Aizen looked at Cole with clear impatience.
If there hadn't only been two people and one zanpakuto present,
he really wouldn't have bothered sharing his thoughts with Cole at all.
In his mind,
Only Urahara was qualified to have a true conversation with him.
As for the rest—
Almost all of them were fools.
Aizen rapped his knuckles lightly against the blue crystal, a cold light flickering in his eyes.
"Why must we submit to something like this?
Don't you feel this world has already rotted to the core?
Do you not want to change it?"
Three questions in a row were enough to reveal what Aizen carried in his heart.
He had long known of the Spirit King's existence.
Through the Grand Library of Souls, he had learned of the Spirit King's true condition.
That knowledge had pushed him to the very limit of what he could tolerate.
The being revered by Shinigami as a god,
the one said to rule all of Soul Society—
Turned out to be nothing more than a mutilated, ugly human pig put on a pedestal.
Because something like the Spirit King existed,
Soul Society had become this decayed, rotten thing.
Because something like the Spirit King existed,
The nobles were able to act with unrestrained arrogance.
That was why he had chosen to challenge the ruling system crafted around the Spirit King—
To overturn the "Three-World Balance" structure dominated by the five great noble families,
To end an order that existed only by constantly sacrificing others.
Cole casually stroked his chin,
but felt nothing in particular about Aizen's words.
If someone said they wanted to destroy the world,
Chances were they weren't actually a bad person—
just a bit chuunibyou.
But if someone said they wanted to build a "perfect" world—
Then they were almost certainly an extremely obsessive madman.
Thinking this,
Cole shook his head and glanced at Aizen, replying without much enthusiasm,
"You're being way too extreme.
If you want to build your ideal world,
You don't have to kill the Spirit King.
You could just kill the nobles, couldn't you?"
In his current state,
calling the Spirit King a "puppet" was almost giving him too much credit.
At this point he was basically just a giant ornament.
The day-to-day affairs of the Spirit King's Palace were handled entirely by the Royal Guard.
The Spirit King was essentially a non-factor.
Whether he lived or died didn't really matter.
Aizen's intent to kill the Spirit King came down to nothing but his own extreme obsession.
As Cole spoke, something seemed to occur to him.
The corner of his mouth curled upward as he looked at Aizen with amusement.
"You talk about everything in such lofty terms…
But somehow I get the feeling that besides your 'ideal world,'
You just want to stand above everything yourself, don't you?"
Aizen's composure cracked just a little at that.
He glared at Cole coldly.
"As expected of a short-lived, foolish human.
Only a creature like you could ask such an ignorant question.
Do you think I could have invaded the Spirit King's inner palace without transcending the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow?"
He had always been proud.
But he was self-aware enough to admit that—
Before obtaining the Hogyoku and evolving,
He would have been unable to match Yamamoto,
let alone any of the Royal Guard.
Cole shook his head again.
"You've said all that,
but I still don't think you truly understand what the Spirit King really is.
Otherwise, you would never have come here today."
Unlike Aizen's Kyouka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon),
Cole's zanpakuto, the Ruyi Jingu Bang,
had an ability related to the "Cudgel that Anchors the Seas,"
Which made it extremely sensitive to disturbances in space.
The moment he stepped into the Spirit King's inner palace,
He had already sensed the terrifying scope of the Spirit King's domain.
It didn't just cover the Spirit King's Palace itself—
It also extended over Seireitei beyond it.
And that was merely the limit of what he could perceive.
The domain likely reached all the way into the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo as well,
A true suppression over all three realms.
It was worthy of the title "Creator of the Three Worlds."
According to the information from the original history,
If the Spirit King was killed recklessly,
The three worlds would completely collapse,
Dragging every realm straight into hell.
When that happened—
Forget Aizen's so-called "ideal world,"
There might not even be a world left.
Aizen frowned.
He couldn't quite understand what Cole was talking about,
But he didn't particularly care either.
He glanced at the Spirit King and said coolly,
"Don't try to sound mysterious.
Now that I've seen the Spirit King with my own eyes,
It's only a matter of time before I discover how to kill him…"
As he spoke, Aizen shifted his gaze to Rukia,
His eyes going ice-cold,
his tone as merciless as that of a god dispensing judgment.
