You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

A translucent ripple spread through the atmosphere, and the young Quincy was knocked to the ground, causing the surrounding earth to crack.

"This is?"

D looked up, but before he could speak, another gust of wind struck, forcing him to dodge to the side.

This time, however, it was Yoruichi Shihouin who launched a powerful attack. Although she dodged the first blow, she did not withdraw from the battle. Instead, with the support of "Shun-ho," she turned her fists and feet into deadly weapons, launching a series of attacks against D with exquisite combo techniques without any gaps.

"Half-baked!"

D calmly dodged, and at a certain moment, a hand flew out from under the cloak and grabbed Yoruichi's wrist. The faint blue light covering her body immediately spread to Yoruichi, and the skilled heroine froze, her pupils suddenly shrinking as she watched D's black knife thrust towards her.

At the critical moment, a thick iron pillar, so thick that it would take two people to encircle it, fell from the sky, prompting the Holy Son to raise his black sword and swing it upwards!

Zheng!

The physical manifestation of the high-level binding spell was cleaved in two with a single strike, and as the iron pillar split, a figure enveloped in blazing white spiritual pressure fell through the widened gap—

boom! ! !

Amidst the deafening explosion, Yoruichi was thrown back by the shockwave. Freed from control, she coughed up blood and barely managed to regain her footing, sliding across a long trench on all fours before coming to a stop. She immediately looked up in astonishment: "Shun-hun?!"

Iori, who is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Quincy D, has a high density of spiritual pressure that is almost visible to the naked eye gathered on his shoulders, giving his body greater resilience and explosive power. This is the "Shun-Hoo" technique developed by Yoruichi!

She already knew that Iori had "found the basics" of this, but she didn't expect that he could apply it to actual combat so quickly... Moreover, judging from the spiritual pressure fluctuations, it seemed that his stability was even stronger than hers.

It's an illusion! It must be an illusion!

At this moment, no one cared about Yoruichi's feelings. With the blessing of "Shun-ho", Iori went all out. Unlike the creator, who specialized in physical skills, he combined them with swordsmanship, increasing his mobility and further enhancing the destructive power of his slashes!

The young Shinigami and the young Quincy clashed, and the aftershocks alone possessed the power of a wide-ranging Destruction, turning the surrounding area into a flat plain.

Yoruichi clenched her fists in frustration. Even Iori could barely participate in a battle of this level, and with her strength, it was difficult for her to influence the outcome.

In fact, she was quite surprised that Iori could hold on for so long... The powerful attacks just now had consumed enough spiritual pressure to drain an ordinary captain, but Iori was still full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue!

Unbelievable!

A different species… Yoruichi had a similar thought to Saito’s.

Fortunately, this monster was her ally; if it were an enemy… Yoruichi couldn’t imagine how to defeat such an opponent.

However, in the next moment, Yoruichi, who had just been feeling fortunate, suddenly opened her eyes wide and, speechless, couldn't help but swear!

The young Quincy and Iori exchanged blows, and with each clash, Iori's interest was piqued. The blue light emanating from Iori grew stronger, and the spiritual particles in the surrounding atmosphere seemed to be drawn towards him as if by a vortex.

Clearly, although Iori had given it his all, he had not yet unleashed his full potential.

In a fleeting moment, the Holy Son's figure swept across the earth like an arrow released from a bow, sending Iori flying with a pure physical impact. His jet-black longsword clashed head-on with the Ame-no-Murakumo sword, its seemingly ordinary blade containing unparalleled power, repeatedly repelling the Dragon-Slaying Divine Sword.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Three direct confrontations, three times tearing through the atmosphere, leaving three huge craters in the ground. Iori's body was repeatedly pierced, and he was completely suppressed in the balance of destruction and return.

Just as the Holy Son attacked again, Iori, standing amidst the ruins, suddenly looked up and opened her eyes, a ray of lightning flashing from the deepest part of her being—

呲!

With a swing of his black sword, the Holy Son unleashed a fierce gust of wind that tore the earth to shreds, but his attack missed completely; he could not see Iori's figure at all.

Almost simultaneously, a figure that even young Yhwach couldn't track appeared directly above it in the flash of lightning, sweeping across the most beautiful arc like an orca leaping out of the sea, but unleashing a cold and ruthless killing intent—

Buzz buzz! ! !

Hundreds of bolts of lightning burst forth in an instant, transforming into a buzzing sound that shook the atmosphere, like thousands of birds singing at the same time, while the indestructible blade of lightning had already struck the young Yhwach's shoulder!

