Chapter 43

Orlando stood there, shocked to see Errol. He was about to say something when Errol spoke first.

"I'll explain later, let me deal with these guys first."

As soon as he said that, he jumped down from the disappearing hollow he had landed on. He looked at the two weak hollows and decided to use his fists.

He vanished from his position, leaving an afterimage, and appeared in front of a hollow. He thrust his arms forward like spears, piercing the hollow's mask.

He disappeared again and reappeared above the last hollow, delivering an axe kick that crushed its head into the ground.

Orlando watched as Errol vanished, then reappeared as one hollow had a hole in its head and the other was crushed to the ground with Errol standing on its head.

"...you have a lot to explain later, young man," Grandpa Orlando said with a smile.

"Hehehe, maybe later," Errol replied sheepishly.

They then heard a series of roars coming from a certain direction. Errol sensed Uryu's spiritual power in that area.

"Go, I'll be fine. But you need to tell me the full story or I'll cut your allowance," Orlando said.

"Thanks, Grandpa. Keep the charm I gave you yesterday, it should protect you against these hollows. Also, go to our house, I set up a barrier around there," Errol said before jumping onto the roof of a house and then leaping away in the direction where Uryu was.

Orlando watched him leave with a faint worry before turning to the unconscious driver and sighing.

"I'm too old for this." He helped the young man into the car and drove away from the area himself.

Meanwhile, Uryu was struggling.

"....damn, they never end!"

Uryu kept shooting at the hollows, killing them with a single shot. His fingers were now bleeding from the continuous shooting, and his spiritual energy was draining rapidly.

"Damn, it was supposed to attract only a few hollows, but why are there so many!?" Uryu said in frustration.

He had met Ichigo and Rukia earlier and had a small confrontation, until the sky suddenly turned dark and seemed to bend, creating something like a hole in the sky. The hollows also suddenly began to gather in that area. Uryu began running there, killing all the hollows he encountered.

"This competition will be pointless if I can't save everyone..." Uryu said.

Suddenly, he felt his arm being grabbed with considerable force and winced in pain. He prepared to fight the hollow, only to see an angry Errol.

"I will give you one chance to explain what's happening right now, before I might break your bones, Uryu," Errol said in the calmest voice he could muster.

Uryu looked down for a moment, feeling guilty.

"...I needed to prove that we Quincies are superior to Shinigamis, to demonstrate our strength. That's why I decided to compete with Kurosaki on who could kill more hollows, using a bait that attracts hollows."

"That's it!?" Errol's glare intensified. "Do you know how pointless your move was!?"

"What do you mean pointless!? He is a Shinigami, and that's enough reason for me to compete with him and show who's superior!" Uryu shouted.

"Hah! Don't make me laugh, that guy!? He's not even a proper Shinigami! He's just a newbie who doesn't know anything about being a Shinigami. Do you know why I said it was pointless!? It's because that guy can be considered at the bottom rank of Shinigamis. There are still a lot of people who are higher rank than him!" Errol said, looking at him mockingly.

"What do you mean by that?" Uryu asked in confusion.

"Shinigamis have ranks of their own, just like the military. There are the normal Shinigamis, seat officers that rank from 3-20, Lieutenants, and Captains. These positions are also ranked based on strength. Do you know what rank Ichigo is!? He barely reached the 20th mark! So even if you beat him, you prove nothing!" Errol shouted.

Uryu looked shocked, lowering his hands and his head. "That's a lie... right? Hahaha, that has to be a lie..."

The sudden realization made him hold his head as if it hurt. "Then what's even the point of this!?"

Errol looked at him in silence, his anger subsiding a bit. He took a deep breath before saying, "Honestly, I don't really care much about the lives that might be lost in this situation, except for my grandpa and maybe some maids in my house. I don't care! You can deal with this situation, and I'll just protect my family."

With that, Errol used his own version of flash step and disappeared, leaving Uryu who was still in shock. After a few seconds, Uryu stood up, grabbed the string of his bow, and launched an arrow at a hollow.

"Even I would feel ashamed of asking for help in this situation, but at least let me kill all the hollows and not let any people die!" Uryu shouted with conviction. He continued shooting, but this time he stopped counting and just focused on resolving the problem he had created.

Errol, who had seemingly disappeared, was actually still around, observing. He decided to punish Uryu a bit by making him feel desperate. He decided to help from the shadows, as he would still feel guilty for any deaths he might have been able to prevent.

Errol didn't want to be a hero, but helping someone within his reach didn't make him a hero, just a good person. With a thought, Errol used an Order.

[Give me the ability to see everything with my mind: Mind's Eye]

He then began to see everything around him without any blind spots. Errol then began to increase the range of his vision until he covered the entire Karakura town. Then, with his voice, he used another order.

[Give me the ability to manipulate wind within my field of vision: Air Space]

In a certain area of Karakura town, a middle-aged man was running away from a chasing hollow. When he was cornered against a wall by the hollow, a sudden blade of wind formed and slashed the hollow's mask, killing it.

In another area, a group of teenage girls were about to be killed by a hollow. Another wind blade formed and struck its mask.

With the two orders, Errol began to kill hollows that were about to harm innocent people caught in the chaos Uryu had caused.

Uryu, sensing the disappearance of some hollows for some unknown reason, couldn't help but smile, a mix of helplessness and gratitude. "You liar, you're still helping me after all."