Three Divine Blisses, the Multitudes of Solitary Hell

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

Nelliel said in a low voice, "That's my name. Don't call me Miss Antelope."

"Sorry, sorry." Gaoyu scratched his head. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier, too. I'm Gaoyu Kouun, and this is my Captain, Sosuke Aizen."

Since he already knew who she was from the manga, he'd nearly forgotten that in real life, he had no reason to know her name.

"Do you intend to bring a Hollow into Seireitei? Is it really wise to break the rules right in front of your Captain?" Aizen pushed up his glasses.

"This may not be the right thing to say, but Captain Aizen has broken plenty of rules himself. One more won't make much difference."

"You really are..."

"Wait." Nelliel frowned. "I never said I was going to Seireitei."

As if! She was a Hollow. Going to Seireitei would be like walking straight into a trap.

Seireitei was unlike anywhere else. A layer called the "Soul Barrier" surrounded it.

The Soul Barrier was a defensive barrier that kept enemies out, but it was also a "prison" that prevented spirits inside from leaving. Even if he had a Garganta, moving around inside the barrier would be difficult.

"Didn't you want to learn about the 'civilization' of Soul Society?" Gaoyu asked.

In truth, he couldn't bear to part with Nelliel's Soul Ability. The ability to change size seemed useless, but it could come in handy in all sorts of situations.

For example...

When he needed a disguise?

If he turned into a child, no one would know it was him when he did something bad.

And no one would suspect a child of doing anything wrong, would they?

He could really use an ability like that right now.

"I see..." Aizen seemed to have figured something out. He said calmly, "Gaoyu, let's go back. What you're hoping for will come to pass in the not-too-distant future."

?

What was I hoping for?

I just wanted to get Nelliel to like me!

Gaoyu grumbled to himself, but he couldn't say that aloud. All he could do was sigh.

"Then I'll see you again, Miss Antelope. No, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. In the future..."

"See you in Hueco Mundo."

Aizen opened a Garganta again, and Gaoyu followed him inside.

Before he entered, he turned and waved to Nelliel.

"You'd better not come back to Hueco Mundo."

Nelliel spoke gravely. "Hueco Mundo isn't the Shinigami's territory. If you come back, you might not run into me next time."

"Maybe things will be different when I come back." Gaoyu smiled.

Who said Hueco Mundo wasn't the Shinigami's territory?

Maybe by the time he returned, the Shinigami would have become the Hollows' masters.

Gaoyu followed Aizen back to Soul Society—not Seireitei, but Rukongai.

"Phew..."

Gaoyu took a deep breath. "The spirit-particle concentration isn't as high as in Hueco Mundo, but the air in Soul Society really is fresher."

"At least it doesn't reek of slaughter."

"No slaughter...?" Light glinted off Aizen's glasses as a mysterious smile crossed his face.

"Gaoyu, would you be interested in becoming a Captain?"

Gaoyu hurriedly shook his head.

"No, I don't have that kind of talent. If possible, please let me stay a Ninth Seat."

"Gin will become Captain of the Third Division in a month. I'd intended for you to take the position of Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division."

"Please spare me. If a Ninth Seat suddenly became a Vice-Captain, people would start asking questions." Gaoyu's heart tightened.

Aizen really did think he was some kind of big shot. But Gaoyu was just pretending. Right now, his strength was at best that of a high-ranking seated officer.

"That's why you need merit."

Aizen stepped aside and clapped his hands.

The next moment, a "Shinigami" emerged from the woods ahead.

His face was flushed, and tentacles seemed to writhe across his body. If he hadn't been wearing a Shinigami Uniform and carrying a Zanpakuto, no one would have taken him for a Shinigami.

And, above all...

He wore a Captain's haori!

"Wow, isn't this a bit much?"

Gaoyu glanced at Aizen. "The Captain of the Third Division, possessed? You're not expecting me to fight that monster, are you, Captain Aizen?"

"No. This is a failed experiment," Aizen said quietly. "Its Spiritual Power was too weak. Once it possessed a Captain, its own ability backfired."

"The rampaging power left him unable to even use his Zanpakuto, so he's no longer of any use."

As Aizen spoke, the tentacled monster ignored him completely and stared straight at Gaoyu.

Gaoyu's heart tightened. He knew he couldn't look too rattled, or the mysterious image he'd built up in Aizen's eyes would be completely shattered.

No choice. It looked like he'd have to use Shūhei's Black Sun!

"Vice-Captain, huh..."

Gaoyu sighed. "I'll make this clear up front: I'm not handling paperwork. Captain Aizen, that's all yours."

As he spoke, he drew his Zanpakuto.

"Black Sun."

Watching the monster charge toward him, he murmured the name.

The next instant, something incredible happened!

A layer of viscous darkness suddenly appeared behind him, like thick black ink!

The darkness slowly spread and swirled, forming a circle like a black sun.

The moment it formed, the black sun unleashed an incredible heat, especially toward the tentacled monster charging at Gaoyu!

Boom!

The power of the Black Sun erupted in an instant. Black flames engulfed the monster, and the terrifying heat and rapid melting made it shriek and howl!

"Raaagh!!!"

Metastacia roared. He thrashed violently on the ground, but Gaoyu simply walked up to him and plunged his Zanpakuto into his brain.

But that alone wasn't enough.

That was what Gaoyu thought. The creature before him was indeed Metastacia, but there shouldn't have been only one.

He'd seen earlier that Metastacia could possess multiple Shinigami at once.

If it had gathered all its power, possessing a Captain shouldn't have caused this kind of rampage.

From what Gaoyu remembered, Metastacia had fused with Shiba Kaien, a Vice-Captain, with ease.

Even if the gap between a Captain and a Vice-Captain was enormous, it shouldn't have been enough to trigger such a severe backlash.

What's more, this Hollow had been modified by Aizen.

Gaoyu looked at Aizen and saw the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

So he didn't pull his Zanpakuto out of Metastacia's head.

Instead, he murmured once more:

"Three divine blisses, the multitudes of Solitary Hell."

He released his Zanpakuto!