[62] Scare

"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

A wild, piercing roar echoed through the valley as a towering woman swung fists the size of sandbags. Her massive frame blurred into a phantom, tearing through an endless swarm of Hollows. Her pristine white cloak and uniform were drenched in blood, golden curls whipping through the air.

Drawn by the immense wellspring of Reishi, the surrounding Hollows surged toward the giantess on instinct, only to have their masks shattered one by one beneath her unrelenting blows.

As she carved through the horde, a guttural, primal howl erupted from her throat. The tang of blood and the Soul Society's impossibly rich Reishi overwhelmed her senses, her face splitting into a grin of manic glee.

Her muscles swelled with every breath of that crimson scent.

"Orado."

"Enough playing."

"We came here for a purpose."

Just as the woman teetered on the edge of ecstasy, a faint, raspy voice cut through her fervor, its tone even and unhurried.

The woman called Orado turned with a laugh,

"Hey! Zeidritz!"

"Come try this! I've never seen so many Hollows packed together like this!"

"It's a damn sight more thrilling than the petty scraps in the living world!"

The one named Zeidritz, a weathered man clad in the same snow-white cloak and uniform, an eyepatch over one eye, his short hair combed back, stood in stark contrast. Though age had etched its mark upon him, his frame remained tall and straight, his attire impeccably neat.

He regarded the giantess, who towered at least two heads above him, and asked calmly,

"Do you intend to defy His Majesty's orders?"

Orado's bloodthirsty grin faltered, her head dipping in a rare moment of submission, though her voice stayed rough,

"Fine, fine, I got it!"

"I just couldn't hold back for a sec."

"Anyway, whether it's Shinigami or Hollows, they're all useless trash. What's the rush?"

Her words drew a sharp reaction from a Shinigami who'd been trailing them since the start. His face darkened as he barked,

"How dare a mere human like you scorn the Seireitei?!"

Orado and Zeidritz turned to him in unison.

The giantess smirked with disdain, wiping a streak of blood from her face and licking it clean with a casual swipe.

Zeidritz, meanwhile, pressed a hand to his chest in a faint bow, "Please forgive this uncouth Germanic barbarian, Mr. Tsunayashiro. She's simply not the sharpest tool in the shed."

"After all, some truths are better left unsaid."

"You…"

The Shinigami's face flushed green with rage at that final jab.

Were it not for his family head's orders and the Seireitei's precarious state, he might've stormed off then and there.

And why flee instead of drawing his blade?

His gaze flicked to the dissipating pile of Hollow corpses behind them, a shiver crawling unbidden down his spine.

He could only muster a furious shout, "As an envoy of the Lichtreich, is this how you intend to 'cooperate' with the Seireitei?"

"No, I mean no offense to you specifically." Zeidritz replied, his voice slow and deliberate. "What I mean is that whether it's the Seireitei or the Genju School… you're all fledglings."

"…"

Tsunayashiro fell silent, glaring at him with barely contained fury.

Zeidritz paid it no mind, turning to stride toward the open plains beyond.

Orado flashed the Shinigami a grotesque, mocking grimace before lumbering after the old man.

As they departed, the valley behind them lay still, littered with a row of bodies.

Most wore the black shihakushō of the Shinigami.

Had any Genju School member stood there, they'd recognize the fallen as a squad dispatched on a mission, wiped out entirely on their return.

"P-Please… excuse me…"

Just as they prepared to leave, a faint voice rose from the rubble, trembling with gratitude, "Are you… the shinigami sent to save us?"

The trio turned as one. A young woman clutching a child emerged, her face alight with desperate hope. A fragile smile curved her lips, tears still glistening at the edges of her reddened eyes.

"T-Thank you so much!"

Tsunayashiro's expression stiffened, his mouth opening to unleash a scathing rebuke.

But Orado beat him to it, her ugly grin widening into something deceptively warm, "Oh, yeah, we're here to save you."

"Come on out, quick."

"Y-Yes!"

The young woman nodded eagerly, scrambling from the debris with her child in her arms.

Before she could fully emerge, a massive palm descended with a sickening splat.

A dark pool of blood spread across the ground.

"Pfft… What a moron!" Orado's laughter erupted again, wild and unhinged. "Delicious! These idiots here are just too delicious!"

