Back in the arena, Lucius continued looking down at Byakuya like the man was nothing more than a bug stuck beneath his boots.
Byakuya's body could barely move, his strength completely drained. Lucius didn't even look like he was trying; for crying out loud, Byakuya hadn't even forced Lucius to use 1% of his base power.
And that was excluding his transformations. Yes—His Majesty had improved Lucius so much that he could now fuse all of his disparate forms together. His Resurrección, Segunda Etapa, Shikai, Bankai, and Vollständig could all be fused into a single, terrifyingly absolute state: a truly divine transformation named Aethelgard.
It was a form that only the Horsemen could ever force him to use; for a mere Sin, his base power was more than enough. After his latest upgrade, Lucius felt almost ridiculously overpowered.
And apparently, His Majesty was already planning a final upgrade. Once that was done—once he was made fully perfect by His Majesty's glorious, heavenly, divine hands—Lucius's body would be used as the ultimate prototype to mass-produce beings just like him.
In fifty years or so, Hueco Mundo would be filled with warriors like him: entities possessing boundless potential. By then, if His Majesty so desired, even if every single nation banded together, they would be utterly powerless to stop His Majesty's whim.
Lucius glanced down at Byakuya. The man was still trying to stand, desperately attempting to move, but his hands only twitched uselessly; he couldn't control his body anymore.
"...Persistent," Lucius remarked with a bored sigh. He used the toe of his boot to turn Byakuya's head around, finally allowing the beaten Shinigami to breathe properly.
Byakuya's failing vision was met by the vast night sky. The city of Nocturna Vastoria was undeniably beautiful at night, with the stars shining brightly within the Maw.
"Tell me something, Shinigami."
Lucius's voice carried effortlessly throughout the quiet arena.
"Do you really wish to keep going?"
Byakuya said nothing, his trembling hand still feebly reaching out toward the broken hilt of his Zanpakutō.
Lucius sighed like an elder watching a child make the same stupid mistake twice. He turned his gaze toward the stands.
"Do any of you wish to forfeit on his behalf?"
Several Shinigami in the audience clenched their fists in fury. While this might have sounded like an act of mercy from Lucius, they knew it wasn't—he was mocking them. Byakuya wanted to keep fighting because his pride was on the line. Lucius was treating him like a helpless kid, and asking the delegation to step in was the equivalent of asking a child's parents to come forfeit the game for him.
They hated hearing it. They hated that Lucius could say such humiliating things while standing there completely untouched. And most of all, they hated that they couldn't do a single damn thing to him.
Lucius slowly lifted his boot. Byakuya remained flat on the ground, coughing violently.
"Two attacks remain," the hybrid repeated calmly.
Rukia had finally had enough. She hadn't come here to watch her brother get executed; she had already lost Renji and Momo, and she couldn't afford to lose anyone else.
"That's enough!"
Before she could leap down into the arena, another voice echoed over the crowd.
"Lucius."
Gabriel had finally decided to put an end to it. He didn't want this to turn into a pointless bloodbath—plus, a weird feeling in the back of his mind was telling him to keep Rukia alive for some odd reason. (You better, bitch.)
Gabriel felt a strange sensation, almost like someone was mocking him from somewhere, but he decided not to think too deeply about it.
The entire arena instantly fell dead quiet. The King had spoken.
Gabriel surveyed the scene, his crimson eyes glowing softly from high above on his throne.
"He clearly cannot fight. Continuing this would simply be an unnecessary humiliation ritual, and he does have his pride, after all."
The stink-eyes Gabriel knew he was receiving from the Shinigami didn't bother him in the slightest. He knew that by now, everyone here understood why these fights were taking place, but hey—he was content to act like he didn't notice a thing.
He offered a gentle, polite smile.
"Besides, we have other guests who might want to participate."
Lucius immediately bowed deeply toward his sovereign. If His Majesty wished for this to end, he would obey without question.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
He looked back down at Byakuya one last time. "Consider yourself fortunate."
And with that, Lucius stepped away, leaving the head of the Kuchiki Clan lying broken in the dirt, surrounded by the shattered remnants of the weapon that had accompanied him for centuries.
For the Shinigami delegation, the message was painfully clear: their strongest representatives were no longer strong. Not in this world.
And Gabriel hadn't even needed to stand up from his throne to prove it.
For just a moment, nobody dared speak.
The sound of rushing footsteps broke the heavy silence. Rukia sprinted toward the arena floor; her brother was in the worst shape she had ever seen him. Lying there gasping for air, his saketsu fractured, he couldn't even manipulate his Reishi properly.
If left like this for much longer, his spirit would simply flicker out and fuse with the Reishi of Nocturna Vastoria. His ass wasn't even going to end up in Hell—Gabriel had already decided that much.
She threw herself down beside her brother. "Brother!?" She was frantic, frantically checking him over to see if he was alright.
Byakuya's eyes were barely open, his breathing dangerously uneven. He couldn't draw a proper breath, and his body twitched involuntarily from side to side.
"Don't move," she whispered, her voice trembling with anxiety. "Please don't move."
She inspected his injuries. While she could see no outward physical wounds—not even a bump or a swollen bruise—she could tell just how much pain her brother was in. All of the devastating damage he had taken was entirely internal.
Lucius's control was so terrifyingly precise that if he didn't want the damage to be visible, it wouldn't be.
She spotted her brother's broken blade lying in the dirt nearby.
"Captain Kuchiki needs medical attention!" one of the Shinigami shouted desperately from the stands.
