Lieutenant Ashido requested support. Mirai quickly observed the entire battlefield.
The members of the 11th Division remained fierce. Their swords flashed as Hollow remains constantly disintegrated.
However, a closer look revealed their movements were less fluid than at the start. Their breathing had become heavy.
The members of the 13th Division were struggling even more.
They were naturally better suited for guidance and purification. They were not made for high-intensity, sustained combat.
To deal with the endless stream of Hollows, many drew their swords and joined the fight.
Some squad members paled. Sweat appeared on their foreheads. The flow of their spiritual pressure was unstable.
The Human World was not Soul Society. The reishi concentration here was thin.
The spiritual power consumed by Shinigami in battle couldn't be replenished quickly.
If this high-intensity war of attrition continued, the first wave of Shinigami would soon reach total exhaustion.
Mirai stared up at the Garganta in the sky once more.
The situation showed no sign of improvement. Not only had the number of Hollows not decreased, but there were more.
Furthermore, Mirai noticed that the new Hollows were more specialized. They had tattered bone wings on their backs.
These winged Hollows were faster and more agile. This significantly increased the pressure on the Shinigami below.
"Lieutenant Ashido," Mirai spoke quickly, voice steady. "How long until reinforcements arrive?"
Ashido tucked the small communication device back into his robes. His movements were still precise, but his gaze was heavier than before.
He also looked at the many hideous openings in the sky. His voice was low.
"Thirty minutes at the earliest. That assumes the 12th Division responds immediately—and the Kidō Corps can open a Senkaimon without delay."
Thirty minutes.
After speaking, Ashido gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. His body sank slightly as he bent his knees.
The next second, the ground beneath him trembled. He charged into the sky toward the openings. His sword cut two flying Hollows in half.
"We just need to hold out," his words drifted down with the wind.
Mirai watched Ashido fight fiercely against the tide. He looked at the weary Shinigami on the ground and took a shallow breath.
He had not expected to find such a massive situation during his second mission to the Human World.
His gaze fell on the sword at his waist. After a brief pause, his hand let go of the hilt.
Regardless, Captain Kuruyashiki Kenpachi was still here.
The strength of that "Kenpachi" was unfathomable. With him present, they had a trump card to turn the tide.
With a sense of reassurance, Mirai no longer hesitated.
His figure blurred. He appeared in mid-air beneath another Garganta. He positioned himself slightly lower than Ashido.
From there, he intercepted the stragglers slipping past Ashido and diving onto the battlefield below.
Below them, changes were also occurring.
Perhaps the casualties were too heavy, or perhaps the generals on both sides sensed the ominous aura spreading across the field.
The human soldiers fell back in formation.
The sounds of slaughter quickly faded as flags moved backward through the thick smoke.
This decisive battle ended in a temporary stalemate. Both sides lost over twenty percent of their forces.
But for the Shinigami, the real trouble was just beginning.
The humans withdrew. They left behind a field full of fresh souls—and Garganta that showed no sign of closing.
Mirai hovered in the air and extended his right index finger.
Reishi gathered at his fingertip at high speed, compressed and humming faintly.
He didn't waste time with a chant.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai."
Shu!
A silver-white bolt lanced through the first winged Hollow cleanly.
Mirai's finger moved again—twice, three times—so fast it looked like one continuous streak in the air.
"Byakurai."
"Byakurai."
"Byakurai."
Three more winged Hollows shattered into reishi dust before they could break formation. Then another two, caught mid-dive as if their flight paths had been read a heartbeat in advance.
The kills came fast—not because the spell "tracked," but because Mirai's timing didn't give them space to move.
Shiba Kaien saw it. He had just arrived with a group of 13th Division elites to support the Garganta area.
The squad members behind him were wide-eyed in shock.
They had seen Byakurai used without a chant, but they had never seen Byakurai fired with such tight rhythm and precision.
"So… so strong…"
"What kind of control is that…?"
The squad members whispered.
However, there was no praise on Shiba Kaien's face.
His brow was furrowed tightly. With a few quick movements, he reached Mirai, who had just landed and was preparing to strike again.
Fifth Seat Mirai!" Shiba Kaien's voice was angry.
"Since you possess this much power and Kidō skill, you should take on the responsibility that matches it!"
"Protecting the living in the Human World is our duty as Shinigami! Earlier, you—"
He was clearly still brooding over Mirai's failure to save those two Onmyōji in time. He believed Mirai had neglected his duty.
This time, Mirai didn't look at him.
He simply bent his knees, half-squatted, and pressed his palms flat against the ground.
The ground was cold. It carried the strange scent of gunpowder mixed with blood.
Hearing the start, Shiba Kaien's frown deepened. He voiced his doubt immediately.
"Fifth Seat Mirai! Why are you using Sekienton now? That's a Bakudō that obscures your presence!"
"Right now we need killing power and suppression, not hiding!"
Mirai ignored him.
"Bakudō #21: Sekienton."
A thick red smoke rolled outward, instantly swallowing the densest space beneath the Garganta—blurring lines of sight and scrambling the winged Hollows' dives. Several hesitated midair, losing their angle.
Mirai rose through the smoke, hand already lifting.
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan."
A short rod shot out—then multiplied into a storm.
Dozens of rods slammed into the airspace under the Garganta, pinning limbs, catching wings, skewering joints. Winged Hollows jerked, stalled, and then dropped out of the sky as their flight was disrupted.
They fell straight into the waiting blades of the Shinigami below.
Mirai straightened, brushing his hands once as if nothing had happened.
"As of now," he said flatly, "my contribution to the battlefield seems higher than yours, Third Seat Shiba Kaien—more kills and suppression."
With that, he ignored Kaien's darkening expression. Reishi gathered beneath his feet as he blurred into an afterimage.
He charged toward the airspace where Ashido was struggling, moving to share the burden of the silent Lieutenant.
Shiba Kaien stood in place. He watched Mirai's retreating back.
He looked at the Hollows around him—many bound and falling, their movements ruined by Hyapporankan—while other Shinigami cut them down.
His teeth clenched tightly. His jaw muscles bulged.
A few seconds later, he spun around and roared at the squad members, who were still stunned.
"Stop dazing around! Do it now! Suppress them—finish every one! Move!"
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Note: Please tell me which chapters I wrote "lieutenant," because I made a mistake—he was actually the Third Seat.