"This grand performance is already drawing to a close. Orario, your side has won. So allow me to present the final climax."
Erebus spread his arms wide, as though embracing the sky… though that description felt too narrow.
It would be more accurate to say that he was embracing the world.
"Very well, I shall acknowledge you—new heroes, and those with the makings of heroes. Resist with all your might. Resist true despair. The appointed time is drawing near."
'Tch.'
'This guy was really getting into his own act.'
"Bakudō #61: Rikujokoro!"
Rayleigh flicked two of his fingers fingers.
Six golden panes of light drove into Erebus's body from different directions, binding him in place.
First came the chantless casting.
Then—
"Carriage of thunder, gap of a spinning wheel, with light, divide this into six!"
As Rayleigh chanted, the already-cast Rikujokoro grew even sturdier, and its binding power increased dramatically.
This was the technique known as post-chanting.
It could reinforce a Kidō that had been cast without an incantation.
Bound by the Bakudō, Erebus kept his head lowered, making it impossible to read his expression.
Rayleigh maintained his two-finger gesture, slowly releasing spiritual pressure to strengthen the spell.
He was in full control.
"Heh."
Suddenly, Erebus raised his head.
And not just his head—his body actually began moving freely!
When Rayleigh saw him simply ignore his Kidō, his eyes widened slightly and his pupils slowly contracted.
"..."
Boom!
An immeasurable, boundless divine presence burst forth from the male god before him.
Then, in an instant, it expanded for thousands of kilometers.
Rayleigh, the first to be struck by it, saw a scene flash through his mind.
It was a vision of an absolutely invincible power sweeping the entire surface of the world clean.
Everything on the earth—every single thing, whether stones or mountains, streams or seas, tribes and civilizations, vast kingdoms, forests, life itself—all of it was erased in an instant by a single force.
It took only an instant.
Civilization and history vanished completely.
What remained was only a barren land, without even the faintest trace of what had once existed.
"Hah!!!" Rayleigh snapped out of the illusion.
He understood immediately—this was not divine aura.
This was divine power.
The true might of a god.
An ending force powerful enough to sweep the earth flat in a single instant.
Cold sweat soaked through his clothes immediately.
"We shall meet again in Heaven, child of man."
As Erebus released his divine power, his entire body turned into a beam of light and shot straight into the sky, piercing the heavens in less than a thousandth of a second.
At the top of Babel Tower, only Rayleigh remained, staring blankly up at that pillar of light.
'Tch.'
'That guy was not just a thrill-seeker—he was also an insufferable show-off.'
'There had to be a limit to how much he tried to act cool.'
'And "see you again in Heaven"?'
'Was that bastard cursing me?'
Rayleigh could guess what Erebus meant.
To an immortal god, a human lifespan was no different from a single candle's flame.
Maybe in Erebus's eyes, when the two of them met again a few decades later, it would feel like they had only met a few days ago.
But Erebus would probably be disappointed.
It was not as though Rayleigh was short-lived either.
A Shinigami's lifespan might not compare to that of a god, but living thousands of years was hardly unusual.
And if he could break through the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow and become something transcendent, then in theory he could possess an infinite lifespan.
Once he managed to create the Hōgyoku, perhaps he could become like Aizen—undying and indestructible.
In the future, it might not even be impossible to reach the level of the Soul King.
Ordinarily, because Shinigami live so long, the speed at which they accept change and evolve is very slow.
Even though the modern world had already become highly developed, Soul Society was still stuck in what was essentially an ancient civilization.
That had a great deal to do with Soul Society's feudal system, of course, but it was also true that Soul Society was gradually progressing, since objects brought back from the World of the Living had become quite popular within the Gotei 13.
A Shinigami's growth was extremely slow.
But for Rayleigh, who possessed a god's blessing, things were different.
Once something had an experience bar attached to it, everything became much simpler.
"Black and white net. Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts. Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly through the heavens."
"Bakudō #77: Tenteikūra."
Rayleigh raised one arm and opened his hand toward Orario.
A web-like spread of spiritual pressure instantly extended outward, covering the sky above the city.
Once it connected to the spiritual pressure of every necessary person, Rayleigh spoke.
"This is Rayleigh of the Hephaestus Familia."
"I believe everyone has seen the pillar of light at the top of Babel Tower."
"The evil god Erebus released his arcanum and has been sent back to Heaven. The monster he summoned has already been exterminated by the subjugation force. The evilus is a dying flame in the wind. In this war, the victor is Orario!"
With that said—
Rayleigh drew in a deep breath and looked out over the great and magnificent city beneath him.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
…
After ten full seconds of stunned silence, a deafening roar of cheers erupted.
The shockwave of pure triumph reached the absolute summit of Babel.
Shouts, cheers, and roars blended into a single wave of relief.
A glimmer of light broke the horizon, forcing Rayleigh to squint and shield his eyes.
The sun was rising.
In ten minutes, the dawn would wash over Orario.
"Even from this height, the blood paints the streets," he muttered.
Though his interference had drastically altered the original death toll, the combined casualties still exceeded a hundred thousand souls.
...
Rayleigh stepped into the elevator.
He sat against the back wall, resting his three swords across his lap.
Only then did he exhale. The instant the adrenaline faded, a crushing exhaustion swept over him.
His eyes slowly fluttered shut.
...
Three hours later, the final straggling monsters were purged from the city streets.
By then, the Adventurers lacked the energy to cheer. They collapsed on the blood-stained pavement, sinking into deep sleep or passing out from sheer fatigue.
Only a handful of stubborn commanders remained standing, directing the few who could still walk.
The war was over.
Evilus had committed their entire arsenal to this siege and suffered total annihilation.
They lost the capacity to threaten Orario, reduced to a pack of hunted rats hiding in the sewers. The Guild's citywide purge commenced.
Before long, the Dark Age of Orario would meet its definitive end.
...
Three days later.
The executive trinity of the Loki Familia, accompanied by their Goddess, visited the Hephaestus forge.
They brought Ais with them.
Inside the workshop, Rayleigh held the ruined hilt of Gonryōmaru with a downcast expression.
"It cannot be done."
When asked if the Zanpakuto could be repaired, Rayleigh delivered the harsh truth.
Ais, clinging to a desperate sliver of hope, looked absolutely crushed.
Her golden eyes hollowed out like an empty shell.
Seeing her child's despair, Loki panicked. "Are you seriously telling me there is no way to fix it? Aren't you the one who created these Zanpakuto things?!"
Rayleigh shook his head. "Once a Zanpakuto shatters in its Bankai state, it cannot be repaired. That is an unchangeable truth. Bankai is the ultimate secret of the blade. If a Bankai breaks, it is because the wielder's mastery was insufficient to sustain the power."