The appearance of the Chief Priest and the High Priests sent the believers into a state of excitement.
"The Chief Priest!"
The crowd raised their arms and cheered loudly.
The Chief Priest and all the priests wore masks. The masks were designed to look like skulls, which fit the theme of the 'Great God of the Underworld'.
However, it also made them look somewhat like Arrancar masks.
After the Chief Priest ascended the sacrificial stage, he raised his hand to signal for silence, and the crowd quickly quieted down.
The Chief Priest announced in a loud voice, "Fellow believers, today we gather here to express our deepest respect and gratitude for the grace of the great 'Great God of the Underworld'."
"With the blessing of the 'Great God of the Underworld', we can walk the path to happiness."
"Now, please join me in presenting our offerings to the deity."
The Chief Priest waved his hand, and a line of people soon walked out from the shrine.
They were all young women dressed as shrine maidens, carrying fresh fruits, roasted pigs, sheep, and cattle, rice, sake, and fresh flowers.
"They're quite well-prepared! This really doesn't look like the barren Hanakare District," Shunsui couldn't help but remark.
"With so many believers gathered, it's not difficult to get these things," Ukitake commented.
In addition to the conventional offerings, a dozen more maidens followed, pushing four prison carts.
Inside each cart was a person with a hood over their head and dressed in white, their face hidden from view.
Sora used his spiritual senses to probe them but couldn't detect any spiritual pressure.
He overheard a whispered conversation from outside the reishi barrier.
"Are there only four wicked people this time?"
"That's a lot fewer..."
"Are the wicked becoming scarcer?"
"Impossible, you can never catch all the wicked people. If you go to the Kusajishi or Zaraki districts, there are plenty of them there!"
The four prison carts were pushed onto the sacrificial stage. The four people locked inside showed no reaction, as if they had passed out.
The shrine maidens placed the offerings on the altar one by one, their movements solemn and slow.
Afterward, the Chief Priest began to softly chant scriptures, while the maidens performed a ritualistic dance.
The believers, sitting cross-legged on the ground, clasped their hands together, closed their eyes in prayer, and shouted the name of the 'Great God of the Underworld', their faces filled with piety and gratitude.
"So fanatical," Shunsui pursed his lips as he looked at the fervent expressions of the believers around him.
"This kind of emotion is infectious; it can influence others," Sora said softly.
A moment later.
Puchi—
From within the prison carts, numerous sharp spikes suddenly shot out, impaling the four people inside.
The four unconscious individuals were jolted awake by the pain and let out慘 screams, but they soon fell silent.
"What's going on? Weren't they supposed to judge the sinners' crimes first?" Shunsui frowned. "Why have they gone straight to the execution..."
This was different from the procedure the white-robed priest had described to them.
Feeling the sharp gazes of the group on him, the priest's back was quickly drenched in cold sweat. He stammered, "I-I don't know either! In the past, they would always judge their crimes first before offering them to the 'Great God of the Underworld'!"
"Should we stop them?" Shunsui looked toward Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
"Those offerings are already dead. There's no point in stopping it now. Let's see this through," Yamamoto said, his brow furrowed as he stared at the ceremonial dagger in the Chief Priest's hand. "I want to see what kind of commotion these people can stir up."
The ceremonial dagger in the priest's hand had no guard and was inlaid with a miniature skull ornament. The blade itself looked more like a bone.
He plunged the dagger into the hearts of the deceased sacrifices, staining the blade with their heart's blood.
At that moment, the Chief Priest raised both hands, holding the ceremonial dagger high:
"These individuals are the 'most wicked' of the Soul Society!"
"Oh, great 'Great God of the Underworld', with the purest of hearts, we offer you these sacrifices!"
"May you accept our reverence and bless our lives with harmony and peace!"
"May your divine power protect us and dispel all calamities!"
"May your radiance forever illuminate our souls!"
On the altar, a rectangular phantom slowly began to appear.
The rectangular phantom made everyone, including the Chief Priest and the four High Priests on the stage, excited and astonished.
"It worked! The wicked people we found before weren't evil enough to summon the Gate of Hell!" one of the white-robed High Priests said in a low voice.
"We actually did it... summoned the Gate of Hell in the Soul Society!" another High Priest said with excitement.
The floating phantom in the air gradually solidified.
"Is that the Gate of Hell?!" Shunsui exclaimed in shock.
For a Shinigami, the 'Gate of Hell' was not an unfamiliar concept.
When a soul who had committed grave sins in life could not enter the Soul Society, the 'Gate of Hell' would open for them.
But that was something that only ever happened in the World of the Living. There were no souls in the Soul Society who had committed such grave sins in life!
Naturally, the 'Gate of Hell' should never open here.
Yet now, they were witnessing the impossible—the 'Gate of Hell' was opening in the Soul Society!
The 'Gate of Hell' was composed of two gigantic, dark panels. On either side of the doors, a massive skeleton was attached.
The gate opened a slight crack, and a dark mist emanated from within.
Several giant, bony claws gripped the edge of the doors, trying to push the 'Gate of Hell' fully open.
Seemingly affected by some force, the gate opened extremely slowly under the push of the bony claws.
Just then, Sora felt a terrifying pressure of spiritual energy from beside him.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had made his move!
Where the 'Gate of Hell' stood, a pillar of fire suddenly erupted, soaring into the sky.
BOOM!!!
The pillar of fire dispersed the clouds in the sky, which rapidly spread apart, revealing the azure heavens.
The terrifying fluctuation of spiritual pressure instantly caused all the ordinary souls to fall unconscious.
Yamamoto then quickly retracted his spiritual pressure to prevent the souls below the altar from being crushed by its immense force.
"Old man Yama's spiritual pressure is truly terrifying..." Shunsui whispered. "Did he shatter the Gate of Hell?"
The group looked up. The 'Gate of Hell' had vanished.
"No." Yamamoto Genryūsai's figure reappeared beside them. Other than holding his Zanpakutō, he was unchanged.
"The Gate of Hell cannot be destroyed. I merely banished it from the Soul Society."
"However, before I banished it, something came out from within." Yamamoto's expression was grave as he looked at the figures on the altar.
"So this was their goal..." Sora's eyes narrowed. He was now certain these people were Reigai; otherwise, the timing wouldn't be such a coincidence.
Standing on the sacrificial stage was the man who had been missing for several years, the first captain of the 7th Division, Takezuna Jigyō!
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