The Good News He'd Been Waiting For

Uryu Ishida's blond hair whipped wildly in the gale, his sword gathering the Spiritual Pressure and conviction of his entire life.

At that moment, he was no longer a knight hiding in the shadows. He was a sharp blade that had to draw blood the moment it left its sheath.

He charged toward the lofty divine throne.

"Heh! Not bad eyes."

Before the throne, Harribel, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, showed a flicker of approval in her emerald eyes.

She slowly descended from the clouds like an insurmountable mountain, taking the desperate sword light head-on.

There was no earth-shattering collision, nor was there any dazzling exchange of techniques.

It took only one clash.

Clang! Crack!

A crisp sound of breaking rang through the sky.

Uryu Ishida's sword, the symbol of balance, shattered into two pieces in an instant.

The Shield of the Substitute in his hand shattered like fragile glass.

His entire body seemed to have slammed into an invisible wall, his forward momentum coming to an abrupt halt.

"How... is that possible?"

Uryu Ishida's eyes widened, filled with shock and incomprehension.

He had considered that he might lose, but never that he would lose so miserably.

After absorbing part of the power Yhwach had bestowed upon him, his current strength should have been second only to Yhwach himself. He had even been confident that he could surpass Captain-General Yamamoto.

But why?

Why was he so powerless before this woman?

So powerless that he did not even have the right to swing his sword?

"Are you confused?"

Harribel hovered high in the air, her black robes snapping in the wind.

She looked down at the man who was already at the end of his strength. Her voice was cold, yet carried the understanding shared between those of