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As Aizen stopped hiding, his massive spiritual pressure announced itself with arrogant force.
The invisible weight seemed to press down on the hearts of everyone nearby.
Gulp.
Below, the guests, workers, and cardmakers who had already evacuated The Velvet Rose couldn't help but swallow hard.
Even at this distance, their legs felt heavy as lead.
Compared to ordinary people, the Association's cardmakers could feel Aizen's presence even more acutely.
"That's the Vice President's trump card."
Fortunately, the spiritual pressure Aizen released wasn't directed at them—it only brought mental oppression, nothing more.
Otherwise... the cardmakers might survive, but ordinary people would definitely die under that crushing weight.
Above The Velvet Rose, the gale generated by the spiritual pressure whipped Lannide's pale hair into a frenzy. She looked surprised at first—then excited. "How interesting!"
"You cardmakers never cease to amaze me!"
"In that case..."
As she spoke, the female demon produced a wooden staff from thin air and tapped it against the air.
The next moment, a massive invisible barrier instantly enclosed the area.
"Stay right here and let me study you properly."
Lannide's pale face twisted with malice.
Aizen gazed coldly at the demon who seemed to think she'd already won. Slowly, he drew the Zanpakutō from his waist.
His movement caught Lannide's attention immediately.
"What? A melee fighter?"
Amid the excited female voice, the brown-haired man calmly spoke the words of release.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
A sound like breaking glass rang out. Lannide tilted her head in confusion. "What kind of ability is this?"
"Whatever. I'll capture your holder first. Plenty of time for research later."
As she finished speaking, several magic arrays radiating terrifying energy formed around her.
The next moment, a torrent of power flashing with iridescent light surged toward Russell and Zayne's position.
BOOM.
The explosion echoed across the sky. Thick smoke obscured everything.
Lannide frowned as she floated in the air. She knew her attack hadn't connected.
"Talking too arrogantly only makes you look weak."
A male voice devoid of any warmth came suddenly from behind her.
CLANG.
"When—?!"
Lannide's pupils contracted. In her perception, the owner of that voice should still be on The Velvet Rose's fourth floor.
But her reflexes were sharp. The instant she sensed the dangerous aura, she conjured several defensive magic arrays.
"Blocked."
A terrifying energy wave erupted from behind her.
"Missed again?!"
Lannide's heart sank.
Her counterattack had failed once more.
I clearly activated a barrier that prohibits spatial movement.
What she didn't know was that while a Shinigami's Flash Step looked like a spatial ability, it was actually a physical technique.
However, as an elite dispatched by the Demon Army to assist Lucas Shaw in East-Haven, Lannide wasn't about to surrender.
And she'd already figured out what trick he was using.
"Illusion? Hypnosis?"
"You don't think we haven't encountered strange cards like this in the north, do you?"
A mocking smile spread across Lannide's face.
After years of confrontation with the Federation in the north, the Demon Army had seen every kind of card imaginable.
Swish.
She flipped rapidly through the book in her hand, then stopped at a specific page.
Invisible waves swept across the entire battlefield.
"Found you!"
A magic circle formed. Countless energy beams instantly poured toward a spot on the ground—far from The Velvet Rose.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū."
A transparent barrier materialized from thin air, once again blocking the female demon's attack.
Behind the barrier, Russell and Zayne watched the battle in the sky.
"Kyōka Suigetsu has been cracked." Russell wasn't surprised. While Aizen's Shikai was incredibly tricky in Bleach, this world might be different.
After all, who knew what bizarre abilities cardmakers and demons possessed here?
The attack Lannide had just launched was aimed directly at him and the middle-aged man beside him.
The moment Aizen activated Kyōka Suigetsu, Russell had ordered the Shadowkhan to carry himself and Zayne far from The Velvet Rose.
Though the Director of Public Security maintained his usual expressionless face, there was no way he wasn't surprised.
After all, the Vice President's new card hadn't shown this level of combat power during the last secret realm incident.
At minimum, it's a Gold-quality card.
If Zayne had initially assumed Aizen was Purple-quality based on his powerful illusion abilities, then considering the combat power displayed so far... it had to be at least Gold-quality.
Perhaps...