"This is the second stage of Instantaneous Roar!"

boom! ! !

One after another, the formed lightning blades swallowed up the young Yhwach like a meat grinder, and then collided with each other, turning into a dazzling light that illuminated the distant sky!

"Holy crap! How is this possible?!"

Yoruichi, watching from afar, was utterly dumbfounded.

No way! It's one thing for you to learn things quickly, but how come you use Shunhong better than me, the founder?

Let's just say you have amazing talent; the world has never lacked monsters who can defy conventions.

But what the hell is this "Instant Spell Second Stage"? And what's with the added elemental attack?!

Good grief, I, the founder, am still struggling to figure out how to maintain a high-damage output for an extended period, and you just release an enhanced version?!

However, in the end, Yhwach is still Yhwach. Although he is a fake, he is at least capable enough. He quickly escaped from the lightning. However, this time was different from before. His cloak was tattered below the waist, and a deep and hideous scar appeared on the Holy Son's shoulder...

But Yuha was not angry. He quickly recovered from the unexpected incident and even seemed quite calm.

Although the difficulty has increased, the "balance" has been roughly grasped—the Holy Son smiled slightly.

Even though Iori possesses an "immortal body," it still takes time for him to recover. Although most of these recovery times are very short and seem like instantaneous repairs, the actual recovery time is still delayed depending on the severity of the injury or the extent of damage to his body.

This cannot be called a weakness, because most people cannot seize this fleeting opening, but the Holy Son is different!

No matter how rigorous the logic of a program is, it will accumulate errors with each run. When the errors become large enough, bugs will appear, disrupting the balance and distorting the original system.

And this is the power of the young Quincy's holy letter D—[Date]!

In the eyes of the boy, in addition to the physical surface made of matter, there is also an inner world made of "names" or "information".

Once he obtains a sample and extracts the "data" from it, he can analyze, copy, repair, and adjust it to build a brand new "system".

This "system" will possess power equal to or even greater than the original sample, and the data can be continuously multiplied until it reaches the upper limit of the "(soul) capacity".

The only drawback is that if the "system" is composed entirely of data from the same sample, then its own memories and even personality will gradually be assimilated by the source of the sample...

Of course, in addition to building "systems", the Holy Son also has the ability to create "viruses", that is, to inject useless and redundant data into other people's "systems" and cause them to crash.

He was injecting a "virus" into Iori, causing Iori's body to accumulate error data, in an attempt to break his superpower that had violated the realm of the gods!

Regardless of the difference in endurance and firepower between the two sides, in terms of their actions alone, the Holy Son was undoubtedly extremely wise—if Iori had not completed the "Third Law"!

As for why he didn't go all out and use violence to completely eliminate Iori... he himself really wanted to get a sample of Iori, but because of the interference of the "phenomenon regression" ability, he could never collect data.

"You really are 'multi-talented'."

D glanced at Iori with a wry smile and said, "Hurry up and admit defeat. Let me finish what I need to do. My compatriots are still suffering!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Iori, who had been wearing a serious expression, suddenly let out three cold laughs:

"You're in a hurry? That's strange."

Although our battle is at a stalemate, in the end, it's just me forcibly holding you back... If you're determined to leave, then neither I nor Shihouin can stop you from going...

Especially when a building is on the verge of collapse... I even suspect you're deliberately making excuses not to go to the rescue!

Hearing this, the Holy Son remained relatively calm at first, but Iori's next words were quite devastating—

"You wouldn't be... planning to lure the Grim Reaper's forces together, and then... sacrifice your own life to ensure the continuation of your race, would you?"

Chapter 193: My Answer Has No End! (4K)

"Sacrifice... If that were all it took to solve the problem, things would be much simpler."

D's smile faded, replaced by a strange self-mockery and a hint of sadness.

"Aizen Iori, young Shinigami, you think too highly of me—just like my people."

In essence, I am nothing more than 'redundant data,' unable to change or save anything, only able to watch helplessly as everything I cherish slips into the abyss, powerless to stop it amidst the throngs of others.

"……what are you saying?"

Iori frowned, glancing at the completely leveled surroundings. If even with such power, there was nothing she could do... then this world was far too cruel.

"Once, the Quincy King led his army to attack Soul Society. Although his power was unmatched, he ultimately failed."

