The Spatial Rift That Will Not Close

"No way, the sky... is tearing apart?"

A young Division Member of the Thirteenth Division looked up, his throat dry, his voice caught in his throat.

His companions beside him stared fixedly at the sky, their Zanpakuto trembling in their hands: "What, what is that... a Hollow? Isn't its size a bit too exaggerated?!"

"I... I want to go back..."

Before he could finish speaking, a heavy spiritual pressure poured down from the rift, crashing onto the entire battlefield.

Below, whether Shinigami or Hollow, their movements instantly slowed.

Division Members with weaker spiritual pressure were directly crushed to the ground, their faces pressed into the blood-stained mud, unable to even lift their heads.

The lower-level Hollows were even worse off; a few near the rift were crushed into spirit particles on the spot, without even a scream.

Those who could still stand, at least, were Shinigami at the level of a Lieutenant or higher.

But they were merely "standing," veins bulging on their necks as they slowly shifted their gaze towards the sky.

Then, they saw it.

From the mountain-sized, pitch-black rift, a pale white, colossal mask slowly emerged.

"It's over..." someone muttered, a chilling despair in his voice, "This must be the 'Great Hollow' mentioned in the textbooks."

"The kind that even Captain-level Shinigami might not be able to deal with..."

"Looks like today... we're really going to die here."

The Division Members of the Thirteenth Division turned deathly pale, their bodies uncontrollably wanting to retreat, but their feet were pinned in place by both fear and spiritual pressure.

In contrast, the members of the Eleventh Division, though their expressions were grim, gritted their teeth and gripped their Zanpakuto tighter.

There was no retreat in their eyes, only stubborn ferocity; they would strike that thing even if it meant death.

But the despair was palpable.

The giant face alone, as it emerged, was probably tens of meters high, almost filling the entire rift.

Immediately after, two equally enormous hands extended from the sides of the head, gripping the edges of the rift and tearing outwards with a wrench.

Crack!

The sky was truly ripped open.

A pitch-black rift stretching across the heavens, like a scar that would never heal.

Then, a colossal foot stepped out from the rift; the height of its toenail alone surpassed the height of an ordinary Shinigami.

As it fully descended into the Human World, the weight of its spiritual pressure intensified once more.

A few Hollows, already on their last legs, were instantly crushed into spirit particle residue with a snap.

"Hoo."

Yan Si, pulling the spiritually unstable and rapidly breathing Ashido, landed steadily beside Kurayashiki Kenpachi.

The Eleventh Division Captain was tilting his head, rotating his neck from side to side with one hand, his cervical spine making crackling sounds. He wore a casual expression, as if he had just woken up with a stiff neck.

A stone in Yan Si's heart finally dropped.

His ominous prediction had come true; a Great Hollow had indeed appeared.

But at this level, let alone killing Kurayashiki Kenpachi, it was questionable if it could even make him take it seriously.

Unless it was a top-tier Great Hollow like a Vasto Lorde, this behemoth in front of them would probably only serve as a warm-up for this "Kenpachi."

"Captain Kurayashiki!"

Shiba Kaien stumbled over, sweat beading on his forehead, clearly struggling to move under the Great Hollow's spiritual pressure.

Seeing Kurayashiki Kenpachi's relaxed warm-up posture, he visibly sighed in relief.

But as his gaze swept to the side, he saw that Lieutenant Ashido was still gasping for breath and adjusting his breathing, while Siwei Yan, a Fifth Seat of the Ninth Division, had a calm expression, his hairstyle undisturbed.

Shiba Kaien's eyes widened.

"Why are you okay?"

Yan Si maintained his usual "Soul Society's noble young master" cold expression, glanced at him, and calmly replied: "Because I'm handsome."

Shiba Kaien froze, nearly choking: "I admit you're good-looking! But what does being handsome have to do with withstanding the Great Hollow's spiritual pressure?!"

Yan Si turned his face, looking at him with his emotionless eyes, and added four words: "Handsome is strength."

Shiba Kaien opened his mouth, at a loss for words to refute such illogical nonsense.

Yan Si ignored him now, turning to Kurayashiki Kenpachi, who was still twisting his neck:

"Captain, hurry up and act. If we drag this out any longer, some people really won't be able to hold on."

"Oh? My apologies, my apologies," Kur