Several delegates immediately rose from their seats, preparing to rush down and help him... however.
"Wait."
Shunsui's single word stopped them dead in their tracks. They stared at him, bewildered as to why their Head Captain wouldn't let them go assist a fallen comrade.
"He hasn't given permission yet."
They froze. They knew who he was, and it certainly wasn't Byakuya.
"Then what are we supposed to do?!" another Shinigami snapped in frustration.
Shunsui simply looked toward the throne. "We ask."
Meanwhile, Lucius had already reached the edge of the arena. He didn't even bother looking back as he walked away. As far as he was concerned, Byakuya was nothing more than a crushed bug.
Up on his throne, Gabriel watched the scene with a half-amused smirk playing across his face. Oh, this was turning out to be quite fun.
Watching the bout had actually revealed something interesting about the Soul Society: somehow, they seemed to have found a way to reawaken their Shikai and Bankai, even though the monk who calls all names was currently dead and his authority had been stripped away.
That authority was something Gabriel possessed right now. It was a profoundly overpowered ability, and something deep within his cells whispered that if he eventually absorbed Adyneus, he would achieve true perfection. But that could wait for another day.
For now, he had a few plans to get Kisuke Urahara slimed out, alongside Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
It wasn't an immediate priority, but it was a thought he'd been entertaining. Useful as they might be, and as smart as they thought they were, they were still ultimately bound by fate.
Oh well.
"Minions, heal him."
Once he was done admiring the scene, Gabriel casually ordered the medical attendants to get to work.
A few nearby attendants immediately bowed in unison. "At once, Your Majesty."
Right before their very eyes, the Shinigami watched in stunned silence as Byakuya's body began to rapidly heal. Even his broken Zanpakutō was completely restored—something that should have been utterly impossible. His Reiatsu, Reikaku, and Reishi surged right back to their usual peak levels.
To anyone watching, it looked as though time had been physically rewound for him. He was completely back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Watching this demonstration, Shunsui felt a freezing shudder run straight down his spine. If this was the baseline healing power the Hollow faction possessed—on top of their already legendary natural regeneration, which Gabriel had somehow enhanced so they didn't have to sacrifice healing power for raw strength—they had it all.
He was currently looking at a faction entirely capable of reversing catastrophic damage on command.
Yet, looking at the surrounding Hollows' reactions... there were none. Which meant this was just standard procedure for them.
Which meant they likely had access to an even more advanced tier of healing magic.
Shunsui's gaze landed on Grimmjow. Intelligence reports had strongly suggested Grimmjow had died in battle against the two Kenpachi, yet here he was, standing in the flesh.
Shunsui preferred not to think too deeply about it, but it seemed the Hollows genuinely had the ability to revive each other. Either that, or it was a perk reserved exclusively for Sin-tier Hollows.
He sincerely hoped it was the latter. If it was the former, there would literally be no point in waging a war; the Hollow numbers would never dwindle. In fact, they would only grow, because under Gabriel's domain, any fallen Shinigami could simply be resurrected and turned against them.
"What a terrifying army," he muttered wryly. His job had just gotten ten times harder.
Gabriel, completely unconcerned with Shunsui's internal panic, turned his attention back to the guests.
"Your representative will receive medical treatment. There is no need to worry." He smiled pleasantly. "After all, I did say that killing was prohibited."
That statement somehow managed to make several Shinigami delegates even more uncomfortable. Because, technically speaking, Gabriel was right.
Up above, Gabriel leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand.
"Now then." His voice carried effortlessly across the colosseum once more. "That was certainly an interesting demonstration. I hope everyone has learned something from it."
He glanced toward Lucius, who bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.
"However, this tournament was never intended to be a one-sided exhibition." A faint, sharp smile appeared on Gabriel's face. "We have plenty of guests here today, and I would hate for them to leave without fully experiencing the hospitality of Nocturna Vastoria."
Grimmjow immediately leaned forward with a grin. "Oh? Here we go."
Gabriel's crimson eyes swept across the audience. "Who would like to be next?"
Silence.
Not the tense silence of before. This time, it was pure, unadulterated hesitation.
The Shinigami delegates exchanged anxious glances. Some were still staring dumbfoundedly at Byakuya, while others were eyeing Lucius warily. They had just watched one of their absolute strongest fighters get systematically dismantled without landing a single scratch.
And now Gabriel was casually asking who wanted to go next?
It was almost comical. Almost.
Then, from the northern delegation, a heavy metallic clank echoed through the stands.
Clank.
Hrólf Stormbearer slowly rose from his seat. His massive, ornate warhammer rested casually across his broad shoulder, faint arcs of golden lightning crawling lazily across its metallic surface.
"Well..." The Viking grinned widely, flashing his teeth. "If nobody else wishes to volunteer, perhaps I should."
He looked over toward Lucius. "That was an impressive display, Draugr."
Lucius finally turned his head to meet the newcomer's gaze.
Hrólf's grin widened into a challenge. "But I would like to see whether all of Gabriel's warriors are as troublesome as you."
A few nearby Hollows began chuckling darkly.
The Viking stepped forward, heading toward the stone stairs leading down into the arena. "Besides, I've been sitting on my ass long enough."
Gabriel's smile widened into something genuinely eager.
Now this was getting interesting.
A/N Okay so because i want to spread out the batch release for maximum views, I will say 2 today.
3 wednesday, and 2 friday.
Yes, i fused 15 chapter into 7, one of the chapters on Wednesday will have around a 3k word count, so there that.
This chapter should be around 2k