Boom!
Soaring flames engulfed the corridor, and an entire floor was blown away.
"Waaahhhhh!"
"Ugh!"
Relying on the Santen Kesshun, which she hadn't had time to deactivate, to absorb most of the impact, the shockwave filling the entire space still blew Orihime and Rukia out of the building, sending them crashing onto the concrete ground.
"What in the world was that thing! It wasn't cute at all!"
Rukia's face was dark; in fact, it was completely blackened.
She looked up and saw the Hollow, with half its body blown off, fleeing in terror. Even with its ultra-rapid regeneration, it was useless. Half its head was gone, its mask severely damaged, and it could only scream for mercy as it turned into dust.
But ironically, it didn't even know who to beg for mercy from.
"..."
Rukia was speechless.
"Miss Kuchiki… look!"
Orihime, also covered in dust, suddenly exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned at the sound of the voice, looking up at the sky with her.
It was… the sky, burning crimson.
Roaring and a storm followed.
It seemed to be a continuation of the previous explosion, but this scale was far too immense.
"Is this also… the work of the Soul Society's reinforcements? Which Captain was sent to the Human World…! Even if there are many Hollows, they wouldn't resort to such a crazy battle strategy."
Rukia was dumbfounded.
Having lost her Shinigami powers, her senses were exceptionally weak, making it impossible to discern the other party's spiritual pressure. But she could perfectly imagine the helpless expressions of the "personnel" the Soul Society would send afterward, scrambling to alter the memories of Karakura Town's residents and quell the incident.
...
"Whew, they're finally not increasing anymore."
At Kurosaki Hospital, Ichigo, who had been a "guardian" for an hour, had lost count of how many Hollows he had purified. Thankfully, the frequency of Hollow appearances was starting to decrease.
The number of Hollows he sensed had also significantly reduced; a considerable portion of them had come from other areas before… as if fleeing for their lives.
"That guy… talks all about tactics, but when he actually fights, he's incredibly reckless and crude. And he still has the nerve to say my fighting lacks creativity…!"
Ichigo didn't even need to guess who was responsible for this mess.
He grumbled as he carried his black bow back inside.
Despite never having met, he and Uryu had reached a consensus and adopted the same battle strategy.
"Hey, how long are you going to pretend to be asleep?"
Ichigo looked coldly at his father, who was sprawled on the ground, and unceremoniously stomped towards the back of his head.
"Useless!"
The man flipped over, dodged the stomp, and stood up, striking a cool pose, a confident smile on his stubbled face.
"You should know, I'm the only one who ever ambushes you!"
"...It's truly unchanged, that idiotic behavior of boasting about such absurd things, you damn old man."
Ichigo's eyelid twitched as he spoke with a fake smile.
"You too, you've been dead for years and haven't shown any growth. Why don't you smear some blood on your face? You'd look more like a man… yes, just like me!"
"My wounds were healed by me, that blood is just for show, what's there to brag about! Besides, didn't I still step up to protect you all in the end! And I haven't been dead for years, only a few months! Just a few months! Did you hit your head when you passed out and get stupid!"
"Hmph! If you hadn't come back, I would have sacrificed myself when Karin and Yuzu were most afraid, and then made a spectacular resurrection, making a grand entrance! That way, they would realize how incredible their father truly is, and then, moved to tears, throw themselves into my loving fatherly embrace… Damn it, you brat! You're dead, you're dead, but you just had to come back at this moment and ruin my LOVELOVE parent-child plan! I'll settle this score at your grave next year!"
"Ha?! Why wait until next year? How about we settle it now!"
Ichigo's forehead veins bulged with anger at Isshin, and he clenched his fist, stepping in front of him.
Neither of them would back down, confronting each other.
The air was thick with gunpowder, ready to ignite.
"Heh…"
Isshin suddenly chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?"
"No… it's just, looking at you like this, I can't help but remember how you died."
"...At this point, I won't be provoked by such cheap tricks."
"That's good, it means you're doing well over there, not dwelling too much on things from your life. Your old man is very relieved."
"Suddenly acting so serious is really disgusting."
Ichigo averted his gaze, turning his head away, not daring to look into his eyes, but he pretended to be disdainful as he casually surveyed the familiar room, his mood becoming somewhat complex.
"Speaking of which, not much has changed here since I left."
"There have been changes, but they have nothing to do with you anymore."
Isshin walked to the sofa and sat down, pulling out a lighter and a cigarette, lighting one and putting it in his mouth.
"What are you talking about?"
Ichigo was quite displeased.
"As long as Karin and Yuzu are in danger, I will definitely come back. It's my duty as their older brother. Even if I'm dead, my soul will always protect them."
"Hey! Did you forget there's still one more person in the house!"
"You? Anyway, you're old enough, it doesn't matter. But then again… if you die, Karin and Yuzu won't have anyone to look after them, so I guess I can include you for now. Satisfied now?"
"Tsk, my damn son has become quite eloquent."
"Can't be helped, it's the environment."
"Is that so."
Isshin exhaled a puff of smoke, seeming to think of something and then said no more.
Ichigo, a little impatient, said, "Seeing your dead son reappear, don't you have anything to ask?"