"Orado."

Zeidritz's voice cut through, flat and chastising, "You splashed me."

"Oh, whoops, my bad." the giantess replied, her tone dripping with insincerity.

Behind them, Tsunayashiro's face twitched faintly.

Delicious… what does that even mean?

The thought flickered through his mind just as three figures materialized abruptly on the path ahead.

Zeidritz's gaze shifted toward them, a glint of contempt in his eyes.

From a distance, a voice tinged with mild confusion carried over,

"Just these few?"

"Not bad."

The words had barely landed when Orado's demeanor shifted. Like a beast catching the scent of exquisite prey, her vertical pupils, sharp and feral, snapped toward the source. A grotesque grin split her face.

"Prey! More of them!"

Zeidritz's brow furrowed, but before he could issue a command, Orado launched herself forward with a whoosh. She crashed down before the trio, her landing gouging a small crater into the earth.

Makoto's expression hardened as he studied the giantess, his gaze steady and grave.

On her wrist gleamed a silver Quincy Cross.

The mark of a Quincy, plain as day.

"Oh my, oh my…"

Senjumaru's cool stare settled on the woman, her voice flat yet laced with a subtle sneer, "It's only been a few years since my death, and humans already have grown this unsightly?"

"Be cautious."

Only Makoto's tone carried a weight of concern.

Unlike Senjumaru and Okikiba, who remained oblivious to the full stakes, he has read and watched the manga and anime. He knew just how formidable these Quincy could be.

Still, there were only two.

His eyes scanned the surroundings warily, open terrain stretched in every direction.

If their strength proved overwhelming, escape remained an option.

Yet, as the exchange unfolded, the giantess showed no trace of irritation. Instead, her smile widened, radiant, and unhinged.

Clumsily mimicking Zeidritz's earlier gesture, she offered a bow to the group, her voice booming,

"First meeting! I am Orado Weber, envoy of the Lichtreich, bearer of grand visions for peace."

"Lichtreicht, huh?"

Makoto drew his Zanpakuto from his waist, stepping toward her with measured calm. "What a coincidence."

"I've got an acquaintance, Father of Ultra, from the Land of Light in the M78 Nebula."

"Ever heard of him?"

Orado blinked, momentarily thrown.

Before she could recover, Makoto swung his blade in a fierce arc, the air shrieking under its edge.

A sneak attack!

Shing!

The blade sliced cleanly into the giantess's flesh, sending a spray of vivid red blood into the air.

Yet she stood motionless.

The sharp asauchi carved from her shoulder down to her collarbone, only to halt abruptly, as if striking an unyielding barrier. Her skin shimmered with veins of cyan flame, the intricate pattern of her Blut Vene flaring to life.

Makoto's expression froze, his pupils contracting.

He wasn't alone. Behind him, Senjumaru and Okikiba stood equally stunned.

Zeidritz observed from the sidelines, his gaze icy and detached.

Orado, like him, was among the elite handpicked by His Majesty for the Sternritter, the Empire's frontline knights.

Her designation was O.

Overkill.

The more she slew, the stronger her victims, the greater her power grew.

Since arriving in the Soul Society, Orado had already claimed over twenty thousand Hollows and wandering souls.

A reckless grin spread across her face.

"You…"

"Is that all you've got?"

But as she lowered her gaze, something odd caught her eye.

The Shinigami before her wore a smile far more delighted than her own as if he'd stumbled upon some stroke of fortune.

Makoto chuckled, his voice light, "So this… is your Blut?"

Orado's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

In the next instant, her massive frame hurtled skyward. A roar-like boom thundered as she smashed into a distant mountainside, the impact whipping up a ferocious gust across the plain.

The calm composure on Zeidritz's and Tsunayashiro's faces shattered.

"Tch."

Makoto spat onto the ground, flicking the blood from his blade with a dismissive sneer.

"What's this rotten fish?"

"You startled me."

---

[1] Lichtreich means Empire of Light, and Father of Ultra was a character from Ultraman from Land of Light.

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Bonus Chapter:

100 Power Stones = 1 BC

300 Power Stones = 2 BC

500 Power Stones = 3 BC

700 Power Stones = 4 BC

1000 Power Stones = 5 BC

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