"When that time comes…
It will be the end of you nobles."
Rukia flinched.
She had never imagined that Aizen's hatred for nobles would be so intense.
Were the nobles truly that detestable?
Or had some noble clan hurt Aizen personally?
Cole, however, didn't seem bothered.
He chuckled.
"Didn't I already say it?
Do whatever you want with the nobles.
I can't stand them either.
Especially that Tsunayashiro clan."
Rukia nearly exploded.
She jabbed him hard in the lower back and muttered under her breath,
"Stupid Cole, I'm a noble too."
"It's fine—I'll protect you."
Cole rubbed her hair roughly.
He couldn't possibly let Rukia get hurt.
Her cheeks flushed red,
But in the end, she didn't knock his hand away.
Instead, she quietly tried to defend her own kind.
"Actually, nobles aren't as awful as you think.
There are a lot of good people among them too."
Cole pouted.
"Don't use a few special cases to speak for the whole.
I happen to think Yoruichi is great,
But what about the rest of her clan?"
If the anime had actually shown the true faces of more nobles,
The fans would probably have been furious.
It was the very definition of a decayed feudal system.
In many ways,
Soul Society was nothing more than an ancient imperial state.
So Aizen's desire to topple this rotten Soul Society—
While extreme—
Wasn't entirely impossible to sympathize with.
After more than ten seconds—
Aizen, having decided he was done talking,
Finished examining the blue crystal and rapped it thoughtfully.
"To break this seal,
I would need several different kinds of power,
Most likely five…"
"I currently possess the powers of a Shinigami and a Hollow,
So it's still difficult for me to damage this crystallized seal."
"As for the remaining types of power…"
"Quincy, humans, and what else…?"
Muttering to himself, Aizen frowned,
realizing this might be more troublesome than he had expected.
There were too many forms of power in this world,
too many races.
It would be hard to gather five completely different power types in a short time.
Without understanding the exact conditions,
He would have to test them one by one.
As he pondered, something seemed to click.
He unconsciously turned his eyes toward Cole, and a glimmer of light flashed within them.
This guy.
He seemed to be human.
And on top of that, he possessed Shinigami powers, Hollow powers—
In terms of power types,
He actually had one more than Aizen himself.
With that thought,
Aizen forced down his irritation toward Cole and said lightly,
"Human boy, your nature is to defy everything.
Are you really going to submit to this puppet of a Spirit King?"
"What's so bad about that?"
Cole didn't mind in the slightest.
Leaning back against the wall of the fourth level,
he asked in return,
"Isn't a world of headless dragons the best?
Do you actually want a Spirit King who can truly control everything to appear?"
Human desire had no limits.
If one person possessed absolute strength,
That would mean absolute disaster.
Even if that person's intentions started out good,
Time would gradually twist, rot, and corrupt them.
The way things were now—
Was cruel to the Spirit King,
But best for the world.
Hearing that,
Aizen suddenly had the urge to kill someone.
This damned human.
Every choice he made ran directly counter to Aizen's own path.
While the two talked,
Ichibe, Senjumaru, and the others,
who had been left far behind,
finally caught up.
Sweat beaded on the foreheads of the Royal Guard.
They looked tense and disheveled.
When they stepped onto the fourth level and saw Cole and Aizen,
Their hearts sank.
A bad premonition seized them.
The Spirit King…
Couldn't have been harmed, could he?
Only when they saw that the blue crystal hadn't been completely shattered,
Did they manage to breathe a little easier.
Even so, Ichibe still couldn't relax.
His blind-white pupils glared furiously at the two men.
"You bastards…
What did you do to the Spirit King!?"
His eyes might have looked blind,
But his vision was sharp.
He could clearly see the cracks running through the blue crystal—
Cracks someone had forced into it.
In all the time since the creation of the three realms,
Nothing like that had ever happened before.
Cole spread his hands with a grin.
"Hey, big monk, don't accuse an innocent man.
I didn't damage that blue crystal."
He had only pinched it between his fingers,
felt how tough it was,
and let go.
Aizen, on the other hand, had gone all out against the crystal,
and only then managed to create those fractures.
Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki hurriedly nodded to back Cole up.
But the signs of damage to the Spirit King's seal were right in front of him.
Ichibe had no calm left to cling to.
He strode forward in a fury.
"You two—
Die in my black tomb and gravestones!!"
As his enraged roar shook the air,
Blackness began to ooze from Ichibe's body like flowing ink,
rapidly dyeing the surrounding space pitch black.
But this wasn't like outside—
Here, there was almost no room to dodge.
Aizen's expression darkened.
He turned toward Cole.
"Human, do you intend to die here with me?
Hurry up and think of a way to escape.
There is nowhere to run."
The fourth level only had one exit—
the staircase behind Ichibe.
Even if Aizen completely hypnotized Ichibe with Kyouka Suigetsu,
In his near-berserk state, it would still be almost impossible to get past him.
Since that was the case—
He might as well borrow the human's power.
Cole couldn't help laughing.
Ignoring the darkness climbing toward them like deep-sea moss,
He looked at Aizen.
"So… you're asking for my help?"
Aizen's forehead bulged with veins.
He said nothing,
his face going stone-cold.
Admitting he needed help from a human—
Was more painful than death.
On the other side,
Seeing that Cole was also within the attack's range,
Senjumaru hurried forward.
"Ichibe, calm down!
Cole and those two girls aren't our enemies.
Let them leave first and then use your ability."
Though Cole's intrusion into the Spirit King's inner palace had violated its most sacred taboo,
She still didn't want him to die here.
Unfortunately, Ichibe was already on the verge of losing control.
Fury consumed his features; he wouldn't listen to a word she said.
Besides, he was deeply wary of Aizen's Kyouka Suigetsu.
If he let this infuriating human go—
What if Aizen used the chance to escape?
Who would capture him then?
They had already seen the Spirit King,
And the blue crystal that sealed him.
They likely understood by now what needed to be done to kill the Spirit King.
Under those circumstances—
He absolutely could not allow any of them to leave the inner palace alive.
Cold killing intent gleamed in Ichibe's white eyes as black tombs and gravestones rose up behind him.
His absolute killing move—
Was about to be unleashed.
"Cole…"
"Cole, what do we do!?"
Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki stared at the surging darkness with growing panic.
They had passed through pure blackness earlier,
but this time was different.
Now there was almost no way out.
They had no desire to die the way Aizen nearly had—
Being slowly corroded and devoured by the dark.
Cole, however, felt no fear.
He didn't try to attack Aizen,
and he didn't plan to fight Ichibe either.
Instead, his gaze shifted to the surrounding walls.
He walked over to a section that hadn't yet been touched by the darkness and tapped it with a finger, smiling.
"Sure, the blue crystal is ridiculously tough…
But the walls of the Spirit King's inner palace don't seem nearly as durable."
With each tap of his finger,
Fine cracks spread through the pale blue wall.
Aizen's eyes flashed.
He, too, stepped toward the wall of the fourth level.
If the gate was too solid,
They could just blow a hole in the wall.
Ichibe's face changed dramatically.
He accelerated the spread of the blackness and shouted,
"Cole! Restrain Aizen for me!
In the name of the Spirit King's Palace, I swear I will not lay a hand on you!"
If Aizen escaped the inner palace,
With the bizarre power of Kyouka Suigetsu,
There was no way Ichibe alone could capture him—
Even the entire Royal Guard might be helpless.
The Spirit King would remain in constant danger.
Cole exhaled slowly and gripped the golden staff in both hands, grinning.
"Well… I refuse."
Under Ichibe's furious glare,
Cole swung the golden staff and slammed it into the wall of the inner palace.
"I think the truth about the Spirit King is something everyone deserves to know."
A thunderous boom echoed like a clap of divine thunder.
The wall of the fourth level exploded under the blow,
And sunlight poured inside for the very first time.
Stones and debris filled the air,
Raining down like scattered flowers.
Outside, the group of Shinigami who had been about to step into the inner palace—
But had been blocked by Oetsu—
All instinctively lifted their heads.
They looked up and saw the scene on the fourth level of the Spirit King's inner palace.
(End of Chapter)
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