"Huh? Pretend it's not there?"
Erina looked confused.
Hayasaka explained, "As long as you can't see them, low-level cursed spirits can't actually attack humans."
After joining the familia, she and Kaguya had taken down a few cursed spirits together, so she had a decent grasp of how they worked.
That said, she didn't completely get it either.
Why was it that cursed spirits couldn't attack humans if the humans couldn't see them?
And more importantly, this rule only applied to the low-level ones.
It kind of felt like someone had intentionally set things up that way.
...
Hearing Hayasaka's explanation, both Erina and Hisako felt their fear slowly start to ease.
However, Hisako, ever the sharp one, caught an important detail.
"Waitlow-level?"
Hayasaka nodded calmly. "Yeah. Cursed spirits are ranked by levels."
She paused for a beat before continuing. "Low-level ones don't have enough cursed energy to affect the real world. That's why regular people can't see them."
"But"
"High-level ones can mess with reality."
She said it so matter-of-factly.
"And if you ever run into one of those, just lie down on the ground and don't move."
Erina's eyes lit up with hope. "So if I don't move, they can't see me?"
"No."
Hayasaka shook her head. "That means you're 100% screwed. If you even try to struggle, you'll die horribly."
Erina: ""
What kind of answer was that?
She gave Hayasaka a wounded look, like a puppy that had just been kicked.
Hisako's lips twitched as well.
How could someone sound so cold and deadpan while saying something so terrifying?
Then again, it made a weird kind of sense.
Hisako sighed in resignation.
The more you know, the scarier this world becomes.
She should've just plugged her ears and ignored the whole conversation.
Why the hell did she even get dragged here in the first place?
Hisako shot Erina a betrayed look.
She was just a regular secretary! No one ever told her that being Erina Nakiri's secretary would be this dangerous!
Erina and Hisako, having just had their worldview completely obliterated, sat in stunned silence.
It took a long while before they could even begin to accept this terrifying reality hiding behind the world they thought they knew.
Eventually, Erina asked curiously, "What about that girl who can see them? How's she doing now?"
To be born with the ability to see cursed spirits that had to be a miserable existence.
She couldn't even imagine how hopeless that must feel.
She must be living such a pitiful life, right?
Erina found herself genuinely worried about her.
"You mean Miko?" Hayasaka paused, then said with a touch of sympathy, "She's probably off in another world somewhere, fighting monsters and leveling up."
"Huh?"
Erina blinked, completely lost.
Another world?
Fighting monsters??
Leveling up???
Waitdid that girl get isekai'd?!
What the hell?! How did the tone shift again?!
Meanwhile, in the Bleach World Hueco Mundo
Katerea Leviathan stood tall atop a sand dune, grinning wildly as she waved her arm. "Let's gooooo~"
"Time to raise some hell!"
.
.
.
Attacking Las Noches
Hueco Mundo
Katerea Leviathan stood tall, grinning wildly as she waved her arm. "Let's raise some hell!"
Midoriko: ""
Lynn-sama, why would you send someone like her over here?!
Katerea, sensing their hesitation, gave the girls a hearty slap on the back and flashed a toothy grin. "Relax! I'm here, so there's nothing to worry about!"
"And besides"
She paused, grin growing even cockier. "If you keep leveling up at this slowpoke pace, we'll be stuck here forever."
Her gaze turned toward the looming white palace in the distance, eyes gleaming with intent. "You want real EXP? You go for the big boss fights."
Midoriko: ""
She wasn't wrong.
But still, that kind of thinking could get them all killed.
Midoriko, Kikyo, Miko, and others exchanged looks, clearly resigned to their fate.
But what could they do?
Right now, Katerea Leviathan was easily the strongest among them.
The Devil King, a true Satan.
Probably the most powerful of all the Familia, second only to Lynn himself.
And honestly, she did have a point.
Midoriko also turned her eyes toward the white palace.
Whoever was in there, they should be a worthy challenge, right?
A spark of excitement lit up inside her.
She clenched her fists. "Alright! Let's go all out!"
Katerea nodded with satisfaction.
One vote secured!
And not just any votethe most important one.
With Midoriko on board, the rest would naturally follow.
After all, she was the leader of this advance team.
Just a few seconds later, with everyone in agreement, Katerea couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
Sure, she talked big about storming the place.
But she still made sure to get everyone's input first.
Because if Lynn ever found out she just barged in, overruled Midoriko, and pulled rank to take over command.
