"You've got to be kidding… the Spirit King's inner palace got blown open!?"
Shunsui's expression froze in sheer disbelief.
The other Shinigami were equally shaken, staring wide-eyed at the chunks of stone raining from the sky.
The palace of the Spirit King had been blasted apart!?
Cold sweat slid down Oetsu's forehead. He no longer had the mind to block Shunsui and the others, and instead sprinted toward the inner palace at full speed.
"What the hell are those guys doing in there!?"
He had originally thought that with four members of the Royal Guard working together, they'd be able to take down Cole and Aizen easily even if he didn't personally intervene.
But now look at things.
The Spirit King's inner palace had been blown wide open.
The Spirit King inside might very well be in danger.
"Spirit King…"
Byakuya and Yoruichi were just as anxious, stepping forward as if to rush inside.
Urahara, however, still managed to remain calm. He grabbed both of them back and, under their puzzled gazes, pointed up at the sky.
"We're too slow if we run. Let's just fly straight up."
The Spirit King's inner palace was shaped like a tall cylinder topped by a cone, divided into four levels.
If you wanted to reach the fourth level, you normally had to climb the stairs.
But now, the very top of the inner palace had been blasted apart.
Which meant—
The fourth level was exposed to the open air.
Gin narrowed his eyes slightly, then tightened his grip on his zanpakuto, Shinso (Divine Spear), and shot upward without hesitation.
"As expected of you, Urahara-san."
Even he, a "traitor" who had kept his true feelings buried for hundreds of years and prided himself on his mental fortitude, was shocked that the Spirit King's inner palace had been blown open.
But Urahara could still stay that calm.
That iron-strong composure alone was enough to prove he was qualified to be Aizen's destined rival.
Urahara didn't look pleased at the praise.
Instead, he let out a wry laugh.
"At a time like this, this is all I'm good for. The real fight still depends on the Royal Guard."
Things had already developed far beyond anything he'd anticipated.
Even he had no idea what would happen next.
With that thought, Urahara sighed, pushed off with one foot, and leapt toward the fourth level of the inner palace.
In midair, everyone looked through the gaping hole in the Spirit King's inner palace and caught sight of what lay within.
That one glimpse—
Was enough to make them all suck in a sharp breath.
Gin's eyes went wide for once. He pointed at the Spirit King inside the blue crystal, his voice stammering as he struggled to get the words out.
"Th-That guy… Don't tell me that's supposed to be the great 'Spirit King-sama'…"
He had known that Aizen's goal was the Spirit King.
But he had never actually known what "the Spirit King" really was.
Shinji was just as stunned, rubbing at his eyes without thinking.
"That's… the Spirit King!?"
"No way!?"
"How could the Spirit King look like that!?"
If the fourth level of the Spirit King's inner palace hadn't only contained the Royal Guard plus Cole and the others,
He wouldn't have dared even guess that thing was the Spirit King.
The supreme Spirit King—
Had actually been turned into a human pig.
Who could accept that?
Byakuya, Yoruichi, and Urahara didn't react as exaggeratedly as Gin and Shinji.
But their pupils contracted sharply all the same.
For various reasons, they had already known, more or less, what kind of existence the Spirit King was.
Yet this was their first time seeing the real Spirit King with their own eyes.
It was more tragic than anything they had imagined.
Shunsui pressed down on the brim of his straw hat and let out a deep sigh.
"The three worlds built upon the Spirit King's 'flesh and blood'… truly a sin-stained reality. Just seeing it once is enough to leave you with a crushing sense of guilt…"
Unlike Aizen, whose first reaction upon learning the Spirit King's condition had been rage and rejection,
Shunsui felt only deep pity for the Spirit King.
But he had no intention of changing the current situation.
Because the weight of one person versus three whole worlds—
Was more than enough for him to make his choice.
The expressions of the Shinigami present were almost identical to Rukia's when she had first seen the Spirit King.
They all felt a strong sense of unreality,
Unable to accept the sight before their eyes.