After losing their king, the Quincy left behind in the mortal world have seen their bloodline, power, and technology decline. Their population has grown larger and larger, but it has become increasingly difficult for pure-blooded Quincy to reproduce. Before long, even simple continuation will become a problem. Pure-blooded Quincy will be completely wiped out, and hybrids will become ordinary people with slightly stronger spiritual particles after a few generations.

We can't sit still and wait for death!

The status quo must be changed!

We need a great leader who can rebuild the Quincy Empire!

—That's what the elders thought at the time.

D spread his hands at this point: "But the truth is cruel. A king is a king not because of the support of the people, nor because of his power and influence, but because he is born unique!"

Only "that person" can revive the Quincy; there is no one else who can replace him.

All my efforts were in vain, and I struggled on and on, sinking deeper and deeper into despair... So, when they discovered that my talent was not 'imitation' but 'copying', you can imagine how meticulous it was.

I was born with the talent to transplant other people's 'seeds' into my body and cultivate another 'tree'. This is not a remarkable thing, because the growth of plants ultimately depends on the soil, water and sunlight, that is, the support of the environment.

But fortunately or unfortunately... it seems my body is excellent as 'land' or 'container'.

The elders all said that my birth was a blessing from God, and they changed my Christian name to 'Adam', opened the Holy Grail that the 'King' had used to increase his retinue a thousand years ago, and planted the 'seed' of the only remaining great man in the world in my body.

From then on, everyone called me 'the Holy Son' and regarded me as the hope for revival.

After he finished speaking, he fell silent, his deep eyes revealing a gloom that did not match his age.

"But in terms of the result, I failed."

"Failure?" Seeing that he didn't intend to attack immediately, Iori was happy to stall for time.

"Didn't you inherit the power of the 'King' very well?"

"Hey, Death, what do you think of me?"

D opened his arms and asked a peculiar question: "Am I very strong?"

"..."

Iori did not answer immediately. He pondered carefully for a moment, then looked intently into D's eyes.

“Very strong, probably stronger than any Grim Reaper I have ever ‘seen’.”

"Perhaps in terms of pure destructive power, I must admit that this body has the power to easily change the terrain. If it has the will, it is more than capable of establishing or destroying a country, or even conquering a continent."

D said calmly, "But this is meaningless."

Even if I could do all of the above, I still wouldn't be able to free my fellow human beings from their destiny. Even if I rebuilt the Quincy Empire, there would still be a power in this world that far surpasses mine!

My people revered me, believing that I, possessing the 'power of a king,' could be like the progenitor. However, the progenitor's realm was beyond their comprehension, leading to their erroneous judgment.

Even if I slay the army of death gods in the present world, I will eventually be destroyed by the 'Flame Demon' or 'someone', right?

Even if they succeed in bringing the three realms under the control of the Quincy Empire... what awaits them at the end is only an even more desperate future.

"I am but an inferior copy of the progenitor, and having usurped the throne, I am destined to never break through this barrier—this was already predetermined when the elders transplanted the sacred body into me; fate had already marked the price from the very beginning."

"why?"

Iori suddenly asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because you may be the last person I can have a proper conversation with in this world."

D looked at Iori with amusement: "You thought I was going to sacrifice myself to lure the main force of the Grim Reapers over and wipe them all out, right?"

If I had no other choice, I probably would have done that, but that wouldn't have really turned the tide of the battle. I need to choose another path.

"...To draw attention and create an opportunity for the ordinary Quincy to escape?"

Iori frowned slightly: "What's the point? If we can't eliminate them completely this time, the Soul Society will definitely continue to hunt you down until they are completely wiped out. It's just a matter of buying time."

"No, they will stop—I will give them a reason they can't refuse."

“Reason?” Iori couldn’t think of one. “Unless you have a way to threaten the balance of the three realms, they probably won’t negotiate with you.”

"That's not necessarily true. People will compromise with things they hate when faced with a huge threat, from politics to individuals. If something far more troublesome than the Quincy appears, the Soul Society will be too busy to take care of itself, right?"

D paused, looked directly at Iori, and slowly said, "For example, the fact that 'Yhwach is still alive'."

"Varied--!"

Leaving aside how Iori reacted, Yoruichi Shihouin, who had been observing the battle from the sidelines, gasped. This direct descendant of one of the five great noble families had surprisingly lost his composure, stepping out from his hiding place and shouting questions.

"What exactly do you mean by that? Are you serious?!"

"As expected, very few people know this information... But at least the 'Flame Demon,' who personally brought down the Quincy King, should know it."