After all, Hueco Mundo was full of Hollows. Cold, inhuman things.
Even Aizen, when she faced him, there was always this bone-deep unease.
But here? This place felt warm.
And Nelliel liked that feeling.
She flipped open the booklet, eager to learn more about this new "home."
Before longShe hit section 2.9 and froze in shock.
Wait, what?
Outside the world?
Midoriko and the others came from another world?!
This wasn't just any group she'd joined, was it?
And that Blessing Systemthat must've been what was on the paper earlier.
Leveling up?
Nelliel's golden eyes sparkled.
With this system, even the top Espada seat would eventually be within reach.
A flicker of resolve sparked in her heart.
After being ambushed by Nnoitra and Szayelaporro, she'd learned something the hard way:
She wasn't strong enough yet.
If she'd had the power, she never would've ended up like that.
So nowShe'd get stronger. Much stronger.
Nelliel clenched her fists, determination burning in her eyes.
With the Blessing System on her side, her stalled growth would finally break through its limits.
And right now?
She really wanted to turn Nnoitra and Szayelaporro into fuel for her power.
A glint of cold fire flickered in Nelliel's gaze.
.
.
.
Raise a Little Hell?
Nelliel stumbled out of Lynn's office, still a bit dazed.
Pesche, who had been waiting outside for quite a while, saw her and his eyes widened with joy. He rushed forward excitedly. "Lady Nel! You're finally back to normal!"
"Pesche."
Nelliel looked at him for a long moment, her expression complicated.
Because of her Pesche's mask had been shattered, and he'd reverted from Arrancar back to a basic Hollow.
Her expression grew colder.
Nnoitra Gilga.
You really deserve to die.
"Pesche, you've been holding down the fort all this time. Thank you."
Tears welled up in Pesche's eyes. He just shook his head rapidly, overwhelmed, unable to even speak properly.
Seeing that, Nelliel's lips tugged into a small smile. Then her eyes turned serious. "Let's go. Back to Hueco Mundo."
Her voice chilled. "There are some people who need to pay for what they've done."
"But" Pesche looked concerned.
"Don't worry," Nelliel said firmly.
Her eyes gleamed as she clenched her fist, feeling the newfound power flowing through her body. "I've received new power."
Even when she'd been ranked the Third Espada, Nnoitra hadn't been able to beat her in a fair fight. He'd had to ambush her with others just to win.
But now? With this new power?
Even if she had to face them all againshe was ready.
Hueco Mundo
Nelliel and Miko met up with Midoriko and the others.
"You're Nel?" Midoriko blinked in shock, eyes widening at Nelliel's curvy figure.
Wait, what the heck
Wasn't she a little kid before?!
Nelliel smiled warmly. "Midoriko-nee."
She still called her the same way she did in her child form.
Midoriko's expression twitched slightly.
Nelliel's returnand her new formdefinitely stirred up a few waves among the leveling squads.
Eventually, Midoriko smiled and said: "Welcome to the Familia."
Nelliel blinked in surprise then smiled back and gave a firm nod.
She didn't fully understand what kind of people made up this "Familia" yet.
But it couldn't possibly be worse than Las Noches.
Besides, after spending time around them these past few days, she'd gotten a feel for their personalities.
And honestly she liked the vibe here.
"Oh right," Midoriko added. "These two joined after you leftIngvild Leviathan and Katerea Leviathan."
"H-hi there" Ingvild gave a timid little wave, only to get smacked lightly on the head.
Katerea clicked her tongue. "You're a Leviathancan you please act like it?"
"Uuugh" Ingvild shrunk back.
Katerea rolled her eyes.
Nearby, Nelliel took a moment to size the two of them up.
"Another pair of powerhouses," she thought to herself.
Though her gaze lingered on Katerea.
Strong. She gave off the same kind of pressure as a First Seat?
Katerea noticed Nelliel's stare and smirked, folding her arms. "I heard about everything that happened to you."
She tilted her head with a playful glint in her eye. "So? As a welcome gift for joining the Familia, how about we raise a little hell?"
"Raise hell?" Nelliel blinked, confused.
Katerea pointed dramatically in the direction of Las Noches, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
"Yeahlet's go turn that place upside down!"
Excitement flashed in her eyes as she recalled how Lynn had completely wiped out the Old Satan Faction all by himself.
Back then, she'd been little more than background scenery and then became his "reward."
Now?