He now suspected the young man beside him was a genius on the same level as the Lord in the Society.
In the air, Lannide was growing annoyed.
Tsk.
"I'll have to deal with you first."
The previous attack had made her realize she couldn't bypass the cardmakers' cards to strike them directly—even though that was the most effective tactic in a field battle.
But...
Aizen wasn't the only one on the field.
A surging torrent of water rushed in from nowhere, submerging Lannide's position in an instant.
Hissss...
A faint burning sound.
A massive fire lotus bloomed. The flood summoned by Chancellor Tortoise evaporated instantly.
Just as Lannide neutralized the threat from Chancellor Tortoise, a colossal bolt of lightning fell from the sky.
The blazing white pillar of electricity engulfed The Velvet Rose's location. The roaring thunder was audible from miles away.
After a moment, the lightning gradually dissipated. The air reeked of ionization.
Yet even after taking two devastating attacks in succession, Lannide still floated stubbornly in the air.
Her clothes were completely intact—she just looked slightly disheveled.
"Tsk. Cardmakers really are troublesome." She tucked her messy pale hair behind her ears. "But you think you can kill me with just these little tricks?!"
The book in Lannide's hand had been replaced by a wooden staff.
As the tip of the staff pointed toward the ground, energy beams that blocked out the sun fell like rain.
"Hahahaha!!"
"Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi."
Alongside Lannide's somewhat crazed laughter, Aizen's cold voice rang out.
Black Coffin—the Hadō Aizen used most frequently in the original work.
Even the weakened version without incantation could one-shot Komamura, Captain of the Seventh Division.
Though Komamura was considered the weakest captain, he was still a captain standing at the pinnacle of the Soul Society.
Moreover, in the later Thousand-Year Blood War arc, Komamura successfully redeemed himself. It wasn't that he was too weak—Aizen was simply too monstrous.
Not to mention...
With Mikoto Misaka and Chancellor Tortoise buying time, Aizen had enough opportunity to complete the full incantation.
Pitch-black walls rose rapidly from ground to sky, forming a massive coffin in mere moments.
If the Black Coffins used by others in Bleach were the broken straw mats used for commoner burials, then Aizen's Black Coffin was the imperial casket reserved for emperors.
In the distance, Zayne stared blankly at the giant black coffin standing between heaven and earth.
As a Gold-rank cardmaker, he could feel the dangerous aura emanating from it.
...Red-quality card.
Zayne asked himself honestly—Chancellor Tortoise's strongest attack was nothing compared to this Black Coffin.
And that wasn't even counting the brown-haired card's powerful illusion abilities.
Without a doubt, the second card the young man beside him had created was also Red-quality.
It wasn't what he and Luther had assumed—that a Purple-quality card had been rushed out just to solve the secret realm crisis.
At that moment, the massive Black Coffin covering Lannide shattered.
All structures within the coffin had vanished. The target—Lannide—appeared before everyone in tatters.
The female demon who had been so arrogant and conceited now wore an expression of genuine panic.
She had truly smelled death during that attack.
"Lucas Shaw, save me!!!"
A shrill scream. She was clearly terrified.
In the distance, Russell and Zayne exchanged glances.
But the expected man in the red dragon robe didn't appear.
Abandoned?
On the battlefield—
Whoosh!
An orange-yellow beam shot out, striking the defensive magic circle Lannide had formed.
Lannide still had strength to fight. But she no longer had the will.
I'll die, I'll die, I'll die!
She couldn't accept it.
As a Level 2 Researcher in the Demon Army's R&D Department, she was already a mid-level officer.
And while she was quite old, that was only relative to short-lived species.
For Lannide—whose race was the Immortal Species—this was her prime.
I can't die yet. I still have so much cardmaking research to do.
Her survival instinct gradually devoured her rationality.
"Lucas Shaw! If you don't come out, I'll reveal all your plans!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the man in the red dragon robe appeared on the battlefield.
Lucas Shaw's expression was dark.
He'd never expected Lannide—so arrogant just last night—to become a rabid dog today.
But the current plan had been stalling due to the Spirit Begging Society's sabotage. If this crazy woman actually leaked everything, he'd have to consider relocating to another city entirely.
Unfortunately, Aizen had anticipated his appearance.
