Chapter 25: The Lonely Hell of the Three Existences

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

Nelliel spoke in a deep voice. "That is my name, not 'Miss Antelope.'"

"My apologies," Haruki scratched his head. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Haruki Murakami, and this is my captain, Aizen Sōsuke."

Because he already knew her identity from the manga, he had almost forgotten that, in reality, he shouldn't have known her name at all.

"Do you really intend to bring a Hollow into the Seireitei? Right in front of your captain, no less? Isn't that a bit too much?" Aizen adjusted his glasses.

"Though it might not sound great, Captain Aizen, you've done plenty of forbidden things yourself. One more won't make much of a difference."

"You really are..."

"Wait a minute," Nelliel frowned. "I never said I wanted to go to the Seireitei."

She was a Hollow. For a Hollow to go to the Seireitei would be like walking into a trap.

The Seireitei was different from other places. It was surrounded by the 'Sekkiseki Wall,' a barrier designed to prevent enemies from entering and to trap spiritual beings inside. Even with the Garganta, it would be difficult to move freely within the Sekkiseki Wall.

"Don't you want to learn about the 'civilization' of the Soul Society?" Haruki said.

In truth, he was reluctant to let go of Nelliel's soul ability, 'Size Manipulation.' While it might seem useless at first glance, it could be incredibly versatile in many situations.

For example...

when disguising oneself?

If he could turn into a child, no one would suspect him when he did something mischievous.

And who would suspect a child of doing anything wrong?

He really needed an ability like that right now.

"I see..." Aizen seemed to have realized something. He spoke calmly, "Haruki-kun, let's return. What you desire will come to pass in the near future."

Huh?

What do I desire?

I just want to increase Nelliel's favorability!

Haruki cursed inwardly but couldn't say it out loud. He could only sigh.

"Then, goodbye, Miss Antelope—no, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. In the future..."

"See you in Hueco Mundo."

Aizen opened another Garganta, and Haruki followed him inside.

Before entering, he waved at Nelliel.

"You really shouldn't come back to Hueco Mundo."

Nelliel spoke in a serious tone. "Hueco Mundo is not the territory of Shinigami. If you come again, you might not run into someone like me."

"Next time I come, perhaps everything will be different," Haruki smiled.

Who said Hueco Mundo wasn't the territory of Shinigami?

Next time he came, perhaps Shinigami would already be the masters of Hollows.

Haruki followed Aizen back to the Soul Society, not to the Seireitei, but to the Rukongai.

"Ah..."

Haruki took a deep breath. "Though the spiritual particle concentration isn't as high as in Hueco Mundo, the air in the Soul Society still feels fresher."

"At least, there's no scent of slaughter."

"No scent of slaughter... huh." Aizen's glasses reflected the light as he smiled mysteriously.

"Haruki-kun, would you be interested in becoming a captain?"

Haruki quickly shook his head.

"No, I don't have the talent for that. If possible, I'd like to remain a ninth seat."

"Gin will become the captain of the Third Division in a month. I originally intended for you to take the position of vice-captain in the Fifth Division."

"Please spare me. A ninth seat suddenly jumping to vice-captain would draw too much attention," Haruki felt a pang of anxiety.

Aizen really thought he was some kind of prodigy, but he was just pretending. His current strength was, at best, that of a high-ranking seated officer.

"Therefore, you need merit."

Aizen took a step to the side and clapped his hands.

In the next moment, a 'Shinigami' emerged from the forest ahead.

The Shinigami's face was flushed, and his body seemed to be covered in tentacles. If not for the shihakushō and Zanpakutō, no one would have recognized him as a Shinigami.

Especially...

the captain's haori he was wearing!

"Wow, isn't this a bit too much?"

Haruki looked at Aizen. "The captain of the Third Division, parasitized? Captain Aizen, you're not expecting me to deal with this monster, are you?"

"No, this is a failed experiment," Aizen said softly. "Because his spiritual pressure was too weak, after parasitizing a captain, he suffered a backlash from the ability."

"His runaway spiritual pressure has rendered him unable to even use his Zanpakutō, so he's no longer of any use."

As Aizen spoke, the tentacled monster completely ignored him, staring straight at Haruki.

Haruki felt a chill. He knew he couldn't appear too flustered, or the mysterious image he had built up in front of Aizen would be shattered.

It seemed he had no choice but to use Shūhei's 'Black Sun'!

"Vice-captain, huh..."

Haruki sighed. "I'll say this upfront—I won't handle administrative duties. You can take care of that, Captain Aizen."

With that, he drew his Zanpakutō.

"Black Sun."

As the monster charged toward him, he whispered softly.

In the next moment, something incredible happened!

A layer of viscous darkness appeared behind him, like thick ink!

The darkness slowly spread, swirling and forming a circle, like a black sun.

The moment the black sun formed, it released an overwhelming heat, especially in front of Haruki, where the tentacled monster had pounced!

Boom!

The power of the Black Sun erupted instantly. Black flames engulfed the monster, the terrifying heat and intense melting causing it to scream and howl in agony!

"Roar!!!"

Metastacia let out a deafening roar, thrashing violently on the ground. But Haruki simply walked up to him and plunged his Zanpakutō into the monster's brain.

That alone wasn't enough.

Haruki thought to himself. The creature before him was indeed Metastacia, but there shouldn't be just one.

He had seen before that Metastacia could parasitize multiple Shinigami.

If he had focused all his energy, parasitizing a captain shouldn't have resulted in such a violent backlash.

After all, in Haruki's memory, Metastacia had easily fused with Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien.

Even if the gap between a captain and a vice-captain was vast, it shouldn't have led to such a severe backlash.

Especially since this Hollow had been modified by Aizen.

Haruki glanced at Aizen and noticed a faint smile on his face.

So, he didn't pull out his Zanpakutō from Metastacia's head.

Instead, he whispered again,

"The Lonely Hell of the Three Existences."

He released his Zanpakutō!