She wanted to make her mark too. Show off the pride of House Leviathan.
Nelliel, meanwhile, just stood there, stunned.
Turn Las Noches upside down?
She went quiet.
Even she had only planned to lure out Nnoitra and his lackeys for a one-on-one reckoning.
But Las Noches? That was his territory.
Aizen Sosuke.
She opened her mouth to objectbut Katerea raised a hand and cut her off.
"Relax. We already got Lord Lynn's approval."
Hearing that, Nelliel closed her mouth.
If that was the king's will then as one of his knights, all she had to do was charge forward without hesitation.
Her eyes hardened with resolve.
"Heh" Katerea narrowed her eyes with amusement. "Now that's the look I wanted to see."
"Alright thenlet's divvy up the targets!"
Well "divvy up" might've been a stretch. More like picking which enemies to crush.
—
Las Noches
Nnoitra Gilga frowned.
"Where the hell did Tesra run off to?"
Main World Warlord's Empire
After days of negotiation, the Lion King Organization had finally confirmed the location of representative Twelve.
And yeah, the death of Dimitrie Vatlerdirectly linked to the Lion King Organizationhad caused quite a stir.
And let's just say, during the talks, the Warlord didn't exactly treat them with kindness.
But Himeragi Yukina only had one line throughout the whole negotiation:
"Take it up with Lord Lynn."
The Warlord: ""
He knew very well how dangerous Lynn was.
He wasn't just some vampire noblehe was one of the ancients, someone deeply connected to every major power out there.
So when Lynn single-handedly wiped out the entire Old Satan Faction?
Yeah, word got around. Fast.
Even though the Warlord himself was a Primogenitor, one of the strongest vampires alive.
Among devils, his strength barely counted as "average Satan" level.
If he'd gone alone into the Old Satan Faction's headquarters, forget winninghe'd be lucky to crawl out alive.
So yeahhe knew better than to cross someone like Lynn.
The Warlord had been enjoying his peaceful life for far too long. He wasn't about to stir up trouble over something that wasn't worth it.
Still, one of his own had been killed. As a leader, he couldn't just do nothing.
And to make things worse, those bastardsAswad and Giadahad been mocking him ever since.
He clicked his tongue.
Tch. Like they'd do any better.
Well maybe Giada would just end up becoming Lynn's bedwarmer after a good beating?
Thinking about Giada's personality, the Warlord shook his head.
Still, he had to make some kind of move.
Otherwise, people might start thinking the Warlord was just a pushover.
So Time to make use of the Blazing Banquet.
His eyes narrowed.
...
Meanwhile, after leaving the Warlord's Empire, Yukina sent word back to the Lion King Organization.
"Representative Twelve (Avrora Florestina) is being held on the Island of Gozo."
.
.
.
Gozo Island
"Gozo Island, huh"
After reading Yukina Himeragi's message on his phone, Lynn's eyes gleamed with a trace of thought.
He vaguely remembered the place, but he wasn't exactly sure where the Twelfth Representative was located.
Stuff like that? Way better left to the Lion King Organization.
He turned to the virtual screen in front of him, which was still displaying the Hueco Mundo, and typed out a reply to Yukina.
"Have the Lion King Organization pinpoint the exact location of the Twelfth and get back to me when they do."
Main World Lion King Organization
After getting Lynn's reply, Yukina quickly passed his instructions along to Shirona Kuraki and the others.
Endou Yukari gave a casual shrug. "Welp, looks like we've got another errand to run."
She glanced sideways at Shirona's amused expression and sighed. "Don't tell me it's me again?
Shirona smiled faintly. "Well, you are the most capable one here."
Endou groaned, rubbing her forehead. "What, is the Lion King Agency out of people or something?"
Shirona gave a long, helpless sigh. "This involves the Fourth Primogenitor"
"What about her?"
Endou pointed to Koyomi Shizuka, who was quietly sitting nearby. "She's way stronger than me in a fight."
Shirona replied, "Sure, but"
"You're better all-around."
Then she turned to Koyomi, signaling her to speak for herself.
Koyomi calmly pushed up her glasses. "I still have school to finish."
"Seriously?"
That's your excuse?
Endou looked at her in disbelief, then turned back to Shirona.
Shirona held up her hands. "You know exactly what I'm good at. You really wanna risk sending me?"
"Fine" Endou sighed again, her eyes narrowing with thought. "I'll take care of this one, but"
Her tone shifted slightly as a sly smile tugged at her lips.
