Katerea Leviathan's words were like a sharp thorn, piercing his heart and making his breath hitch for a moment.
This technique was indeed powerful and difficult to counter, but…
Each of those wolves was formed from a fragment of his soul.
And…
Once all the wolves disappeared, then—
Lilinette would vanish completely!
That was the reason he didn't want to use this ability.
It was also why he always kept the wolves by his side.
But...
He hadn't expected Katerea Leviathan to be this perceptive.
Did she start suspecting something the moment Lilinette vanished?
Starrk began to hesitate. He no longer dared to let the wolves pounce at Katerea Leviathan.
Katerea saw the wolves retreating from around her. A faint smirk appeared on her lips. "What's wrong? Not going to attack?"
Starrk remained silent.
Seeing this, a glint of interest flashed through Katerea's eyes. Then, she took a step forward toward the wolves.
Starrk's heart skipped a beat. It felt as if she had stepped directly onto his chest. The wolves instantly backed away from her.
From a distance—
When Barragan Luisenbarn witnessed this, he was stunned and shouted in confusion, "First Seat, what are you doing?!"
How could they retreat in front of the enemy?!
Having barely escaped danger, Barragan straightened up and questioned him confidently.
In his eyes—
The one person capable of standing above him was the strongest aside from Aizen Sosuke himself!
Even if Aizen Sosuke was infuriating, it was undeniable just how powerful that man was!
So…
For Starrk to be named as Aizen's strongest subordinate—it meant something in Barragan's heart.
So...
How could he behave like this now?
Disappointment filled Barragan's expression.
Starrk: "…"
Looks like there's really no need to worry about this lonely old skeleton.
He ignored Barragan's shouting and just kept evading Katerea's attacks.
But...
This couldn't go on forever.
Starrk, I'm okay!
Lilinette's voice echoed in Starrk's mind.
He frowned briefly, then his expression softened as he responded calmly, "It's not time to sacrifice yourself just yet."
Now, he just needed to stall for time—until Aizen Sosuke arrived.
But...
Hopefully, Aizen would move quickly.
---
Soul Society.
The Fifth Division barracks.
Aizen Sosuke, wearing his usual black-framed glasses, had a gentle expression on his face.
He sat at a desk, writing something on a piece of paper with his right hand. But behind the lenses, his eyes gleamed with contemplation.
Though he appeared calm, his thoughts were fully occupied with what was happening in the real Karakura Town.
Just what had happened?
Was something finally spiraling out of his control?
Things...
Were getting interesting.
Aizen's eyes narrowed. Had those old geezers discovered something?
Or...
Was it the doing of that being?
His emotions stirred slightly…
But...
That just made things more exciting.
It meant he was even more justified in dragging that being down from their throne in heaven.
Aizen Sosuke wasn't panicking—on the contrary, he was increasingly intrigued.
Now…
All he had to do was wait for news from Ichimaru Gin.
But before that happened—
He received word from Tosen first.
"Captain Tosen."
Hinamori Momo gave a slight bow and tactfully exited the office.
Once they were alone, Tosen said in a low voice, "Lord Aizen, something's happened in Las Noches."
"?"
Aizen paused momentarily, then smiled gently without altering his expression. "What, another friendly sparring match?"
Obviously.
He was referring to the recent clash between Nelliel and Nnoitra Gilga.
Nothing that occurred in Las Noches escaped him.
In fact—
He was well aware that Nelliel wasn't dead.
And...
Since the Arrancar were all evolved from Hollows, some of their animalistic tendencies were expected.
The strong prey on the weak…
That rule applied equally in human society, the Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo.
But…
This time, Aizen's guess was wrong.
Tosen shook his head, his expression solemn. "Las Noches is on the verge of being overrun."
"???"
The smile on Aizen's face froze. He set down his pen and stared blankly, his expression turning unreadable. "Are you serious?"
Tosen's heart tightened. Though he couldn't see, he could clearly sense the oppressive aura radiating from Aizen Sosuke.
He nodded silently, saying no more.
Aizen's eyes narrowed. "You mean..."
"With all the Arrancar stationed there, Las Noches was still…"
"Captured?"
Tosen nodded again.
Aizen: "…"
Silence blanketed the captain's office.
His expression was difficult to describe.
For a moment, he wasn't sure whether to be more surprised that Las Noches had been taken or more disappointed in how useless the Espada were.
Hmm…
Even setting aside the Espada, how exactly was Las Noches overrun?
"So there are people bold enough to target Las Noches…"
Aizen was visibly surprised.
The Ten Espada stationed there, and the oppressive spiritual pressure they released, had always made Las Noches a forbidden zone in Hueco Mundo.
No one dared approach recklessly.
But now—
Why had someone suddenly invaded?
And judging by the situation...
Their strength must be formidable.
After all—
While he did often belittle the Espada as trash…
Aizen still understood that anyone capable of rendering the Ten Espada helpless had to be on par with them—or even stronger.
But…
Aizen furrowed his brow slightly.
Hueco Mundo…
When did something like this appear?
During his experiments, he had already explored the entirety of Hueco Mundo.
So…
"Could it be an enemy that suddenly emerged… from the void?"
(To be continued.)