"They went in, they went in…"
"King meets king…"
"Are they going to fight?"
"That's brutal… he really just walked straight up to His Majesty?"
"His guts are insane. As expected of that Commander, he doesn't fear His Majesty at all…"
The area around the Ice Palace boiled over.
Whether it was Yoruichi and Ichigo, who had just arrived or the Sternritter who hadn't left yet…
Everyone's heart was in their throat as they stared tensely at the solemn, sacred Ice Palace.
What was happening inside could be called the biggest event the Wandenreich had seen in a thousand years—something that could decide the entire race's future.
No one even dared breathe too loudly, eyes locked on the palace entrance.
They watched Cole and Jugram Haschwalth vanish into the Ice Palace, swallowed by darkness.
At that moment, they almost wanted to charge in no matter what and witness everything for themselves.
But in the end, they forced the impulse down.
Because the three inside, were existences they absolutely could not offend.
If they really fought, just the aftershock of those three might rip them into dust.
So no matter how anxious they were, they could only suppress it and keep staring at the Ice Palace without blinking.
At the same time…
Inside the Ice Palace.
Cole stepped into this sacred place he'd heard about but never visited, and curiously looked around.
"So this is the Ice Palace, huh? This cold is seriously freezing. And how'd they even make all that ice on the outside…?"
The Ice Palace looked like the imperial great hall from his past life—except everything here was pure white.
And there weren't many pillars.
It was extremely spacious.
He could see a long white table deeper inside, with white chairs arranged beside it.
Those were probably seats for the Sternritter.
And farther in, there was a pure white high platform. On it stood a throne, looming above everything.
Just imagining someone sitting there, looking down over the entire hall…
Cole couldn't help sighing.
"How arrogant. It's already this era, and you still insist on calling yourself some lofty king. Even your seat has to be higher than everyone else's."
A calm, authoritative voice came from the darkness above the throne.
"Shouldn't the king of the Quincy Empire have such status?"
Cole looked up at the throne.
Sitting there was a middle-aged man in a black robe, with an imposing, terrifying presence.
It was Cole's first time seeing Yhwach.
Yet this face didn't feel unfamiliar at all.
Because the Yhwach in front of him looked exactly like Old Man Zangetsu from Ichigo's inner world.
Messy black hair. Thick black beard. Red eyes. A vicious expression, yet unfathomably deep.
If there was any difference…
It was in aura and clothing.
The Yhwach here felt even more brutal.
Cole recovered and smiled. "But as far as I know, Yamamoto in Soul Society isn't like you."
Yhwach snorted.
"Don't compare that man to me. He's not bad, but what about Soul Society's nobles? What about Central 46?"
Cole got stuck.
Thinking carefully, Soul Society's nobles really weren't much different from Yhwach.
All the same—high above everyone else.
Disgusting.
Damn it… once this mess is settled, I'll beat those nobles so hard they won't recognize themselves…
Cole cursed inwardly.
Because when you thought about it, the Quincy attacking Soul Society setting aside Quincy power, setting aside Yhwach's goal
It was simply a clash between two empires.
Both sides were still essentially monarchies.
The only difference was that if the Quincy won, the world could collapse and return to the void of primordial annihilation.
Seeing Cole thinking, Yhwach's tone eased a little.
"My child… your existence surprised me. I never imagined a genius like you could be born within the Wandenreich."
The moment Cole heard that, goosebumps exploded all over his body.
The hell.
Who's your child?
Stop saying it like that, it's disgusting.
His Quincy awakening had nothing to do with you. You're not even in the same universe—how do you have the nerve to call it that?
Yhwach didn't care about Cole's reaction. Seated on the throne, he continued as if talking to himself.
"I have been thinking… once I crush Seireitei's Shinigami, should I continue ruling the Wandenreich?"
"But perhaps that question already has an answer—because you were born within the Wandenreich."
As he spoke, Yhwach forced a smile that looked strangely unfamiliar on his face, and gazed at Cole with open praise.
