noveldrama
Chapter 314
Chapter 314
Chapter 314
2-in-1 chapter:
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“Lord Kaelith.”
Soifon flickered into view beside Kaelith. Whenever outsiders were present, she always maintained the proper respect and decorum. Terms like “scumbag lord” were reserved strictly for when no one else was around.
“Oh, Soifon!” Kaelith beamed at his lovely little maid.
Soifon inclined her head. “Lord Kaelith, who are these people?”
Upon hearing that, Kaelith turned to face the group behind him.
Closest was Lilynette, clinging to the hem of his clothes. Following were Nelliel, the green-haired girl with fair skin and a gentle smile, and Harribel, the golden-haired, bronze-skinned queen with a stern air. Then came a sleepy-looking Starrk with his curled hair, plus Ulquiorra—pale-skinned, icy-eyed, exuding a sharp aura—and Grimmjow, with his blue hair and haughty expression.
All of them currently wore special Gigai that Aizen designed so they could move around the Soul Society without revealing their Hollow traits. Their bone masks and Hollow holes were thoroughly concealed.
According to Aizen, as long as they didn’t release Reiatsu, no one would suspect their true identities.
Observing them, Kaelith grinned. “These are my relatives from back in the Rukongai. They heard I’ve been doing well in the Seireitei and decided to pay me a visit—maybe do a little sightseeing.
“This is my younger sister, Lilynette. These two are my elder sisters, Harribel and Nelliel.”
At that introduction, Lilynette tensed up. “Y-your…little sister?”
“M-me, your sister?”
Soifon narrowed her eyes.
What’s that reaction about?
A silent, deadly chill settled behind her gaze. She’d seen this pattern before—shady men claiming some random junior was “family” right before Central 46 came knocking. Was Kaelith secretly involved in kidnapping girls now? Was that why he was always surrounded by weirdos?
Lilynette, seeing Soifon’s frosty stare, feared their cover was about to be blown. She seized Kaelith’s hand, coughed, and declared loudly, “That’s right! I’m Kaelith’s sister! What of it?!”
She shot Soifon a challenging look, brimming with aggression.
This female Shinigami was quite pretty, and her body type overlapped with Lilynette’s—both lacking…armor in the chest region—definitely a threat!
Soifon didn’t know why the girl was so hostile, but she didn’t really care. From the look of things, the kid was here willingly, so it wasn’t some abduction scenario. No need to intervene.
Nelliel and Harribel both looked uneasy, unsure whether to affirm their alleged “big sister” roles. Still, recalling the plan from Hueco Mundo, they mustered their courage and nodded.
“Indeed, I am Lord Kaelith’s elder sister.”
“M-me too, I’m also Lord Kaelith’s elder sister!”
“…?” Soifon felt puzzled.
They sure have a bizarre way of talking.
Though it wasn’t unusual for Rukongai families to be pieced together with no blood relation, appending “Lord” to their own brother’s name was suspicious…
But even more concerning was the raw sense of power those two radiated. Strong—possibly stronger than herself. So when did the Rukongai start housing individuals of this caliber?
While she contemplated, Kaelith pointed to the next person:
“This is Starrk—he’s our uncle. When we were little, he did all the hunting, scavenging, begging—kept us alive.”
“Uh—Lord Kaelith, I…” Starrk’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
These backstories?
He wanted to protest that none of this was true but, remembering who he was and where they were, he decided to just go along.
“R-right. I’m the uncle…”
Soifon couldn’t even find the energy to comment anymore.
Then Ulquiorra stepped up, steadying a restless Grimmjow. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Shinigami. I’m Ulquiorra, Kaelith’s cousin,” he said politely, hand on his chest, bowing slightly.
Soifon bowed in return, feeling more and more unsettled.
Not only those two “sisters,” but the rest of them also exuded an alarming presence. Her training from childhood in the Onmitsukid? told her: every single person here was dangerously strong. That languid, curly-haired man in particular gave off dreadful vibes.
What on earth was Kaelith up to? Were they truly just here as tourists?
She asked carefully, “Lord Kaelith, from which Rukongai district do these relatives hail?”
Kaelith paused. “…West 78th District?”
That was basically no-man’s-land. Soifon pursed her lips. This was getting more dubious by the second.
Just in case, she volunteered to accompany Kaelith and his guests. He agreed without hesitation.
Trailing them with her guard raised, Soifon watched for any sign of wrongdoing. Yet all they did was meander around the Seireitei, sightseeing in the streets, sampling food, buying souvenirs. They seemed just like normal tourists—aside from how unnaturally deferential they were toward Kaelith, almost like subordinates to a boss.
Could it be she misread the threat? Their Reiryoku levels seemed perfectly ordinary, nothing like a Shinigami. If they were secretly Shinigami, they wouldn’t fool Soifon for so long unless they wore some high-grade cloaking gear. Even Kaelith or Yoruichi needed a special cloak to hide their spiritual presence that thoroughly.
Yet the pressure Soifon felt from them was certainly real…
Then again, it was inconceivable that they might be Hollows or Quincies. The latter were mostly Kaelith’s enemies in the Wandenreich—plus they were mostly incompetent except for Bambietta, Ishida S?ken, etc. They definitely wouldn’t be so calm. As for them being Hollows? That made no sense either: Harribel and Ulquiorra, for instance, seemed calmer and more rational than most Shinigami Soifon knew. Meanwhile, someone like Grimmjow acted more savage, sure, but the others didn’t.