She'd definitely get punished.
Not that she minded punishment too much, in fact, there was a little part of her that kind of looked forward to it?
Still, if Lynn started to hate her because of it, that would be a real problem.
She still wanted to bear his children one day, after all. She couldn't afford to screw this up.
So for now, the once-chaotic Devil King of the Old Satan Faction was learning to play nice with the rest of the Familia.
A few seconds later, Katerea raised her hand.
A massive sea-blue magic circle burst to life in the sky, instantly enveloping the entire white palace.
"This place is way too dry and dusty," she scoffed with a laugh. "Let Mama Leviathan give you a nice little shower!"
And the moment the words left her mouth
BOOM!!
A colossal pillar of water crashed down from the heavens, slamming into the palace like a divine punishment!
...
Las Noches.
Coyote Starrk, who had been lounging around in his usual lazy daze, suddenly snapped to attention, eyes sharp.
"Whoa That's one hell of a move. And it's right above Las Noches?!"
BZZZ
A moment later, high above the palace, a Coyote Starrk appeared.
The moment his eyes caught sight of the endless sea of water pouring down from the sky like an overturned ocean, his pupils twitched in shock.
Lilynette clung to his shoulder, eyes wide in disbelief. "Starrk! The sky's falling!!"
Starrkstill half-asleep as usualrubbed her head and sighed. "It's not the sky, dummy. This is clearly an enemy attack"
"Enemy attack?!" Lilynette quickly darted her eyes around. "Where? Where are they?!"
Starrk didn't answer. He just looked off into the distance, his expression turning serious.
In his spiritual sense he could feel a group of people standing far away.
The weird thing wasNone of them had any detectable Reiatsu.
However, the energy coming off them felt oddly similar to the strange ocean above.
"So it's them?"
Suddenly, a cool voice echoed in his ear.
"You showed up too, Tier Harribel"
Starrk didn't turn around. He already knew who it was.
Tier Harribel stepped forward, stopping beside him. Her face was calm and unreadable.
Her sun-kissed skin gave her a wild, exotic beauty, but the stoic expression added a distant, almost abstinent edge.
She glanced up at the sea crashing overhead. "This power" she murmured, "These invaders they're not ordinary."
Starrk nodded. The usual lazy look in his eyes was gone, replaced by rare solemnity.
Harribel paused for a moment before speaking again. "It's not often I see you looking like this."
"Yeah" Starrk sighed. "This time I can't slack off."
"Is that so?" Harribel narrowed her eyes slightly.
For someone like Starrk to take something seriously That alone said a lot.
BZZZZZ
Suddenly, the space around them started to ripple.
More figures began appearing one after another, all dressed in white.
"Ohoho~"
A tall, thin man wearing a single eyepatch grinned as he looked around. "Someone actually dared to attack Las Noches? Don't tell me"
"They don't know where they are?"
As he finished that sentence, his smile vanished. A wave of killing intent rolled off him.
"Well then let me go rip those insects apart one by one!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a terrifying Reiatsu exploded from his body.
Harribel frowned slightly. "Nnoitra Gilga, don't be reckless."
"Yeah, yeah~ Save the lecture for when I get back."
And just like that, Nnoitra's figure vanished in a blur.
Harribel's brows furrowed even deeper.
Starrk shrugged. "Let him go. Might as well use him to figure out what we're dealing with."
He looked up toward the sky. "We've still got another problem to deal with."
The others looked up at the same time.
SPLASH
The roar of rushing seawater filled the air.
Starrk scratched his head. "If the palace gets destroyed, you know Aizen's gonna be pissed."
That got everyone's attention.
Even though Aizen Sosuke rarely showed any expression
Just hearing his name was enough to make them all nervous.
And when Aizen did want to punish someonehe never gave warnings.
HSSSSSSK
Realizing that, the others all drew in a sharp breath.
No hesitation.
"Cero!" (xN)
BZZZ
Multiple beams of energyeach one glowing in different colorsblasted upward, crashing head-on into the falling sea.
Starrk watched with a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Ah. Guess he could slack off a bit longer.
Well, maybe not completely.
BOOM!!
The massive blasts collided with the ocean above, sending shockwaves echoing through Hueco Mundo.
But, the ocean didn't shatter like they expected. Instead, it slowed and held its position.
No, waitIt was still falling. Just slower.
