Chapter 1091 Hell’s Attack
Tessai took out his Reiatsu Concealing Cloak and followed Kisuke who hid his own very familiar yet very strange Reiatsu with his Magic Power.
Soon, they finally saw the group of Shinigamis hanging around a hundred feet above the ground. Kisuke stopped at the top of one of the buildings far from them and asked Tessai, "Can you sense anything strange around them?"
Tessai didn't answer immediately and tried to find out what was wrong. But despite increasing the sensitivity of his senses, he only found two things, the slight tremor of the ground and the strange air similar to when Kisuke and his group were building the mansion.
"Currently, there are 13 giant Hollows and more than 20 small ones with their holes outside of their bodies making their way towards that group." Kisuke explained while peering at his friends, 'They grew up well... Though Kurosaki-san was the only one who'd matured outwardly because of his physical body.'
Tessai turned to Kisuke and asked, "Hollows with their holes outside of their body?"
"You'll understand once they dispel their invisibility." Kisuke then looked for the girls but he couldn't even feel their presence, 'Is this Kunou-chan's [Sage's Assimilation]? It's really as ridiculous as Issei and Vali have described.'
"Where are you guys?" Kisuke decided to contact Serafall through Magic.
A second later, a reply came in, [Directly under these guys. I can already feel the hostility from those approaching guys. What do you want to do?]
Kisuke thought about it for a moment while observing the 'Hollows'. It wasn't just the aura that was similar to Demonic Power and holes that caught him but also the chain tattoos plastered all over their bodies, '...Chains of Hell. If that's the case, then I can understand why they possess an aura like that.'
"Sera-chan, you'll have to come out and secure one of them. Alive if possible. However, you'll have to do it at the last moment since I want to see where this is going."
[Okay~. Is it fine to retaliate if they attack me?]
"Of course. But I'll have to ask you not to grievously injure any of them. Well, that should be easy for you."
Tessai heard their whole exchange and said, "It looks like she's not your run-of-mill Human, but is that fine? All of them are Lieutenants and there's even Ichigo Kurosaki in their midst. It might become dangerous for her."
In response, Kisuke just waved at him casually while saying, "It's fine, it's fine~. She may look like a kid, but she's actually stronger than me when I was still active if she gets serious."
Tessai's eyes widened as he stared directly at Kisuke's eyes. As his best friend, he knows when he's joking and when he's not, '...Clearly, this is the former... Seriously?' He didn't say anything else and returned his sights to the group of Shinigami with renewed interest and enthusiasm.
The Shinigamis are peacefully talking with Renji introducing the new Lieutenants among their ranks to Ichigo when all of a sudden, a young Shinigami that slightly resembled Renji came shouting from below to warn the others, 'Hooh? She can see that? Is that Abarai-san's kid?'
Immediately after, those weird Hollows 'came into existence' as one of them that looked like a small collection of bones smashed Renji into the ground.
The Shinigami's immediately armed themselves and Ichigo took care of the skeleton-like Hollow with a single slash of his sword. However, they found out that they were already surrounded with some of them wounded by the sneak attack.
Even then, these strange Hollows soon fell one by one without being able to do much as they are against a group of high-ranking Shinigamis. Kisuke's attention, however, was on something else, 'Garganta?... No. It is something different.' He inwardly commented in shock when he saw an unfamiliar type of portal opening up.
But who came out of it stunned Kisuke more, 'Szayelaporro!?'
Kisuke hurriedly turned to Tessai and said before disappearing, "Stay here. I want to take a closer look."
Kisuke came closer while listening to the 'dead' Szayelaporro's words and he stopped behind a wall just a few meters away from them.
"Powerful Reishi can't be absorbed by the earth of the Soul Society but they can't remain there forever too! The Soul Funeral Festival's real purpose is something else! With this ritual, deceased Captains are sent down to Hell!!!"
Upon this revelation by Szayelaporro, Kisuke can't help but be a bit emotional, 'So that old wives' tale is true?'
Ichigo, who was confronting Szayelaporro, also couldn't believe what he was saying, "...What are you saying...!?"
"What!? I'm telling the truth!" Szayelaporro as he attacked Ichigo with chains that came out of the strange portal with him, "Don't grieve, Kurosaki Ichigo. You should know that a price must be paid to gain strength! Souls that have lost a place to return to because of the immense power that they sought, are saved by sending them down to Hell!"
"This is 'kindness'!" Szayelaporro began to laugh maniacally, "And unbeknownst to them, the benevolent Shinigamis, have with their own hands, been sending their comrades down to Hell!!!"
Ichigo was stunned. Those around him were also the same. Their faces were telling Szayelaporro that they were not willing to believe his words. With a smirk, he continued, "Can you not believe it? The fact that I've appeared in front of all of you is decisive proof. The Balance has been broken. The tremendous Reiatsu that was keeping the mouths of Hell in check... Aizen Sosuke disappeared, and right after, Yhwach vanished. You guys then sent tremendous Reiatsu down to Hell one after another, allowing the mouth of Hell to be forced open from Hell's side."
Meanwhile, a black and slimy substance has been gathering around Szayelaporro and Kisuke had guessed this was Hell's Phosphoplasm.
"[The Founder of Gotei], Yamamoto Genryusai, [The Blade of Death], Unohana Retsu, and today...!" Before Szayelaporro could finish his words, however, the door of Hell suddenly appeared and opened behind him with a single familiar blade appearing and piercing Szayelaporro through his back and out his chest. But instead of lamenting in pain, Szayelaporro sported a large smile and said, "Ahh~, you've made an early arrival, [Divine Vow], Ukitake Juushirou!"
"..W-what are you saying?" asked Ichigo, finally believing him after seeing Ukitake's Zanpakuto, "The ritual is still..."
"It's finished." Szayelaporro said while coughing out blood, "You guys just slaughtered those Beast of Hell. Right in front of Ukitake Juushirou."
Ichigo noticed that Szayelaporro wasn't directly looking at his eyes but at his chest area instead. But shortly after, Ichigo realized he was referring to the Substitute Shinigami Badge that Ukitake gave him.
While being dragged into the doors of Hell, Szayelaporro continued speaking, "Now, I will return. And you guys should think properly. Hell has always been nearby. There's no way you haven't noticed. Haven't you ever wondered why the butterflies that guide the Shinigamis have 'Hell' in their name!?'
The door closed and soon disappeared but that didn't make any of them feel good.
Kisuke, on the other hand, was thinking about the 'eyes' of the door and thought, 'I suppose Hell has better eyes than Tsunayashiro's Visual Department?'
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AN(Oct. 6, 2023):
Hello everyone~! Thank you for waiting! I hope you enjoy this batch.
Getting straight to the point, I have a bit of announcement.
The next batch will be delayed. 1 day shortest and 3 days longest.
The reason is I'm studying Network+ and want to finish it this week so I can start with CCNA or Security+ and hope I can get a certification in either one of them by 3-5 months.
The reason why I'm "rushing" Network+ is because I've been at it for 2 months now and I just reached more than half of it. I got a few days off this week so I want to use this chance to get into studying rhythm since it has been a while since I studied for an exam.
TLDR: Next batch might be delayed by 3 days because I finally decided a direction in my life and wanted to study.
Thank you very much for your understanding.
Btw, if you like my work, please consider supporting it through my pat.reon. Thank you~!
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