The pungent cloud of poison in midair gradually dispersed, mingled with a few still-burning embers.
Pernida's enormous, pale left hand completely disintegrated under the combined assault of Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, turning into a puddle of inactive pus.
As the last mutated nerve snapped, light finally shone through the sealed-off space overhead again.
The view returned to the area directly beneath Wahrwelt, where the light was somewhat dim beneath the shadow of the enormous structure high above.
White rubble of all sizes covered the ground. Almost every surrounding building had been razed, leaving only a few bare supporting pillars.
Sōsuke Aizen sat quietly on a broken section of stone wall.
The Black Restraint Garment still tightly encased his torso, yet his tall, slender figure retained an unmistakable air of nobility amid the devastation.
He simply tilted his head back, looking at the fortress overhead, crudely pieced together from the remains of various buildings.
In the shadows not far from him, the Eighth Kenpachi, Sōya Azashiro, stood quietly on guard.
A pink figure floated back and forth beside him, occasionally passing through the stones on the ground.
It was his manifested Zanpakuto, Urozakuro.
"Oh my, things certainly are lively up there. I'd hate for the roof to fall and crush the flowers and grass."
Urozakuro circled Sōya Azashiro, complaining incessantly in a voice only he could hear.
"Sōya, are you planning to keep staring at him forever? He's a former captain, after all. How embarrassing to be watched like a monkey in a zoo."
When Azashiro gave no response, Urozakuro floated over to Aizen.
She waved a hand before Aizen's calm face and drawled out another complaint.
"If you ask me, this guy's been tied up for so long, spending every day like a wooden dummy. At worst, you just