"How is it?" Gremmy spread his arms, proudly displaying his creation. "The architectural style of the Land of Light. Modern-day Shinigami shouldn't see this often, right?"
The riverside forest had completely vanished, replaced by rows of white buildings.
Nanatsuki's eyes narrowed. Gremmy had actually manifested the environment of the Invisible Empire itself.
"We've lost aerial control..." Urahara Kisuke landed on the ground, his expression darkening.
In the Invisible Empire, the concentration of Reishi was extremely high, preventing Shinigami from forming footholds in midair.
A Shinigami's 'flight' wasn't true flight — they simply stood on footholds formed from compressed Reishi.
"Oh, hush..." Mayuri Kurotsuchi said calmly. "Only you have lost aerial control."
Just as he started falling, a flash of blue light appeared beneath his foot.
The blue light spread like a hoverboard, lifting him effortlessly.
"How do you know that technique?" Urahara stared blankly. "Don't tell me you've already defected to the Quincy?"
"My sincere apologies..." Mayuri raised a single finger. "I'm simply very interested in Quincy, so I spent a little time studying their Hiryūkyaku."
"Then why does the Captain know it too?!" Urahara pointed. Nanatsuki was also gliding through the air on a blue Reishi board.
"The Captain expressed interest in Quincy abilities, so I shared my invention with him." Mayuri couldn't hide how pleased he was at Urahara's frustration. "I never expected this toy would actually see practical use."
"It's very useful," Nanatsuki said with a faint smile. In truth, he could already use Hiryūkyaku on his own, but he had no intention of revealing Quincy abilities yet.
Mayuri's invention was a perfect cover.
"Just my luck... I'm the only one stuck on the ground!" Urahara complained — and immediately noticed dozens of stone giants erupting from the earth.
Nanatsuki and Mayuri were both airborne, so every stone golem turned toward him.
"You've got quite a repertoire," Gremmy said, amused that even changing the terrain still hadn't shaken Mayuri.
"Honestly...", Gremmy smiled softly, "your adaptability is beyond what I expected. But..."
"In the face of imagination, everything else is meaningless."
The next moment, the air itself turned to molten lava, surging toward Nanatsuki and Mayuri.
"Cheap tricks."
Nanatsuki slashed once.
A surge of Reiatsu burst from his blade — and the lava instantly froze solid and crashed down like shattered glass.
"Sleep for a while."
Mayuri appeared behind Gremmy, thrusting Ashisogi Jizō toward his neck.
He had already modified Ashisogi Jizō. The moment it pierced an enemy, it could inject poisons and drugs directly into the bloodstream.
But instead of piercing, a sharp metallic clang rang out.
A painful crack followed.
"What?!"
Mayuri's eyes widened as he felt his own hand bones fracture from the recoil.
This level of feedback should not have been enough to break his bones.
Using Hiryūkyaku, he accelerated backward instantly.
"Reinforce your bodies with Reiatsu! He can alter our physiology!"
Mayuri shouted in warning.
His bones had turned brittle like glass — Gremmy had imagined them that way. Only by reinforcing them with Reiatsu could he prevent his skeleton from collapsing entirely.
"That's right. I imagined your bones as delicate stalks of straw," Gremmy said with a pleasant smile. "Terrifying, isn't it? Imagination can change your body itself."
Mayuri retrieved a syringe and stabbed it into the artery in his neck.
Moments later, a series of sharp cracks echoed through his body.
"Heh..." Mayuri muttered. "Looks like the bone-fortifying serum works..."
At that moment, a golden flash appeared beside Gremmy.
Lightning and flame surged into Nanatsuki's blade as he swung it down toward Gremmy's head.
Nanatsuki knew well — the only real part of Gremmy's body was his brain.
Even his physical form was imagined.
His true body was nothing more than a brain floating in a container.
But just as the attack fell—
The distance between them stretched massively.
It wasn't Gremmy retreating.
The space itself between them expanded.
"No need to look so surprised," Gremmy said lightly. "I simply imagined the distance between us becoming larger."
Nanatsuki frowned.
With an ability like that, if Gremmy truly wanted to avoid fighting, killing him head-on would be extremely difficult.
But Gremmy was, after all, very childish.
"Is running away the only thing you can do?" Nanatsuki taunted.
"Arrogance..." Gremmy murmured, smiling faintly. "Comes with a price."
The ground beneath Nanatsuki suddenly rose into a massive boulder.
All around him, gigantic stones pressed inward from every direction.
A golden crescent wave tore through the boulders and shot straight toward Gremmy.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Three gigantic metal gates materialized in front of Gremmy.
But all three were pierced instantly.
Then, from the side, a Heilig Pfeil shot toward Nanatsuki's attack, colliding with it midair.
"BOOOOM!"
The explosion knocked down entire rows of Gremmy's manifested structures.
"Gremmy, you're taking too long."
A Quincy instructor descended — Quilge Opie. He had already drawn his saber. The Heilig Pfeil just now was his.
"I finally met Shinigami who are interesting. I want to play more," Gremmy said calmly.
Until now, he and Quilge had destroyed multiple Shinigami outposts.
They had barely lifted a finger. The Shinigami died to Gremmy's imaginary creations before either of them needed to act.
But these three opponents repeatedly destroyed his constructs — igniting his competitiveness.
"The Shinigami have declared war. Their reinforcements could arrive any second. Finish them," Quilge said, pushing up his golden-framed glasses. Then he glanced at Nanatsuki. "Those two with strange abilities are yours. I'm not good at handling that kind."
"Fine by me."
Gremmy's interest was piqued by Mayuri's gadgets, so he accepted.
"You think I'm the easier one?" Nanatsuki chuckled. This Quincy instructor was bold.
