"Nelliel Tu Odelsck."

  Nelliel spoke in a deep voice. "That is my name, not 'Miss Antelope.'"

  "My apologies," Haruki scratched his head. "I fot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Haruki Murakami, and this is my captain, Aizen Sōsuke."

  Because he already knew her identity from the manga, he had almost fotten that, iy, he shouldn't have known her all.

  "Do you really i a Hollow into the Seireitei? Right in front of your captain, no less? Isn't that a bit too much?" Aizen adjusted his gsses.

  "Though it might not sound great, Captain Aizen, you've done plenty of forbidden things yourself. One more won't make much of a difference."

  "You really are..."

  "Wait a minute," Nelliel frowned. "I never said I wao go to the Seireitei."

  She was a Hollow. For a Hollow to go to the Seireitei would be like walking into a trap.

  The Seireitei was different from other pces. It was surrounded by the 'Sekkiseki Wall,' a barrier desigo prevent enemies from entering and to trap spiritual beings inside. Even with the Garganta, it would be difficult to move freely within the Sekkiseki Wall.

  "Don't you want to learn about the 'civilization' of the Soul Society?" Haruki said.

  In truth, he was relut to let go of Nelliel's soul ability, 'Size Manipution.' While it might seem useless at first g could be incredibly versatile in many situations.

  For example...

  when disguising oneself?

  If he could turn into a child, no one would suspect him when he did something mischievous.

  And who would suspect a child of doing anything wrong?

  He really needed an ability like that right now.

  "I see..." Aizen seemed to have realized something. He spoke calmly, "Haruki-ku's return. What you desire will e to pass in the near future."

  Huh?

  What do I desire?

  I just want to increase Nelliel's favorability!

  Haruki cursed inwardly but couldn't say it out loud. He could only sigh.

  "Then, goodbye, Miss Antelope—no, Nelliel Tu Odelsck. Iure..."

  "See you in Hueundo."

  Aizen opened anarganta, and Haruki followed him inside.

  Before entering, he waved at Nelliel.

  "You really shouldn't e back to Hueundo."

  Nelliel spoke in a serious tone. "Hueundo is not the territory of Shinigami. If you e again, you might not run into someone like me."

  "ime I e, perhaps everything will be different," Haruki smiled.

  Who said Hueundo wasn't the territory of Shinigami?

  ime he came, perhaps Shinigami would already be the masters of Hollows.

  Haruki followed Aizen back to the Soul Society, not to the Seireitei, but to the Rukongai.

  "Ah..."

  Haruki took a deep breath. "Though the spiritual particle tration isn't as high as in Hueundo, the air in the Soul Society still feels fresher."

  "At least, there's no st of sughter."

  "No st of sughter... huh." Aizen's gsses reflected the light as he smiled mysteriously.

  "Haruki-kun, would you be ied in being a captain?"

  Haruki quickly shook his head.

  "No, I don't have the talent for that. If possible, I'd like to remain a ninth seat."

  "Gin will bee the captain of the Third Division in a month. I inally intended for you to take the position of vice-captain in the Fifth Division."

  "Please spare me. A ninth seat suddenly jumping to vice-captain would draw too much attention," Haruki felt a pang of ay.

  Aizen really thought he was some kind y, but he was just pretending. His current strength was, at best, that of a high-rankied officer.

  "Therefore, you need merit."

  Aizen took a step to the side and cpped his hands.

  In the moment, a 'Shinigami' emerged from the forest ahead.

  The Shinigami's face was flushed, and his body seemed to be covered iacles. If not for the shihakushō and Zanpakutō, no one would have reized him as a Shinigami.

  Especially...

  the captain's haori he was wearing!

  "Wow, isn't this a bit too much?"

  Haruki looked at Aizen. "The captain of the Third Division, parasitized? Captain Aizen, you're not expeg me to deal with this monster, are you?"

  "No, this is a failed experiment," Aizen said softly. "Because his spiritual pressure was too weak, after parasitizing a captain, he suffered a backsh from the ability."

  "His runairitual pressure has rendered him uo even use his Zanpakutō, so he's no longer of any use."

  As Aizen spoke, the tentacled monster pletely ignored him, staring straight at Haruki.

  Haruki felt a chill. He knew he couldn't appear too flustered, or the mysterious image he had built up in front of Aizen would be shattered.

  It seemed he had no choice but to use Shūhei's 'Bck Sun'!

  "Vice-captain, huh..."

  Haruki sighed. "I'll say this upfront—I won't handle administrative duties. You take care of that, Captain Aizen."

  With that, he drew his Zanpakutō.

  "Bck Sun."

  As the monster charged toward him, he whispered softly.

  In the moment, something incredible happened!

  A yer of viscous darkness appeared behind him, like thik!

  The darkness slowly spread, swirling and f a circle, like a bck sun.

  The moment the bck sun formed, it released an overwhelmi, especially in front of Haruki, where the tentacled monster had pounced!

  Boom!

  The power of the Bck Sued instantly. Bck fmes engulfed the mohe terrifyi and intense melting causing it to scream and howl in agony!

  "Roar!!!"

  Metastacia let out a deafening roar, thrashing violently on the ground. But Haruki simply walked up to him and plunged his Zanpakutō into the monster's brain.

  That alone wasn't enough.

  Haruki thought to himself. The creature before him was indeed Metastacia, but there shouldn't be just one.

  He had seen before that Metastacia could parasitize multiple Shinigami.

  If he had focused all his energy, parasitizing a captain shouldn't have resulted in such a violent backsh.

  After all, in Haruki's memory, Metastacia had easily fused with Vice-Captain Shiba Kaien.

  Even if the gap between a captain and a vice-captain was vast, it shouldn't have led to such a severe backsh.

  Especially sihis Hollow had been modified by Aizen.

  Haruki g Aizen and noticed a faint smile on his face.

  So, he didn't pull out his Zanpakutō from Metastacia's head.

  Instead, he whispered again,

  "The Lonely Hell of the Three Existences."

  He released his Zanpakutō!