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

hum!

The ice dragon slid a long distance on the ground. The girls had already taken precautions during the first wave of attack, so they were not accidentally injured by the ice dragon's body this time.

"A sneak attack? Is this what the proud dragon race is all about?"

Iori waved her hand to stop Beatrice and the others from finishing off the enemy, then stepped forward alone and placed her hand on the Ice Dragon's forehead.

"This could have been a happy ending for everyone. If you had kept your promise, you wouldn't have needed to fight us anymore, which led to this situation... Now, another choice is placed before you."

"hold head high……"

The Ice Dragon slowly opened its eyes, and as soon as Iori's face appeared in its field of vision, its blood seemed to freeze, and it froze, unable to move.

"What a pity, he's so principled, he'd rather die than accept my kindness."

As she spoke, Iori raised her hand and drew a Zanpakuto with the shape of an ancient Chinese sword—Ama-no-Kumara—from the void rift!

The moment he saw the sword, the Ice Dragon mustered all his strength, flipped over, and bowed down to Iori: "This time, the battle is truly over. Your strength far surpasses mine. I will keep my promise and become your ally."

"Huh? You changed your mind? Don't force yourself~"

Iori shook the Ama-no-Murakumo, its sharp blade gleaming coldly, and gave a friendly smile: "I'm not a mean guy who would force others."

"How could that be? I did it all of my own free will!"

The Ice Dragon said sternly, "It is my honor to serve you!"

"Good~"

Iori sheathed the divine sword that had been used to slay dragons and serpents, and stepped forward to touch the forehead of the ice dragon. This creature, which stood at the top of the food chain in this other world, shook its head and wagged its head like a pet.

He couldn't help but turn around and look at the girls' surprised expressions: "See? That's what you call approachability!"

As expected of Lord Aizen!

The girls praised Iori's greatness.

"Don't be discouraged. With your talent, you'll be able to easily defeat such a high-level dragon sooner or later. You don't necessarily have to see Esdeath as the goal to surpass."

Iori knew this was hurtful, but she still said, "Her situation is different. Although she is a terrible person with many flaws—especially in personality—her fighting talent is impeccable."

Of course, I'm not saying you're less talented than her, but as a battle maniac and martial arts fanatic, Esdeath is always striving to improve herself, just like you... It's too difficult to close the gap."

"I understand, but I still want to give it a try!"

Beatrice immediately retorted, her stubborn expression stirring something in Iori's heart.

“Since you put it that way, I should at least ensure fairness… Alright, after Alpha is able to manage the entire Seireitei, I will take you to another world to train, just like Esdeath did.”

"Really, really?!"

Beatrice became excited immediately. Her expression, which was not very rich to begin with, was now so intense that she didn't know how to express her excitement, and the curve of her lips even looked a little stiff.

Can I go too?

She knew a thing or two about this matter, including Esdeath's origins. Iori didn't hide these things from her, nor did she force her to explain them; she just let things take their course.

The members below Alpha were puzzled and exchanged glances, their eyes filled with doubt. They assumed that the "other world" Iori mentioned was an independent space similar to the Sanctuary, a hidden trump card of the Seireitei.

"Of course, but... I don't know if you can meet the requirements at that time."

Iori seemed somewhat troubled.

condition?

Beatrice was taken aback: "What conditions?"

"When I take people on journeys through the world, the target must be..."

Iori leaned close to Beatrice's ear and whispered something. The elven swordswoman seemed to understand only half of it, but after a moment her eyes cleared, and her fair cheeks flushed crimson. She could barely control her voice:

"Shameless! How could I possibly be with you...you who have no sense of shame!"

"I would never do such a thing!"

Her sudden outburst startled everyone around her except for Iori. After speaking loudly, she paused for a moment, then, remembering something, and unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, asked:

“Esdeath… I know you two are close, but I thought she wasn’t interested in anything except fighting… Is that thing really that interesting?”

Iori remained silent.

How should he answer this question?

……

That's certainly a very interesting thing!

For a hundred-year-old elven virgin, this was a completely unfamiliar territory, and she naturally didn't know its mysteries. But Esdeath had already tasted its wonders.

Beatrice would be surprised that a battle maniac like Ice Maiden Wan would have a second interest... but only Iori knows that Esdeath's aggression in bed is no less than her performance in battle!

