush? Or did those Shinigami hold you back? The Sternritter deployed ten knights this time, including all four Royal Guard members and you personally. With a lineup like that, conquering a mere Hueco Mundo should have been effortless, let alone slaughtering the entire Soul Society!"

Uryū Ishida lowered his head. His eyes, once as calm as deep pools, now contained nothing but lifeless gray.

He pushed Bazz-B's hand away. His body shook violently from exhaustion and severe injuries before he finally collapsed onto one knee on the stone floor.

"We failed." Uryū Ishida's voice was as