"No, not at all. Ultimately, seeing souls in our family is nothing out of the ordinary. As for what you've become under my excellent family education, that's equally unsurprising."
Isshin shrugged.
"Tsk, speaking of which, you not being able to see ghosts was a lie, wasn't it?"
"No, being able to see ghosts happened after you died. Perhaps after you died, handling your body led to you getting infected with your bad luck?"
"Nonsense!"
Ichigo didn't believe it, narrowing his eyes at his father.
"Because I could see ghosts since I was little, I didn't think it was strange. But after going to the other world, I realized how… abnormal I was, and how abnormal our family is."
"I, Karin, Yuzu, we can all see spiritual entities. So how could you and Mom, as our parents, not have spiritual medium qualities?"
"Now that you've realized this, what do you intend to do?"
Isshin looked up, smoke swirling around his face. Ichigo, who rarely saw him smoke, suddenly felt a little unfamiliar, but he didn't think too much for now, speaking bluntly.
"Nothing."
"Huh?"
"I don't have anything to press about, I just feel much more at ease after confirming this."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, I just realized something. Even if I died, I still haven't lost contact with my family, and I can still feel their support. So what you just said… that it has nothing to do with me, doesn't count."
Ichigo showed a triumphant smile.
Isshin looked a little stunned, then scratched his hair.
"You got me… Actually, I didn't mean it that way. I wanted to tell you to relax, not worry about things here at home, and take care of yourself. After all, I can't offer you any help right now, just like… when you died."
"..."
Ichigo suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one who felt guilty towards his family.
"Of course I know, you don't need to remind me. I'm living a rich and fulfilling life in the other world, with friends and teachers, and I'll meet even more people in the future. I'm practically too busy, so I might… not be able to visit you all often."
"If you also have spiritual power, next time I'll organize some materials. You can see if you can learn them, that way you can protect Karin and Yuzu and stall until I come to rescue them."
Isshin raised an eyebrow: "I didn't expect you to have that consideration… Forget it, I'm much stronger than you think. I'm not kidding."
"Who was lying there unable to move just now?"
"...Isn't knowing powerful people also being powerful! Do you understand connections!"
Ichigo, seeing his angry and embarrassed look, was very skeptical, but he also felt that his father wasn't so unreliable as to boast about the safety of his family.
"Just know what you're doing. If you mess up, you can expect your soul to get a good beating from me after you die. My fists are incredibly hard now."
"Damn it, how good is that world over there, to make you so spirited!"
"Speaking of spirit, you're pretty much… This also puts me more at ease… I'm leaving! You figure out how to deal with Karin and Yuzu for me, I wouldn't dare say goodbye to them, it'd be a huge headache."
He watched Ichigo's seemingly carefree back, particularly staring at the black bow in his hand for a while.
Isshin didn't look away until he disappeared, then turned to look at the large poster on the living room wall, exhaling a puff of smoke as if showing off to the beautiful woman in the picture, shaking his head and chuckling.
"Did you see, Masaki? That brat is actually bossing his old man around. Is this what they call 'the dead are great'? But with this kind of arrogance, I'm much more at ease."
"After all… Soul Society isn't a good place. If he gets bullied and comes crying back to daddy, I'll have no choice but to use the perfect plan of a spectacular resurrection and grand entrance, which I didn't get to perform, on him."
"Sigh, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Don't let me get beaten up along with him… I should go and comfort my adorable daughters for that brat first… Karin! Yuzu! Daddy's back from the dead!"
"Ah! Bloody Daddy has turned into a ghost and come for us!"
"Evil spirit, begone!"
"Wait! My wounds are already—Ah!"
Soon after, Kurosaki Hospital became noisy once more.
It seemed everything had returned to how it used to be.
Kasasaki, adjacent to Minamikawase.
Late at night, on a quiet road, even the light from the streetlights seemed cold.
Suddenly, a scorching pillar of fire descended from the sky.
It washed over the road like a fire truck's hose.
The Hollows hidden underground were forcibly driven out, almost instantly turning to ash as soon as they emerged.
"That's the end of it."
Byakuryu extinguished the crimson flames from his mouth, released his materialized form, and returned to Shimiya Takeru's waist in the form of a scabbard.
Shimiya Takeru also returned the sword he had been holding to its sheath.
This action likewise signaled the conclusion of tonight's battle.
It had taken a total of over three hours.
Though arduous, being able to freely wield power and test the results of one's training was undoubtedly joyful.
At least, it was for Shimiya Takeru.
Moreover, afterward, there was a benefit that others did not possess.
That was the spoils of war settlement.
The moment Shimiya Takeru landed on the rooftop of a street-side Western restaurant from the sky, ink-brush characters appeared before his eyes.
"Oh my! The most outstanding genius since the founding of the Spirit Arts Academy has passed the most difficult'Soul Burial Analysis' since the founding of the Spirit Arts Academy, absolutely dominating the Reishi-rich land of this era, and the machine soul is greatly pleased!"
"However, your domineering self is not content to be bound by the mere history of the Spirit Arts Academy. So you cast your gaze upon the land beneath your feet. Since the anomaly shifts every era, why can't it shift to you, who represents the next era?"