Las Noches · Palace No. 9.
As she crossed the long suspension bridge, Kuchiki Rukia remained extremely vigilant, constantly surveying her surroundings.
This was going far too smoothly!
She could clearly sense battles erupting along the routes the others had taken. Yet throughout her journey, let alone fighting anyone, she had not even seen a trace of an enemy.
It was as if the entire area were deserted, leaving her completely unhindered...
Although she did not know the exact layout of Las Noches, the palace at the end of the bridge was clearly different from the other buildings. It was probably an important location.
And most importantly...
She could faintly sense Orihime's Spiritual Power inside that building.
This made Kuchiki Rukia even more cautious. The bridge should have taken only a minute to cross, but she took several minutes before finally reaching the front of the palace.
The palace doors were not shut tight. Instead, a gap wide enough for a person to pass through had been left open.
Since she had come this far, Kuchiki Rukia stopped hesitating and entered the towering building through the gap.
The interior was extremely spacious, with the entire first floor open from end to end. However, it was also eerily empty. What puzzled Kuchiki Rukia was that there were signs of extensive alterations throughout the floor, especially around the windows. Judging from their uneven edges, someone had clearly hacked them open by force.
Perhaps in an attempt to make them look as square as possible, the windows varied greatly in size.
"Loly, forget it, all right?"
Just then, a conversation suddenly came from the staircase to the second floor, causing Kuchiki Rukia to tense and instinctively conceal her presence.
"What are you afraid of? That woman isn't here anyway."
Another voice came from