"...Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I can't feel my arm, Mr. Hubert."
"..."
Hubert let out a deep sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.
A throbbing headache was beginning to set in.
"Why on earth did you turn on 'Arterie'? If you had just used Blut Vene like a normal person, you would have blocked it safely."
"Well, the thing is... I couldn't tell the difference between an artery and a vein."
Ichigo laughed awkwardly, lifting his swollen, red arm.
Hubert barely managed to swallow the curse words rising in his throat.
'...Just what is the deal with this kid's talent?'
To be honest, Hubert's own actions just now had been a blatant overreach.
To take a rookie who had only received military training for six days—a Gemischt Quincy at that—aim a Heilig Pfeil at him, and tell him to 'block it with Blut Vene'... what kind of Quincy could actually pull that off?
He had intended to adjust his strength just enough to send the boy to the infirmary.
It was a mix of petty spite for being 'deceived' and a desire to teach the boy the lesson of 'failure' for his own future good.
And yet, not only did he succeed in activating Blut, but even after accidentally triggering Arterie, he had the presence of mind to successfully deflect the Pfeil.
'Of course, he's still ending up in a hospital bed either way...'
"......."
Without a word, Hubert clapped his hands, summoning a medic Quincy who had been waiting out of sight.
The medic approached instantly and examined the state of Ichigo's arm.
"W-Wait?! How long have you been hiding there?!"
"From the beginning."
As Ichigo shouted with a look of betrayal—resenting the fact that the medic hadn't saved him sooner—Hubert cut him off indifferently.
"He says he has no feeling in his arm. Treat him. Two days should be enough."
"U-Um, Captain. This is inflammation caused by 'Acute Excessive Reishi Absorption.' The muscle tissue is on the verge of rupturing, so at least four days..."
"I know better. A little Reishi circulation and this sort of thing heals right up."
Hubert dismissed the medic's opinion flatly.
The medic made a tearful face and carefully helped Ichigo to his feet.
Hubert spoke curtly to Ichigo, who was standing there dazed as if the reality hadn't sunk in yet.
"There's still a mountain of things to teach you. Gintō, Hirenkyaku, Licht Regen, Klavier, even Ransōtengai. Hurry back, Ichigo."
"...Yeah. Got it."
Supported by the medic, Ichigo headed toward the infirmary, and silence returned to the training grounds.
Nikita, who had been watching the duel with interest until moments ago, had vanished.
Hubert stared down silently at the massive scar on the training ground floor where Ichigo had torn it up.
"...How long have you been watching?"
"Since the middle of it, Lord Hubert."
As Hubert asked in a low voice, someone stepped out from the shadows behind a pillar.
It was Quilge Opie, the instructor currently in charge of Haschwalth.
"What about Nikita?"
"She left after seeing the newcomer's splendid performance of ripping up the floor and throwing it. It seems she doesn't have much interest in Lord Ichigo."
Hubert let out a sigh of relief at those words. Things could have gotten complicated.
"I, however, found it quite intriguing. To use Blut already, and a Gemischt Quincy at that."
"It must be a lie. He has to be a pureblood. Otherwise, there's no way he could activate Blut so dramatically in such a critical moment."
"I wonder. My thoughts are a bit different."
Quilge shook his head, pushing up his thin glasses with his index finger.
"Don't you know it yourself? Lord Ichigo has no talent for concentrating Reishi. To be precise, he is incapable of fine spiritual energy control."
Unlike Soul Reapers, who fight using their inherent spiritual power as a foundation, a Quincy's power is based on the technique of gathering and manipulating Reishi present in the atmosphere.
They are a race where delicacy is paramount.
However, Ichigo was incapable of such meticulous control.
"His spiritual power is so immense that it actually hinders his control of Reishi. He leaks Reiatsu so sloppily even in daily life... That scar from earlier was because of that, too. He doesn't know the meaning of 'moderation.'"
"What are you trying to say?"
Hubert finally turned to glare sharply at Quilge.
The corners of Quilge's mouth twisted.
"It's just a simple observation. Lord Ichigo... looks like a member of another race trying their best to imitate a Quincy."
Hubert's cold eyes scanned Quilge.
"He is a Quincy. That is why he manifests a Heilig Bogen, fires Pfeils, and uses Blut."
"Oh my, I never said he wasn't a Quincy."
Quilge shrugged.
"My point is simply that we, as instructors, must guide him with great passion."
"...Tch."
Hubert clicked his tongue and irritably kicked a training dummy.
Even without activating Blut Arterie, a thick crack split the dummy's solid wooden post.
Time flowed relentlessly over the broken training grounds.
.
.
.
"This is the place, right? The one Mr. Quilge mentioned."
"...Yes. I can feel a strong Hollow Reiatsu here."
On the outskirts of the Lichtreich, in a nameless small forest.
Ichigo and Haschwalth had just arrived after receiving a report that a pack of medium-class Hollows had appeared.
It had been nearly a year since Yhwach had recruited the two into the Sternritter.
"It's been a while since we've had a real fight. Three months?"
Ichigo laughed casually, brushing the dust off the shoulder of his uniform.
He was now sixteen. In the past year, he had grown quite a bit taller, and his jawline, having lost its baby fat, now had a distinctly masculine edge. Haschwalth, standing beside him, was the same. His blonde hair had grown a bit longer, resting calmly, and a cold, sharp atmosphere was faintly layered over his handsome features.
While Ichigo looked around, fiddling with his Quincy Cross, Haschwalth quietly pulled out a small, pill-shaped Hollow Bait from his pocket.
