Chapter Forty-Nine: The Second Place

Bang! Kirinji once again swung his blade, intercepting all of Yhwach’s attacks.

How many times had it been now?

Kirinji had long since lost count.

Yhwach’s assaults grew ever swifter, and Kirinji’s blade moved with increasing speed to match. Yet this applied only to defense; when it came to offense, Kirinji’s speed had made no progress at all.

Since the beginning, Kirinji had not managed a single counterattack.

Yhwach’s relentless barrage had forced Kirinji’s defenses to the very brink—he had no chance to spare for an attack.

Crack!

Kirinji shattered a reishi arrow that flew before him, then extended his crimson left hand from beneath his haori’s sleeve.

Boom!

From that crimson hand erupted a fireball, which, upon leaving his palm, rapidly swelled and engulfed Yhwach’s figure without hesitation.

Beep!

There was no time for relief or satisfaction. In an instant, Yhwach cleaved through the fireball, his entire being shooting toward Kirinji like an arrow loosed from the string.

Clang!

Kirinji did not retreat; instead, he met Yhwach’s attack head-on and blocked it.

“I thought you would dodge that.”

“I’m not just about speed, you know?” Kirinji narrowed his eyes, then forced Yhwach away with a surge of strength.

Buzzing noises filled the air.

Yhwach had barely steadied his footing—no, before he had even found his balance, his blade was already leveled at Kirinji, the tip gathering a tremendous amount of reishi to form a disk.

Hundreds of reishi arrows shot toward Kirinji in rapid succession.

But Kirinji proved himself worthy of his opponent’s respect, swiftly brandishing his Zanpakuto and shattering every last arrow.

Yhwach did not lower his sword; instead, he gathered reishi at the tip once more and unleashed an arrow many times faster than before.

At that moment, Kirinji had just finished smashing the last reishi arrow with a downward stroke—there was no time to raise his blade in defense.

In the final instant, he spat out the stalk of grass that had been in his mouth, coating it with spiritual pressure to intercept the speeding reishi arrow, sacrificing both in the process.

“Impressive. Even under such circumstances, you were still able to swiftly envelop that stalk in spiritual pressure to block my attack?” Yhwach, for once, gave praise.

“I thought that move would pierce through your attack… Seems it still lacked hardness. Maybe next time I’ll try a wooden stick?” Kirinji retorted with biting sarcasm, showing no gratitude for the compliment.

Yet his relaxed demeanor was merely a façade.

Though neither Yhwach nor Kirinji had fought in earnest so far, even these probing attacks had begun to tax Kirinji. If the battle escalated to full power, his chances of victory seemed bleak.

As expected of the enemy’s leader—truly formidable.

Kirinji’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“There won’t be a next time,” Yhwach proclaimed, blade in hand, charging toward Kirinji once more.

“Because you will die here today!”

Kirinji gave no reply. Considering the current state of the battle, the advantage was not his. Even he, known as the ‘Thunderbolt,’ had no solution…

No.

Or perhaps he was being forced into a single option?

Snap.

Using Shunpo, Kirinji retreated to open the distance between himself and Yhwach, giving himself more time to react to any attack.

Thud.

But Yhwach halted his advance, standing still.

Buzz.

Once more, the tip of his sword gathered reishi, forming a massive point.

“Quincies excel at long-range combat.”

Boom!

A gigantic reishi arrow, radiating an unstoppable force, shot straight at Kirinji.

The explosion was immense, the shockwave demolishing several nearby houses.

“Damn… How miserable…”

Kirinji emerged from the smoke and dust, but his previously unscathed body—his right hand and entire right arm, with which he wielded his blade—had been blasted, the sleeves of his haori and shihakusho left in tatters.

The flawless record of the ‘Thunderbolt’ was shattered.

“The brilliance is gone, Kirinji Tenshirou,” Yhwach sneered, mocking him.

“The name of the ‘Thunderbolt’ ends here.”

Yhwach had no intention of giving Kirinji a moment’s respite. For the third time, he charged at Kirinji, sword in hand.

“Tch…” Kirinji grimaced in frustration.

Is this my final move?

He raised his blade, spiritual pressure steadily rising from his body.

“Bankai…”

Boom!

Suddenly, a third figure forcibly inserted themselves into their duel.

Both Yhwach and Kirinji were caught entirely off guard.

A white haori fluttered in the air with the newcomer’s movement, slowly settling to shroud their silhouette.

“…So it’s you.”

Yhwach paused, a trace of surprise coloring his tone.

“That attire… Have you joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads as well?”

“Yes.” The newcomer’s reply was barely more than a whisper.

“What brings you here?” Kirinji lowered his blade, as if the presence of this person relieved him of any need to fight.

“Lord Yasuda was concerned about you, so he sent me to check on you.”

“Hmph…” Kirinji snorted his displeasure, but said nothing more.

Yhwach fell silent for a moment, then sheathed his sword.

“What’s this? You’re not going to fight?” Kirinji raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

“It’s meaningless. To face two ‘highest-level combatants’ at once—I have no chance of victory.”

Yhwach turned away. At some point, a doorway for his departure had opened behind him.

“After all, the ‘highest-level combatants’ are all ‘Captain-Commander class.’”

“Well then, until we meet again.”

With one foot, Yhwach stepped into the portal.

“Wait, please.”

The newcomer suddenly spoke, halting Yhwach.

Yhwach turned, his gaze falling upon the one who called out.

“Please abandon your current plan. Sacrificing your subordinates’ lives to lure out and destroy the Gotei 13’s captains—I cannot stand by and do nothing.”

“Sympathizing with the enemy?” Yhwach replied coolly. “Naive.”

“It seems my evaluation of you must be revised. Perhaps you are unworthy of being counted among the ‘highest-level combatants’ at all.”

Yhwach turned his head away, refusing to spare them so much as a glance.

“In war, only victory matters. Any price must be paid for that—that is the rule. And besides…”

“I am not the only one with this mindset.”

The doorway began to close.

“Farewell, Thunderbolt, and…”

“O merciful Shinigami.”

Darkness once again severed all that lay between them.