Ulquiorra Cifer blinked in surprise. "Our combined Cero only managed to slow it?"
Sure, none of them had gone into their Resurreccin forms yet, but still
They weren't sure if this strange ocean was even the full extent of the enemy's power.
But after just this first clash, they already knewwhoever was behind it was seriously strong.
"Tch" Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez scowled. "Where the hell did this come from?"
Whoever could unleash a power like this definitely wasn't from Hueco Mundo.
Otherwise, Aizen would've wiped them out long ago.
Which meant this enemy came from outside the realm.
"Hey!" Grimmjow snapped, glaring at Szayelaporro Grantz and his crew. "This has to be your fault, right?! If this mess screws with Aizen's plans, don't come crying when he skins you alive!"
"Oh ho ho" Szayelaporro narrowed his eyes. "Now now, don't go throwing baseless accusations."
Grimmjow muttered, "Like anyone trusts you, bastard."
Of course, they all had another suspect in the back of their minds.
Aizen Sosuke.
After all, this kind of crazy unexpected thing was exactly his style.
But none of them were dumb enough to say that out loud.
Harribel glanced at the group and decided to drop the topic. She turned back to Starrk. "You still not going to make a move?"
Starrk: "..."
"Sigh" He let out a long breath. "I was hoping I could nap through this one."
Harribel responded calmly, "That lazy attitude of yours needs to change eventually."
"Yeah, yeah~" Starrk replied halfheartedly. He raised his index finger, and a small blue orb of energy formed at the tip.
He flicked it.
WHOOSH
The orb left a bright blue trail as it shot toward the clashing point between the Cero and the sea.
The moment it hitBOOM!!
A blinding flash exploded from the collision point.
The blue orb triggered the energy from the Ceros to detonate all at once!
BOOOOM!!
The sound thundered across Hueco Mundo!
SPLASH
A soft, pattering noise echoed from above.
The sea was gone.
In its place fat raindrops began falling like marbles from the sky.
Starrk looked up and let out a soft breath. "Didn't think I'd see weather like this in Hueco Mundo"
Well, even if it was artificial.
Seeing the water disappear, Grimmjow and the others finally relaxed.
As long as Las Noches was safe and no damage was done, it was fine.
CRASH!
Another blast rang out in the air!
Moments later, Nnoitra came flying at high speed, smashing straight into one of the white palace buildings with a loud boom, destroying the building.
Starrk: "..."
Grimmjow: "..."
Everyone: "..."
.
.
.
Infighting
BOOM!!!
Nnoitra came flying at high speed, smashing straight into one of the white palace buildings, destroying it.
Grimmjow turned his head to look at the crumbling ruins behind them, falling silent for a moment.
Then his gaze locked onto the one responsible.
"Nnoitra Gilga!!"
Grimmjow's voice trembled slightly with anger. "What the hell did you just do?!"
"Pah! Pah!"
Nnoitra spat out a mouthful of sand and shoved the debris off his body. His glare landed squarely on Grimmjow, sharp and unrepentant.
"Since when do you get to tell me what to do, Sexta Espada?"
Grimmjow's jaw tightened as his teeth ground together. His eyes narrowed dangerously at Nnoitra.
What does being Sexta have to do with this?!
"One day, I'm gonna knock you down to Sexta!"
"Hah?"
Nnoitra scoffed, like he'd just heard the funniest joke all day. "If you think you can, then bring it on!"
"Bastard!!"
Grimmjow's Reiatsu exploded around him, his body already twitching, ready to launch into Sonido
ButSmack!
A hand clamped down hard on Grimmjow's shoulder, stopping him cold.
His foot froze in place, and he shot an irritated glance back.
"Starrk, don't get in my way!"
Coyote Starrk let out a sigh. "Man this is such a pain"
"Normally, I wouldn't bother stopping you. But don't forgetour real enemy hasn't even shown up yet."
"And if we start tearing into each other now"
He paused, then gave Grimmjow a serious look. "We might not make it out alive."
"Also"
"If Aizen finds out about this little tantrum, you think he's gonna let it slide?"
"..."
"Tch."
At the mention of Aizen, Grimmjow looked away, annoyed. He clicked his tongue in frustration, but he backed off anyway.
Nnoitra, still sitting on the rubble, also went quiet. He looked down at the wreckage around him, unease creeping into his gut.
Their base in Las Noches had just been leveled by an enemy. Buildings destroyed. The whole place in shambles.