Ichibe's face was ashen, killing intent burning in his gaze as he glared at Cole and Aizen.
A moment ago, only four outsiders had known the truth.
Now, thanks to that blasted open wall—
Dozens of people had seen it.
Even if he wanted to silence them, he couldn't kill that many.
But neither Cole nor Aizen paid him the slightest attention.
They didn't even look his way.
With the inner palace torn open like this,
The Royal Guard no longer had any means to truly control them.
Aizen's eyes held a flicker of surprise as he looked at Cole.
"You actually chose to blow open the Spirit King's inner palace.
I thought you would take the opportunity to attack me."
In that enclosed situation just now,
If Cole and Ichibe had joined forces,
Even he might have died there.
Yet Cole hadn't done that.
That single decision had genuinely confused him.
Was this human thinking of allying with him to create an ideal world?
But he had just scoffed at the very idea of such a world.
While Aizen was lost in thought,
Cole didn't bother to explain.
He tapped the blue crystal with his golden staff and grinned.
"Gin, Shinji, you guessed right.
The one inside there is indeed the 'god' you've all been worshipping—
The Spirit King."
"If I remember correctly…
His name is Adonais, right?
It means 'Lord of All Things.'"
"Didn't expect him to look like this, did you?"
Hearing Cole's words,
Even though many of the Shinigami present had already braced themselves mentally,
Their hearts still shook all the same.
It really was the Spirit King!!!
That wretched, mutilated human pig—
Was actually the supreme Spirit King.
Shunsui took a deep breath and fixed Cole with a serious look, breaking the silence first.
"Cole, what exactly are you trying to do?"
In the past, Cole might have liked to cause trouble,
But it had always been within acceptable bounds.
Blowing open the Spirit King's inner palace and exposing the truth about the Spirit King to everyone,
However, had already crossed a forbidden line.
At this point—
If the situation weren't so overwhelmingly chaotic,
Cole would have already been declared an enemy of all Soul Society.
Cole only smiled at Shunsui's question.
Instead of answering right away, he turned to look at Ichibe.
"Big monk, it's about time you put your ability away, isn't it?
Or do you actually think you can kill me?"
That monk's strongest ability stripped a person of their name,
Then forced a new one upon them.
Just like how he'd tried to rename Aizen "Black Ant" earlier.
But all of that relied on one key precondition—
Ichibe first had to successfully erase his target's original name.
And that was precisely where Cole countered him.
With the Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hands, he was untouchable.
As long as he refused,
No one could alter him against his will.
Ichibe's expression grew even darker.
But he was forced to admit Cole was right.
He truly had no good way to finish off Cole and Aizen.
If those two decided to flee,
He wouldn't be able to catch them.
With a silent, bitter curse,
Ichibe finally pulled back the raging darkness,
Allowing the world to return to its natural colors.
Only then did Cole nod in satisfaction.
He turned and patted the blue crystal that sealed the Spirit King, smiling.
"I didn't blow open the Spirit King's inner palace for fun.
I just wanted all of you to see what the so-called Spirit King really looks like."
Then he shifted his gaze to Aizen.
"And you, too.
You say you want to kill the Spirit King—
But you don't seem to understand just how important he is to the world."
Aizen frowned, unable to figure out what this human was trying to pull now.
How important the Spirit King was to the world?
What was so important about him?
Wasn't he just the supreme ruler of Soul Society?
Under everyone's watchful eyes,
Cole turned toward Ichibe and smiled.
"Big monk, don't just stand there.
Hurry up and give everyone a little lecture.
Tell them what the Spirit King really is."
Ichibe hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he let out a long sigh.
He swept his gaze over everyone present,
His voice turning heavy and cold,
Radiating an authority that brooked no argument.
"The Spirit King is the wedge that stabilizes the three worlds.
If the Spirit King is killed,
The three worlds will shatter completely and fall into hell."
"So tell me—
Do you truly want to kill the Spirit King?"
(End of Chapter)
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