Bleach: Love and Bonds Make Me Stronger!

[Hehehe!]

[My lady, I'm going to let you taste my great power!]

[I'll be merciful and show you something even that Yhwach hasn't achieved!!]

The tender and delicate voice of his zanpakuto rang in both their ears simultaneously.

In the previously resolute and solemn atmosphere, a hint of subtle aura that didn't match the murderous scene was abruptly mixed in.

However, almost the instant the name 'Yhwach' appeared in his zanpakuto's voice,

Louise's emotionless face stiffened, and a trace of coldness gradually emerged on her calm countenance, as if her anger had been ignited.

Louise slowly rose from the ground, her snow-white uniform dress dotted with bloodstains like plum blossoms.

"Is this the extent that makes you complacent?"

"You dare..."

"To utter His Majesty's name directly in my presence?"

The pure white woman's voice was as cold as snow.

Her gaze towards Makoto was filled with chilling intent.

At that moment, the aura emanating from her was entirely different from before.

Makoto frowned slightly, discarded the arm in his hand, and pressed his fingertips on the hilt.

"Erase..."

Louise's left hand pressed on her severed right shoulder, coldly stating: "The reality of the severed arm."

In the next moment, both the wound on her shoulder and the arm he had thrown on the ground vanished as if erased by an eraser.

Her previously severed right hand was back on her shoulder.

Makoto's pupils contracted sharply.

"Could this be..."

"Even the 'reality' that has already occurred can be erased?!"

Yet, this time, Louise, having erased the past, left him no opportunity to escape. Her cold eyes fixed on him, and her restored right hand unhesitatingly reached for her heart.

"Erase!"

"Boom!"

An astonishing burst of reiatsu exploded from beneath Makoto's feet, propelling him into the air and vanishing from sight.

"You cannot find me!"

[Fixing Falsehood]

However, just as Makoto could deduce all her abilities from a sliver of information about Louise, she too would not fall for the same trick twice.

Almost simultaneously with his disappearance, the pure white woman swung her left hand, tracing a complete circle around herself.

"Erase!"

At first glance, nothing changed around Louise after she spoke.

Using high-speed shunpo, Makoto headed straight for her flank.

But as he crossed a certain 'distance,' Louise abruptly turned her head in that direction.

She raised her left hand.

Startled, Makoto twisted his body to evade.

Swish!

With that simple gesture, a vast area of the ground, along with the dust, was transformed into a vacuum.

He had been detected?!

Makoto was momentarily stunned.

How...?

As the thought crossed his mind, his senses sharpened unconsciously.

With just a slight perception, he immediately noticed the alteration in his surroundings.

His spiritual awareness registered emptiness.

If the Soul Society is an immense ocean of reishi, then what Shinigami sense is the seawater.

Through this ever-flowing and changing reishi current, akin to seawater, Shinigami can perceive more than ordinary spirits without relying on sight.

Yet, with a mere wave of her hand, Louise had created a vacuum domain around her, as if carving out a void in the ocean floor.

Any reishi flow passing through this space would be glaringly obvious.

Even without seeing his form, she could detect his 'presence' through the reishi naturally emitted by his spiritual body.

"What a domineering rule."

"In that case..."

Makoto took a deep breath and began a rapid incantation:

"Thunder's carriage, spinning wheel's gap, this thing has light, divide into six!"

"Wall of iron sand, tower of monk form, glowing iron, due to its resolve, finally silent!"

A double chant!

As the words concluded, he extended his hand, pointing at the pure white beauty at the center of the vacuum.

"Bakudō #61: Rikujoukourou!"

"Bakudō #75: Gochutekkan!"

Light beams shot from his fingertips like spears, piercing into the reiatsu vacuum, aiming to bind Louise's waist.

Simultaneously, five iron pillars connected by chains descended from above with a thunderous roar.

[Binding play, eh? No thanks! (expectant)]

[Kidō +5]

Yet, Louise's expression remained unchanged. She extended her left hand, and both the light rods and iron pillars were disintegrated by an invisible force.

Moreover, her moon-like porcelain eyes continued to sense the surrounding reiatsu fluctuations.

'Attempting to distract me?'

Indeed.

Almost as the two Bakudō were nullified, Louise distinctly felt an unknown reishi 'presence' emerge within the vacuum.

She swiftly turned her head:

"I've got you..."

"What?!"

But what met her gaze was a radiant orb of light.

The instant she turned, it detonated.

"Hadō #20: Illuminating Sky Sphere."

Originally a destructive kidō for illumination, it exploded with a brilliance surpassing that of a flashbang.

The pure white woman's expression froze momentarily.

In that fleeting moment, Makoto's blade traced a fluid arc, severing her neck completely.

Louise's expression turned rigid.

Following the blade's momentum, her pure white, beautiful head soared into the air.

It tumbled to the ground.

Thud!

Her body collapsed, producing a muffled sound.

[You're really not up to par, my lady.]

[But, with just the body, it's not impossible to have some fun while it's still warm.]

His zanpakuto's quest for points persisted, never ceasing.

Yet, Makoto remained vigilant, his eyes fixed on Louise's severed head.

Unblinking.

Her reiatsu...

It hadn't dissipated!

Indeed.

Realizing she hadn't deceived him, the seemingly lifeless head suddenly opened its eyes.

A pair of eyes swiveled towards Makoto.

Those porcelain-white orbs no longer conveyed any warmth.

"Couldn't fool you, huh?"

[Hah! The corpse is talking!]

His zanpakuto's voice was lively, like a prankster teasing a digital cricket.