"Do you know how difficult it is to control your strength enough to step on an ant without killing it?"
"Hadō #99: Goryūtenmetsu."
The highest-numbered Hadō, performed by the brown-haired man without incantation.
A massive dragon-shaped shadow appeared behind Aizen. In the blink of an eye, it solidified into a purple energy construct.
Seeing this, Lucas Shaw's pupils contracted. "A trap?!"
Aizen—who hadn't yet fused with the Hōgyoku—was still playing the role of strategist. After learning from Russell that Lannide had a companion, he'd been deliberately controlling his output.
He'd been careful not to accidentally kill her.
Fortunately, everything had gone as expected. The so-called Lucas Shaw had finally shown himself.
"Your fate is already a foregone conclusion."
The next moment, the purple dragon roared and lunged at Lannide and Lucas Shaw. Its ferocious maw swallowed both in an instant.
The earth wailed.
Under the impact of the Five Dragons Destruction, the streets crumbled like tofu.
The violent tremors sent a group of ordinary people—already fled far away—stumbling to the ground.
Looking back, what they saw was a scene of apocalypse.
"...So this is what a cardmaker can do."
Listening to the murmurs of ordinary people around him, an Association cardmaker traveling with them frowned.
Don't spout nonsense. How can Vice President Russell be compared to us?
If they were facing Russell, their fate would be no different from ordinary civilians.
Forget Russell—even Zayne could dispose of them without trouble.
But the Director of Public Security wasn't faring much better than them emotionally.
He just had a blank expression. That didn't mean he had no feelings.
He'd heard exactly what Aizen said earlier.
He was still holding back?
Looking at the two cards belonging to Russell on the field, Zayne's heart couldn't help but twitch.
Though both were Gold-rank cardmakers, the gap between them was growing ever wider.
Keep in mind—the young man beside him had only reached Gold rank two months ago.
...I need to report this to the Lord.
On the battlefield, the purple dragon gradually dissipated, leaving only broken ruins.
And...
A pale corpse.
Only one body.
Lannide.
"Escaped?" Russell frowned slightly.
After all that effort to lure Lucas Shaw out, the man had actually fled.
However, thinking about Lannide's words, the young man suspected there might be some friction between the man and the demon.
There was a real possibility Lucas Shaw had used this as an opportunity to eliminate her.
After all, his title was "Unification Sect Collaborator"—not "Unification Sect Member."
"Tsk. What a shame."
Though he'd failed to eliminate the mastermind behind the Unification Sect in East-Haven, Russell wasn't discouraged.
Lannide was still an important figure.
I just hope they don't send someone stronger now that we've dealt with her.
But when he recalled the information from Kumoko's appraisal, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Level 2 Researcher in the Demon Army's R&D Department.
If a Level 1 Researcher or a Department Head showed up, Russell might have to consider running.
Level 2 Researchers were Gold-rank. Wouldn't Level 1 Researchers start at Emerald-rank?
However, the Research Department probably wasn't organized by combat power.
Russell felt slightly relieved at that thought.
"Director Zayne, please have your people begin repairs as soon as possible."
After giving instructions to Zayne, Russell leaped down and landed before Lannide's corpse.
Picking up the materials the female demon had dropped, Russell felt a small surge of satisfaction.
[Knowledgeable Immortal Seed] — Gold-rank (Red quality).
With this, the materials are nearly complete.
Russell pocketed the materials and returned to Zayne.
"This material..."
"I'll take it. How about I give you some points as compensation later, Director Zayne?"
Hearing this, Zayne paused. "Vice President, just keep it. I don't need this material."
"And I don't need your points."
Russell had done the heavy lifting in today's encounter. The middle-aged man felt that even without him, Russell could have killed Lannide successfully.
Might as well do him a favor.
Russell saw that Zayne genuinely didn't want the material, but he shook his head. "Don't worry, Director Zayne. If you ever need something, just come to me and we can exchange for points."
Since Zayne had no demands, Russell successfully obtained the final material for his next card.
Now that Lannide was dead and Lucas Shaw had vanished—taking their previous leads with him—the two prepared to return to headquarters.
After causing such a massive commotion, they still needed to report to Simon.