"My apologies — you are worthy of respect. It's not an insult." Quilge smiled. "I simply prefer your type. After all…"
He raised his saber, grinning. "Swordsmanship happens to be my area of expertise."
Blue Reishi flared along the blade — a Reishi Edge formed and shot toward Nanatsuki.
Nanatsuki didn't dodge.
He raised his left hand.
And caught it.
The Reishi blade halted, gripped firmly in Nanatsuki's bare palm.
"Such a flimsy attack — is it meant for demonstrations? Or are you Quincy trained in stage performance?"
Nanatsuki threw the Reishi blade back.
It flew even faster toward Quilge.
Quilge's smile vanished. He cut it in half, and the two halves exploded beside him.
Wind howled, blowing his cloak high — he unclasped it and let it fly away.
"Ignorance is bliss. But enlightening the ignorant is the duty of the wise."
He raised his left hand.
And removed his glove.
Beneath it was a black glove bearing a silver star-emblem.
From that emblem, enormous amounts of Reishi surged forth.
In the next instant, a streak of light flew from Nanatsuki's position—
And was swallowed entirely by the pillar of Reishi.
Nanatsuki's expression hardened.
His blade had dissolved inside that endless Reishi stream like sand in the ocean.
"Yhwach has awakened?! Or did he bestow the Vollständig before entering slumber?"
Nanatsuki's eyes widened.
The scene before him left no doubt — Quilge was activating Vollständig.
Shinigami in the Living World had none of these powers. Vollständig was exclusive to Quincy in the Invisible Empire, granted directly by Yhwach.
In Vollständig, a Quincy's power increased massively — comparable to a Shinigami's Bankai.
Their Blut Vene and Reishi manipulation also became drastically stronger.
A divine, echoing bell tone rang from within the pillar.
The Reishi column shattered, revealing Quilge.
His form had drastically changed.
Blue Reishi wings unfurled behind him.
A Reishi halo floated above his head.
Gloves and boots formed entirely from Reishi appeared on his limbs.
"Can you feel it... Shinigami?" Quilge said softly. "This is the ultimate Quincy secret. All sinners who witness this form shall face judgment."
The next moment, he appeared behind Nanatsuki — a blade of pure light forming in his hand.
The light-blade descended—
But his arm was suddenly bound by shadow.
CLANG—
Nanatsuki's blade fell onto Quilge's shoulder — but only tore his clothes, not his skin.
"No good," Quilge clicked his tongue. "Try aiming next time. Though it wouldn't matter — this form has no weak points."
"So this is the limit of Blut Vene... even Shikai-level slashes can't cut him..." Nanatsuki thought.
He knew Quilge's capabilities well — he had simply wanted to test Vollständig's defense.
The defense was terrifying.
Quilge was a Quincy instructor, a rare 'five-point' fighter among the Sternritter, mastering all combat fields.
In Vollständig, his Blut Vene had reached its pinnacle.
Suddenly—
Nanatsuki's Zanpakutō melted into shadow, spreading outward like an ink spill.
Quilge stepped back, wary — but even in Vollständig, he couldn't outrun the spreading darkness.
From the shadow burst five figures—
The shadows of Azashiro Kana, Muguruma Kensei, Hirako Shinji, Katori Batsu'unsai, and Shihoin Yoruichi.
Nanatsuki's shadows could replicate their abilities — weaker than the originals, but diverse enough to overwhelm Quilge.
One shadow spun its blade, and Quilge felt a faint dizziness.
"Spatial inversion?"
He was clearly stepping backward — yet somehow moved closer to the shadows.
Hirako's inversion ability had warped his perception.
Multiple shadow-blades fired at his abdomen, launching him into the air.
He tried to regain control midair — but the inverted sense of direction shifted again.
Hirako's ability could switch its inversion focus at any moment.
Quilge couldn't keep up.
Above him, Nanatsuki wielded twin blades, black and white — slicing the air into a wall of crescent waves.
The slashes hammered Quilge, driving him toward the ground.
Meanwhile, Nanatsuki wasn't done.
Blue lines pulsed beneath his sleeves — Blut Vene switched into Blut Arterie.
Reiatsu surged wildly into both blades.
A massive cross-shaped Getsuga tens of meters wide descended.
BOOOOOM!!!
Rows of Invisible Empire buildings exploded into debris.
"No way! That's attempted murder!!!"
Urahara, having just finished off the stone giants, was caught in the blast and clung to a flying boulder as it sailed through the air.
Far off, Gremmy and Mayuri looked toward the explosion.
"Quilge..." Gremmy's smile faded. "Looks like you made the wrong choice."
He enclosed himself in a hemispherical metal barrier, blocking the shockwave.
"Captain really doesn't leave anyone a chance... Foolish Quincy. Challenging Captain is the last mistake of your life," Mayuri muttered, raising a Reishi shield to block the blast.
The dust settled.
Quilge lay in a massive cross-shaped crater.
Blood poured from his mouth. His entire body was covered in blue lines — but many were shattered, his Reishi armor in tatters.
"The Quincy's ultimate form... is nothing special."
Nanatsuki landed before him without expression.
Quilge coughed violently, eyes bulging.
A white blade pierced downward — Datenshinkotsu severed Quilge's ability to absorb Reishi from the air.
Nanatsuki knew very well — Vollständig Quincy were extremely troublesome.
So he left no room for resistance.
He switched to Blut Arterie and ended it in one blow.
"Your slash..." Quilge whispered weakly. "You… You have Reishi manipulation?"
His eyes widened.
He had realized it — Nanatsuki's Reiatsu blade wasn't made purely from his own Reiatsu.
"You need not know."
The black blade fell.
And shredded Quilge's brain.