But Makoto couldn't relax at all. His gaze toward the woman grew increasingly grave.

"Even beheading can't kill you?"

"Of course not."

Louise's voice was calm. A chilling smile slowly spread across the severed head on the ground.

"After all, I died long ago."

"…"

Makoto stared at her, his expression heavy.

"Erase!"

The moment her words fell, her body vanished and reappeared.

The pure white beauty stood in place, still pristine.

But this time, Makoto finally realized why her body was so utterly white.

It was the color of the dead, of a corpse.

Noticing his gaze growing colder, Louise's beautiful face, previously devoid of emotion, slowly revealed a mischievous smile, as if her prank had succeeded.

"Beautiful, isn't it? My body."

The pure white beauty tucked a strand of snow-white hair behind her ear, revealing a delicate earlobe. Her voice carried a hint of nostalgia.

"If I were still alive…"

"This body would be even softer."

"What a pity."

"I was killed by my husband."

Watching her calm recounting, a thread of wariness stirred in Makoto's heart. He sensed an inexplicable shift in her reiatsu, exuding an intense oppressive force.

Yet Louise continued her gentle narration.

"Unfair, isn't it? I was so young."

"Just because my homeland fell, I had to die with his family, despite being taken as a war trophy by that man."

"Erase, erase…"

"Erase everyone who made me this way."

"When I was inching toward death, I prayed countless times, yearning for this."

"Can you understand?"

At this point, Louise lowered her head, murmuring, "That feeling…"

"The hatred of being killed!"

The moment her barely suppressed voice rose, Makoto realized the danger. His figure instantly darted farther away.

Almost as he moved to escape, countless pure white threads surged from within Louise's body, weaving outward like a net, forming a vast web spanning hundreds of meters.

The next moment, she clenched her fist.

And so, the ground, air, dust, and life within hundreds of meters…

All disintegrated.

Transformed into the purest 'nothingness' in the world.

A violent burst of reiatsu erupted from the pure white woman, shaking the atmosphere.

Reishi flowed and surged from within her, bathing her lifeless eyes in a flickering light. Her cascading white hair seemed to ignite, swaying in the faint breeze.

Beyond the ground beneath her feet, the surrounding soil was obliterated, leaving a massive pit with a solitary pillar at its center.

Behind Louise, reishi formed streams of blazing light, shaping a single wing.

Her hands, left and right, were cloaked in pure white flames.

Her voice, distant yet near, was devoid of all emotion.

"And so…"

"From the day His Majesty granted me this power."

Louise slowly raised her head, staring directly at Makoto's position.

"I vowed."

"Never again to be erased by anyone."

The instant she lifted her head, alarm bells rang in Makoto's mind.

Is this… the Quincy's Vollständig?

As the thought crossed his mind, intricate reishi patterns suddenly emerged on Louise's already snow-white skin.

Her single wing fluttered.

Swish!

In the blink of an eye, Louise's form vanished and reappeared.

Right before him.

Makoto's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

He swiftly drew his asauchi from his waist, barely blocking the slender hand aimed at his face.

His zanpakuto let out a childish curse.

[Hey! You damned!]

In that fleeting clash, Louise's movement halted.

Makoto, propelled by the force of her push, slid back dozens of meters, leaving a long trail of dust on the ground.

Gazing at his retreating figure, Louise's beautiful face bore an even softer smile.

"You Shinigami wield only one weapon your entire lives."

"Don't you?"

Hearing her words, Makoto glanced at the asauchi in his hand.

At that moment, only the lower half connected to the hilt remained.

The part that had made contact with her hand had completely vanished.

If he hadn't blocked…

It would likely be his body that disappeared.

As if deliberately stoking his despair, Louise exhaled softly, "Savor it well, Shinigami."

"…The taste of death."

Yet, there was no trace of fear on Makoto's face.

He shook the broken asauchi in his hand and turned to Louise, asking with a hint of curiosity, "Did you Quincies not do any research before invading the Soul Society?"

"About how Shinigami fight?"

"Hm?"

Noticing the sudden shift in Makoto's tone and sensing something, Louise's gaze toward him carried a trace of disdain.

"Bankai?"

"That toy-like thing?"

She spoke so casually because she had once witnessed Danjirou Obana's Bankai.

Compared to the great power bestowed by His Majesty, a Shinigami's power was nothing.

But she didn't understand.

Even among Shinigami, there were vast differences.

Differences as great as those between Makoto and other freaks.

And so, Makoto raised his broken blade.

"Is that so?"

"Then look forward to it."

"…My toy."

Behind him, a colossal gate faintly emerged, half joyous, half sorrowful, unfurling a sliver of the pitch-black abyss that mirrored the depths of his heart.

[When, oh when, will we meet again?]

[At the twilight of Obon!]

[Hook your fingers, hook your fingers, never tell a lie!]

[Those who break their vow will be crushed to dust!]

[Pass through, pass through, to the path of the gods.]

[Offer up the resting place of karma!]

The soul-snaring nursery rhyme echoed from beyond the gate, as if tugging at one's very spirit.

Makoto gazed quietly at the woman before him, softly chanting.

"Living idly and dying as if dreaming; binding the truth and fixing the falsehood; pursue the cause and invert the consequence..."

The moment the zanpakuto's release phrase reached Louise's ears, Makoto raised his head.

Their eyes met, and pink hearts briefly flickered in both their gazes.

"Oharai Gougi!"

In an instant, Louise, imbued with the Soul King's power, felt her entire body ensnared by a strange force.

As if she were about to be pulled into the abyssal gate behind the man.

***

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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