"Your strength, your boldness, even your talent—everything about you shook me. In that regard, you've done better than Haschwalth."
Even after hearing his own name, Jugram Haschwalth didn't change expression in the slightest.
As if Yhwach were talking about someone else.
Cole, however, thought of something. He raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me… you want to step down and hand the position of Emperor of the Wandenreich over to me?"
Yhwach looked at Cole approvingly and nodded.
"You guessed correctly. I have awakened from a thousand-year sleep, and my purpose now is only one thing—revenge against Seireitei."
"Other than that, I no longer wish to continue leading the Wandenreich. The Quincy here should have their own belonging."
"And you are the successor I have chosen."
Cole's mouth twitched hard.
He genuinely hadn't expected Yhwach to pull this.
Cole came here to seize the throne of the Wandenreich.
And this old man just casually played the role of a hands-off boss, tossing the Wandenreich into his lap without hesitation.
What kind of tyrant was this?
This was basically a holy and benevolent ruler!
Yeah right!!!
Cole cursed in his heart.
If he didn't know the plot, he might've actually been fooled by this old bastard.
Sure, you "don't want" to be emperor anymore.
Because you want to become the Soul King.
Emperor of the Wandenreich sounds grand, but at the end of the day, it's just the head cockroach hiding under Seireitei.
But the Soul King?
That's the progenitor of all supernatural powers.
A god who governs Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, the Human World, and even countless Dangai…
Which matters more?
Anyone with a brain can answer that.
Thinking that, Cole curled his lips into a slight smile, then turned toward the Ice Palace entrance and called out.
"Hey, stop peeking outside. All of you, get in here."
Hearing Cole's voice, the Quincy near the Ice Palace looked at each other, unsure whether they should step inside.
But Bazz-B, Cang Du, Bambietta, Candice, Minina, and the others under Cole's command didn't hesitate at all. They walked straight into the Ice Palace.
Yoruichi and the others exchanged looks, swallowed hard, and also entered the Ice Palace as "subordinates."
As for the nearby Sternritter, after hesitating for a moment, they went in as well.
Because it looked like no fight had broken out inside. Maybe something unexpected had happened.
At the very least, seeing it with their own eyes mattered.
The moment everyone stepped into the Ice Palace, they saw the three figures at its depths.
In that instant, Ichigo nearly popped his eyes out. He raised his right hand and was about to point at Yhwach and shout.
Isn't that Old Man Zangetsu?!
Old Man Zangetsu manifested?!
Then what the hell is White?!
At the same moment—
Inside Ichigo's inner world, White sat atop a skyscraper and let out a cold laugh.
"Foolish king. I already told you countless times—I'm Zangetsu."
Beside him, Old Man Zangetsu said calmly, "Looks like this time you can finally explain it to him clearly."
White glanced at him. "Are you going to disappear?"
Old Man Zangetsu silently nodded.
He simply stood there on the skyscraper, looking over Ichigo's inner world.
Just as Ichigo was about to shout—
Ryuken clamped a hand over his mouth.
Yoruichi rushed over as well and drove a punch into Ichigo's stomach, making him nearly spit bile.
Only after doing that did the two of them finally breathe a little easier, then look back at Yhwach.
Ryuken remained composed as ever. As for what just happened, he only assumed Ichigo had suddenly lost his mind.
After all, that kid's personality was exactly like Isshin's.
Doing something like that wasn't surprising.
Yoruichi's reason was different.
She swallowed hard, looked at Ichigo, then looked at Yhwach, and her head felt like it grew several sizes.
When she helped Ichigo obtain bankai, she had deliberately materialized Old Man Zangetsu.
And he looked exactly like Yhwach.
So what now?
Twins?
Rukia was also startled and kept glancing back at Ichigo.
Yhwach, however, completely ignored the commotion on that side. He didn't care about these "miscellaneous soldiers" at all.
In front of everyone, he said in a deep voice:
"I intend to make this Military Police Corps Commander my successor. Do any of you have objections?"
(End of Chapter)
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