Eventually, they arrived at the Eleventh Division barracks.
Grimmjow, who’d been scowling at how lazy most Seireitei Shinigami seemed, finally perked up. Training fields filled with intense duels and sweaty roars—yes, this was more like a real Shinigami squad. He nodded in satisfaction.
“This is how Shinigami should be! Those worthless slackers we saw before… what a joke.”
Soifon: “…”
He’d better hope no one heard that…
Kaelith led the group on a quick spin around the place before heading into the cafeteria. Seeing him enter, many Shinigami erupted into cheers:
“Big Bro’s here!”
“Big Bro, take this seat!”
“Big Bro, I’ll grab some food for you!”
All around, lively voices. Kaelith laughed heartily, settling down.
“Come, have a seat. Let’s sample the Soul Society—I mean Seireitei—cuisine!” he exclaimed.
Soifon: “…”
Soul Society?
Aren’t these people supposedly from the Soul Society?
Her heart gave a startled thump. The plot thickened.
Because Kaelith was present, the canteen’s chefs went all out, serving dish after dish. The long communal table looked like a grand banquet. Lilynette, after a couple of bites, lit up and started devouring food at top speed. Even Starrk, who usually found everything too bothersome, took a second helping or two.
A random Shinigami elbowed Grimmjow and said, “Hey, so were you picked up from the Rukongai by Big Bro too?”
“What the—are you lookin’ for trouble?” Grimmjow snarled, outraged.
Nelliel, sensing an imminent altercation, tried to intercede. But the Shinigami didn’t appear angry in the slightest.
“Relax, buddy. Half of us in the squad got rescued by Big Bro from the Rukongai. A lot of the folks here are in the same boat as you.”
Hearing that, Nelliel glanced around. She saw plenty of rough, scarred men, feasting, brawling, laughing. Some scuffled with each other on a whim. The Eleventh Division was clearly unruly.
“…” She worried for the future of the Soul Society, seeing how rowdy it was.
After the meal, Kaelith was summoned away by the First Division. Before leaving, he glanced around:
“Grimmjow, Lilynette, Starrk—you three mustn’t wander alone. If you want to go somewhere, get someone to come with you.
“Harribel, Nelliel, Ulquiorra—go wherever you like, just don’t blow your cover.”
“Yes!”
All of them knelt in unison, answering firmly—even Grimmjow, a momentary image of perfect subordination. Soifon stood by, truly at a loss for words. If there was any doubt left, it was obvious these folks were not some random kin. She kept recalling Kaelith’s final remark: “Don’t blow your cover.” Cover for what, exactly?
One could only hope it wasn’t what she feared…
…
Once Kaelith left, Starrk promptly sought a quiet spot to nap. He wasn’t especially interested in seeing the Soul Society; he’d only tagged along to make sure Lilynette didn’t blow their cover and get everyone attacked.
Nelliel and Harribel went out together to shop in the First District of Rukongai.
Ulquiorra departed solo, wanting to observe more people—he believed it might help him understand this concept of a “heart.”
Grimmjow remained in the Eleventh, sparring with the squad members. Though he couldn’t release any Reiatsu, his thousands of years of real fighting experience gave him an edge even relying on pure body strength. He soon dominated the arena, cackling triumphantly.
“Who else wants some? You call yourselves Shinigami—bunch of weaklings! None of you can handle me alone. Let me guess, I’ll just kill everyone here and destroy the Soul Society, right?”
Soifon’s face darkened.
This jerk—did he really say that out loud?
Yet the surrounding Shinigami didn’t appear offended at all:
“As expected of one of Big Bro’s recruits—rude mouth, but big ambition.”
“Yeah, with that kind of skill, he’d be a real force if we want the Eleventh to conquer the whole Soul Society!”
“I bet he’s not far from getting an officer’s seat.”
“Little weird how he’s used no Reiatsu at all, just raw muscle…”
“Probably doesn’t need it yet, hasn’t found a worthy foe.”
“Hah, that’s some pride for ya!”
“…?” Soifon felt her sanity slipping.
At that moment, a lone figure approached:
“Foolish whelp, parading around here—do you really think you’re so high and mighty that Lord Kaelith won’t just kill you?”
The surrounding Shinigami perked up.
“It’s T?sen Fourth Seat!”
“T?sen?”
Strolling closer, T?sen took in Grimmjow with a cool look.
Grimmjow started, “You’re here in the Soul Society too?”
“…” T?sen paused for a couple seconds, wanting to retort, but deciding it would only lower his own intelligence to banter with the fool.
He drew nearer and lowered his voice:
“How did you get here, exactly?”
“Huh? How’s that your business?”
T?sen’s voice took on a slight edge. “Want me to inform Lord Kaelith you’re raising a ruckus?”
“Tch, fine. He’s the one who brought me. Got a problem with that?”
T?sen mulled that over. Grimmjow’s a known loudmouth, but he was surprisingly known to be very honest as well. So if Kaelith personally allowed his presence, no big deal. T?sen nodded calmly.
“You were just talking about annihilating all Shinigami, yes? Let me see how qualified you are for that.”
Grimmjow smirked:
“Ha! This is a pleasant surprise… You and that fish-eyed Ulquiorra are always so stiff. I’ve been itching to put you in your place!”
He spread his arms, fingers splayed like claws.
Seeing that, T?sen—who had already drawn his sword—merely tossed the blade aside. He adopted a hand-to-hand stance.
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