She was a very competitive woman. After meeting Iori, she had a goal to strive for, so she wasn't as bored as before. However, she was destined to never surpass Iori... a regret she would probably never be able to make up for in her lifetime.

Since Iori returned, she has been traveling between various worlds, dealing with all sorts of accumulated problems, and naturally she also went to Hueco Mundo to check on the situation.

Esdeath challenged him three times as usual, but each time the result was more desperate than the last!

Only by climbing higher mountains can one truly appreciate how distant the sky is...

Esdeath realized with dismay that the gap between her and Iori was not something that could be bridged by time. Even if she grew to her full potential for a hundred years, she would probably still be easily defeated by Iori.

After realizing this harsh reality, the Ice Queen, who was always competitive, became somewhat disheartened.

But this was by no means her intention; it was a surrender to the cruel reality… Then, one day, she suddenly had a new idea:

Even if she can't defeat Iori, she can try to train a warrior who can defeat Iori!

If this person had Iori's talent and Esdeath's perseverance, they would surely go much further on the path to becoming a strong person!

and so--

"Give me a child, Iori!"

This left Iori bewildered at the time, but after regaining his composure, he went along with it and discussed with Esdeath how to conceive new life.

He also frankly said that given their physical condition, it would be very difficult for them to have a child—of course, this would be a natural baby, not one conceived through any high-tech means.

But the Ice Queen didn't care about this. She grew up in a hunting tribe and had a very simple and clear way of thinking:

If the chances are small, then just try a few more times, right?

Increasing the number of attempts increases the overall probability—this shows that Esdeath has a certain mathematical foundation.

The two had boundless energy and exceptionally good physical compatibility, and they indulged in wild abandon for a while. Looking back, even they felt they had gone a bit too far...

Esdeath's competitive spirit seems to have shifted, and she is now focused on overpowering Iori on another battlefield, particularly enjoying taking the lead.

However, Iori proved to her with facts that no matter what kind of battle it was, his ability was dominant, causing the Ice Queen to suffer defeat time and time again.

……

"It's normal to have difficulty conceiving."

On the top floor of Las Noches, in a spacious bedroom, Iori and Esdeath, each wearing thin pajamas, were snuggling together, chatting casually.

"From a philosophical perspective, raising children is an alternative continuation of the parents' lives. For us, whose souls have become material, lifespan is no longer a limitation, so there is naturally no need to reproduce."

"Who can understand what you're saying... But I am a woman after all, and I used to imagine what my perfect lover would be like—now I guess I've got him."

"So...do you have any complaints?"

"After finding love, I naturally want family. I also want to have a child of my own, just like my parents did... I really want to know what my father felt when he raised me."

"..."

Iori was slightly taken aback. He was enjoying himself, but he didn't expect Esdeath to have such thoughts... It seems that she is ultimately a sentimental human being, not some kind of weapon.

“Raising children is a blessing in itself, and your father must have felt that way too—”

"And the thought of being able to expose my kids to all sorts of monsters from a young age and train their survival skills in different environments—it excites me so much!"

"..."

Let's not let her take care of the child anymore.

Iori pouted, then turned to Esdeath and said, "Come with me back to the Seireitei—the one in the other world, you know."

"Ok?"

“We need manpower… I discovered a secret a long time ago, but I didn’t continue exploring it because I lacked the strength at the time. Now…”

Iori's eyes revealed a serious and earnest expression: "It's time to uncover the truth of 'Purgatory'!"

Chapter 351 The Fallen Moon Summons Purgatory.

"Shadow Reality" is an alternative "three-world" structure: Earth, another world, and "purgatory" sandwiched between the two.

Whether it's the other world thousands of years ago or Earth that just experienced an apocalyptic catastrophe a few years ago, the root cause of all this—magic—comes from the world of "Purgatory".

Iori used to travel between Earth and the other world through Purgatory. At that time, he was very curious about how Purgatory had developed into what it is today, and he explored it in depth, but he did not come to a conclusion.

Firstly, the Purgatory World is quite vast; although not as large as Earth, it is certainly larger than Australia.

Secondly, the Purgatory is fraught with danger, and the organisms there are generally extremely aggressive. Even if he cannot pose a threat to Iori, it would be impossible for him to conduct his research in peace while surrounded by a massive number of enemies.

Furthermore... at the time, his strength was limited, and he vaguely felt that even if he found the source of magic, it would not be something he could control, so he temporarily shelved the exploration plan.