"if any 'serve the Devil King' kind of task comes up later, you two are on it."
That got a reaction.
Shirona instantly froze, her smile vanishing in an instant.
Endou smirked, clearly enjoying herself as she puffed her chest a little with pride.
Shirona's expression turned a bit grim.
Lynn's words echoed in her mind.
"You'd make an excellent familia member"
Yeah, Lynn wasn't even trying to hide his intentions.
Sure, they were all working for him now, but they'd all been deliberately ignoring the obvious.
They were on his radar.
Honestly, it was probably only a matter of time.
Still, being part of Lynn's Familia wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Thanks to Yukina's introduction, they'd seen what his blessing system could doand the kind of resources his world offered.
It was overwhelming, to say the least.
So in the end, maybe it was best to just go with the flow.
Shirona steadied her thoughts and nodded. "Don't worry. I'm not really needed for this mission, so"
"if someone's gonna join Lynn's familia, I'll go first."
"Oh?"
Endou raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Volunteering now, are we?"
Even Koyomi turned toward her, her usually calm eyes showing a flicker of surprise.
Shirona just smiled, composed as ever. "I mean"
"it's not like we'll be able to avoid it forever, right?"
Endou blinked, then chuckled in defeat. "Yeah fair point."
Shirona continued, "Who knows? Maybe if I join first, I'll get a head start on you all~"
Koyomi: ""
Endou rolled her eyes at her.
But stillThe blessing system. Unlocking the limits of one's body, infinite potential for growth.
Endou found herself momentarily dazed by the thought.
Even as a long-lived elf who had already lived for centuries, hearing about something like that still managed to shake her.
And the craziest part?
It wasn't just for the chosen few.
Anyone who joined Lynn's Familia would be granted that same blessing.
It was practically a straight shot to godhood.
And the price? Just becoming one of Lynn's followers.
Endou glanced at her disciple and couldn't help but feel a little amazed.
She never expected Yukina to end up so luckywhat started out as trouble had turned into an incredible opportunity.
Give her some more time, and with the blessing system, Yukina might catch up to them in no time.
Especially with that weapon of hers, the Snowdrift Wolf, which still had massive untapped potential.
No doubt about it, Yukina would become a powerhouse.
Maybe even stronger than Endou or the Three Saints.
Though of course, if they also got their hands on the blessing system, then all bets were off.
Back inside the Lion King Organization, the group wrapped up their chat and quickly began planning their Gozo Island operation.
Soon after, Endou set off for the island.
Tagging along with herYukina Himeragi.
Yep for now, she'd be serving as Lynn's portable teleport marker.
—
At the same time — At Shuchiin Academy
Minamiya Natsuki received a commission.
She raised an eyebrow at the figures on the screen. "That much money?"
Just one glance at all those zeroes had her whistling.
Talk about a big spender.
"Archaeological survey on Gozo Island, huh"
Looked like a pretty standard job on paper.
But with that kind of reward? No way it was simple.
Still, the timing was perfect.
She'd just been eyeing some high-end black teas she wanted to stock up on.
This commission couldn't have come at a better time.
—
Elsewhere, word had reached the Black Death Emperor Faction.
"The Twelfth?"
Golan Hazaroff frowned.
Something about this just felt too easy.
Like someone had just handed it over on a silver platter.
Still, the intel came from the Warlord himself. It was probably legit.
With a wicked grin slowly spreading across his face, Golan growled, "Pass the wordwe're heading to Gozo Island. I'm taking back what's mine!"
Gozo Island A Research Encampment
Standing in the frosty wind, Gajou Akatsuki stared intently in one direction, his gaze seeming to pierce through the thick layers of ice as if he could see the depths below.
Beside him stood a blonde Caucasian woman in elegant Western attire. Her brow furrowed.
"The Fourth Primogenitor is really in there?"
Gajou turned and grinned at her. "At this point, don't you think it's smarter to just trust my instincts?"
Liana Caruana folded her arms and fell silent, before finally speaking.
"I hope I didn't waste my investment."
Gajou narrowed his eyes slightly.
Did she think he wanted to be here playing archaeologist?
Anything involving the Fourth Primogenitor just screamed trouble.
But hey this was adult life.
His so-called 'archaeological team' needed plenty of suckers to fund it.
No choice, really.
Liana stared at the icy wall ahead of them. "We've tried everything. How exactly do you plan to break through this thing?"