Hollow Bait was exactly what it sounded like—a tool that, when crushed by hand, released spiritual energy to attract Hollows.
—Crack!
He broke the bait without hesitation, just as he had been taught.
A faint ripple of spiritual energy vibrated through the forest air.
"......They're coming."
Haschwalth warned in a low voice.
—ROOOOAR!!
At that moment, a Hollow as large as a house burst from the depths of the forest, snapping giant trees like matchsticks as it lunged a massive arm toward Ichigo.
It was a speed that would have left the Ichigo of a year ago frozen and defenseless.
But Ichigo was already gathering Reishi, pulling the ring of his Quincy Cross.
"Heilig Pfeil."
The moment Ichigo nonchalantly released the bowstring, a tensely compressed blue arrow exploded under the Hollow's jaw.
As the Hollow stumbled back from the impact, Haschwalth—who had drawn a sword shimmering with blue energy—immediately followed up by cleanly severing the Hollow's right arm.
—SCREEEEEECH!!!
While the Hollow shrieked and tried to regenerate the severed limb, it lunged at Haschwalth with its left arm. By simply tilting his head and lowering his upper body, Haschwalth evaded the fist and instantly plunged his sword into the Hollow's chest.
Then, pushing the Hollow back forcefully, he slashed the blade upward.
Split exactly down the middle from chest to mask, the Hollow dissolved into nothingness without even being able to offer proper resistance.
However, it wasn't the only one drawn by the bait.
—CRUNCH!
Soon, the sound of snapping trunks and the roars of Hollows echoed through the forest.
Dozens of Hollows had surrounded Ichigo and Haschwalth before they knew it.
"Oho, Hollows can use their brains? An encirclement?"
"Some Hollows are capable of speech. It's nothing to be surprised about."
Haschwalth replied coldly to Ichigo's admiration, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
Ichigo muttered an exclamation as if he found it amusing and extended one arm.
"Stand back, Haschwalth. This is my time."
As soon as Ichigo's arrogant declaration ended, a massive amount of Reishi began to gather around him as if being forcibly torn from the air. Ichigo immediately stepped onto a Hirenkyaku platform, leaped into the air, and aimed his bow at the Hollows on the ground.
"Licht Regen!"
—Swish-swish-swish-swish!
Immediately, a barrage of arrows poured down on the Hollows like rain.
—GRAAAAAH!!
—SCREEEE!
Masks were pierced, and limbs were torn apart.
The Hollows died instantly where they stood, their souls vanishing entirely, and the forest returned to silence.
"Phew, they were just small fry. As expected of my skills, the biological son of His Majesty..."
"..."
As Ichigo shrugged and praised himself, Haschwalth—who had been watching pathetically from the blind spot beneath the Licht Regen—flicked his finger.
"W-Whoa—?!"
The Reishi platform Ichigo was standing on in mid-air instantly dispersed, and Ichigo, losing his balance, tumbled ungracefully to the ground.
"Haschwalth!! What was that for?!"
"Captain Hubert told me. If you start posing on a Hirenkyaku and refuse to come down, I should remove the platform. You still haven't kicked that habit of over-fixing Reishi, have you?"
At Haschwalth's critique, Ichigo pouted and turned his head away.
He was pointing out Ichigo's habit of constantly reinforcing his platforms with extra Reishi just for show after using Hirenkyaku once.
"...It's my style."
Ichigo muttered as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, then let out a yawn.
Perhaps because it had been a while since a real mission, fatigue washed over him as soon as the tension broke.
"Let's go back. I'm tired."
"...Fine."
The two walked side by side toward the Wandenreich.
Only a refreshing breeze blew through the forest where the disgusting Reiatsu of the Hollows had vanished.
"But you know, you don't act much like a Quincy. A Quincy should use a bow, a bow!"
"...I don't want to hear that from someone who can barely gather Reishi, Ichigo."
"S-Shut up! You can't make one well either!"
"I can make one perfectly fine now."
"What are you talking abou—!!"
The voices of the bickering boys faded along the forest path.
.
.
.
"So, you are saying you still haven't gathered them all?"
"Yes... To my shame, only about sixty percent of the planned Sternritter ranks have been recruited."
The audience chamber of Silbern.
Yhwach, sitting on his throne, closed his eyes as if in deep thought.
"It seems the 'Great Purge' sixteen years ago... drastically reduced the number of talented Quincies."
Hubert, his head bowed in tension, looked up slightly at the expressionless Yhwach.
Since his words could be seen as criticizing Yhwach's past judgment, Hubert swallowed hard and quickly continued.
"However, if you give us nine years, we will fill the Sternritter ranks and complete their training—"
"Four years."
"...Pardon?"
As Yhwach's low declaration cut him off, Hubert's tension snapped.
"In four years, I will wage war against the Soul Reapers."
'...Four years?'
It was nowhere near enough.
Hubert's eyes trembled violently.
Four years was not enough time to raise an army for a Great War.
"That seems like too little time, Your Majesty. Perhaps delaying the war a bit longer..."
"No, that is exactly right."
Saying so, Yhwach rested his chin on the armrest of the throne and looked down at Hubert.
"If we are short on numbers, throw in anyone. Children, women, the elderly, even infants. It does not matter."
Yhwach's lips curled into a faint, chilling smile.
"Only then can we show him the true cruelty of war."
He was never one to invest excessively in a 'war already destined to be lost' in the first place.
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