But things are different now. Iori, using the transformation magic he obtained from "Uncle of Another World", his talent for plundering, and his research on etherealization, can freely change his life form within a certain range and can completely imitate the native creatures of Purgatory.

The cheat items designed in "Undead Lords" also allow him to quickly find clues and unravel secrets; this treasure is indispensable in large-scale games.

Mini map!

"I first encountered this in DNF... I really miss the days when I could still get lost even while following the map~"

The minimap function has been added to the "Location" section of the character panel. In the original game, it was actually hidden in the upper right icon in the player's view, but Iori made a small change.

This feature isn't noticeable in online games with auto-pathfinding, but in a large-scale open-world single-player game, designers would be furious if they didn't include a map function.

The Iori map can show the general outline of the area you are currently in, and the routes you have explored will be recorded in detail.

It seems to have only so-so functions, but it has a very interesting feature:

It delineates an area not by its size, but by its topography and landmarks, just like in the game where the map is divided into "Silverpine Forest", "Stormwind City", and "Scarlet Monastery".

At Iori's speed, it wouldn't take her long to cross the continent. She could light up hundreds or thousands of small maps by wandering around a few times. With a little analysis and a look at the distribution pattern of magic concentration, how could she not find any clues?

The only concern is that the spatial barrier between Purgatory and Earth is not stable and is already on the verge of a second collapse. If Iori causes any major disturbance, it could easily trigger a chain reaction.

But this time, he was determined to explore the essence of the Purgatory World, hoping to resolve the hidden dangers of the three realms of "Shadow Reality" once and for all, and he was prepared for the worst.

Rather than waiting for this cancer to continue to erode the earth, it's better for him to take a gamble by performing surgery!

This time, he was transferred back to Esdeath from Hueco Mundo, and used the Flame and Ice Dragons as vehicles to carry a group of Shinigami girls to Earth, all to prevent the space from collapsing and more monsters from running out and wreaking havoc on Earth, which he was unable to return in time.

In fact, if a second collapse were to occur, the Seireitei alone would not be able to stop it—the same goes for Minoru Kageno's Las Noches!

But we should do our best and leave the rest to fate; minimizing the losses is always a good thing.

Without hesitation, Iori arranged these matters and immediately plunged into the purgatory through the spatial rift, arriving at that familiar world of calamity. After taking two steps, his figure and clothes changed, and the mysterious Hollow that had once driven the Gotei 13 to the brink of destruction reappeared.

This time, however, the aura emanating from him was no longer spiritual pressure fluctuations, but rather the aura of a demon, and the most powerful lord-level being at that!

Almost all the monsters they encountered along the way gave way, and none of them dared to appear in front of Iori. Even at very close range, they cowered and hid in corners—which shows how strong the sense of oppression Iori was in the eyes of the monsters at this moment.

They must be quite strange, considering that in this world, powerful monsters are usually very large, with lord-level monsters typically resembling small mountains. A humanoid monster like Iori is practically unique.

However, the oppressive feeling that was almost tangible did not lie, so Iori's journey was incredibly smooth. He did not immediately begin searching for anything, but instead chose a direction and moved quickly until he reached the end of the world and then turned back, repeating the cycle.

It really is the "end of the world"!

This was the first time Iori had ever seen such a bizarre sight. Further ahead on the edge of the cliff was a swirling, misty magical energy, so hazy and chaotic that it was impossible to see clearly. No matter what method was used, it was difficult to truly separate it. Even if there was a brief gap, a fleeting glimpse revealed a darkness as deep as the universe.

Below the cliff, even with Iori's eyesight, it was difficult to see to the bottom; it seemed that there was nothing there at all, making it truly "bottomless."

Looking to the left and right, one can see the winding edge of the cliff, like a clumsy painter using it to distinguish the canvas from the blank space, a vast, endless line stretching to the horizon...

Ping said!

Both the other world and Earth are normal celestial bodies, but Purgatory is a continent suspended in the endless void!

...No, perhaps it wasn't like this at first, but gradually evolved into what it is today after undergoing certain changes.

This piqued Iori's interest even more, so she returned to Soul Society and used the "Dangai" technique's 2,000x speedup to give herself enough time to explore.

In addition, there's the coordinate teleportation from the [Dimensional Array Shangri-La]—