Bambietta impulsively allowed herself to be provoked by Candice, and it all ended in a fight. Bambietta trusted that Allen wouldn't stray too far from her, after all, this place was dangerous. However, she soon realized that Allen had disappeared, and the cotton candy-headed Meninas McAllon was gone as well.
Bambietta's thoughts turned dark. "My little brother can't just disappear or leave me like this, it was that bitch Meninas who took him..."
Technically, Bambietta wasn't wrong, and it was Meninas who led Allen to the exit. She tried to search for Allen, but Candice wouldn't let her. This led to an even more intense fight until Jugram appeared and stopped them, as they were bothering his majesty.
Both girls apologized, and Bambietta was allowed to continue her search for Allen. She searched all around the Sun Gate, eventually reaching Meninas' room, but they weren't there. She then went to the lower floors to search among the Soldat, but he wasn't among the crowd.
Bambietta shook her head. 'My little brother was a ray of light in the darkest night, the sun of the dawn~ It would be impossible for me not to find him in this crowd...'
"Excuse me, are you Bambietta-sama?"
A handsome young man approached Bambietta. He had also heard the rumors, not paying attention to the fact that those chosen by Bambietta had not returned. He was confident in his appearance and was willing to take the risk.
However, instead of receiving him, Bambietta's gaze was as if she had spotted an insect rolling in filth. In every sense and on every level, there was no comparison, someone like him couldn't even come close to the level of her little brother...
"Bambiet-"
Bambietta felt dizzy from the worry... She raised her hand and blew up the Soldat.
Everyone screamed as they scattered, but Bambietta couldn't care less and kept searching until she decided to ask the other Femritters for help, especially Liltotto, who had the best relationship with Meninas among the Femritters.
Bambietta returned to a room she often used and sat with a vacant expression. Liltotto didn't know where Meninas was.
"Where are you?!... where..." Bambietta was depressed and blamed herself for not keeping a cool head when she should have been prioritizing taking care of Allen.
"If anything happens to him... I'll kill Meninas!..." Bambietta wasn't joking, she was fully aware of Meninas' personality and the danger she posed to a Soldat.
...
(Bambi-chan is not the perfect girl but she makes her effort. 🍷🗿)
...
Meninas returned, smiling. She had managed to become friends with his majesty, but she still didn't understand if Allen was Yhwach, perhaps a creation of his majesty. She denied this, she couldn't imagine Yhwach giving up his position to a creation of his own. Maybe his son?
Everyone was a child of Yhwach, but not in the literal sense, as the Quincys were created by Yhwach and, therefore, couldn't be considered his direct children and, as a consequence, the grandchildren of the Spirit King.
Meninas shook her head and decided to do as her majesty had told her. He would be a common Soldat for a while, and she would have to act as if she didn't know Allen was his majesty.
Meninas understood immediately and didn't waste any time hugging Allen to show her gratitude for protecting her from Pepe. Of course, she could have defeated Pepe if she hadn't been so distracted and lacking in survival instincts, partly because she was quite strong and Pepe's power was not for hand-to-hand combat.
"Hee hee~" Meninas remembered how she was able to hug her majesty for a while and had a feeling of superiority and accomplishment, but most of all a fluffy feeling in her chest.
At that moment, Allen meant that he should only act as if he didn't know he was her majesty when there was someone else, but Meninas, being Meninas, interpreted it to mean that she could treat him with all the familiarity she wanted.
That led to Allen being able to measure and compare the difference in size and softness between Meninas and Bambietta, so he chose not to complain.
A smiling Meninas entered a rather large room that was usually used by the Femritters for meetings.
"Meninas!!"
Bambietta grabbed Meninas by the neck of her blouse, her eyes bloodshot.
"Bambi-chan?"
The pink girl, with a dazed and confused look, did not understand Bambietta's sudden hostility.
"Where is he?! Where is my little brother?!"
Meninas smiled nervously at the growing bloodlust and got alarmed. She quickly remembered what Allen had told her and took out a letter.
"He already left, but he asked me to give you this~..."
Bambietta released Meninas and grabbed the letter. She opened it quickly and read its contents.
– I'm sorry I disappeared, but I had to leave... you'll probably try to find me, but sorry, I lied about something; I'm not a normal Soldat; I'm under Haschwalth-sama's command, and I'm a secret messenger. I'll be back in a few days and apologize, but thanks for everything... big sis, I am glad to have met you, you were a kind person despite what people say about you. –
Bambietta trembled several times, then hugged the letter with a dreamy look. She fell to her knees feeling a mixture of relief and exhilaration.
"Ah!~ my little brother is so considerate and so kind❤️~, he knew I'd worry and went to the trouble of sending me a love letter❤️~"
"It wasn't a love letter..." murmured Meninas, but she decided not to insist, as long as Bambietta was happy thinking whatever she wanted.
Bambietta was surrounded by hearts and didn't realize that the rest of the Femritters had entered the room.
It was Candice, accompanied by a short girl with straight, blonde hair, and a... "girl" with long black hair and a confused expression.
"What's wrong with Bambi-chan?" asked the long-haired "girl", whose name was Giselle Gewelle.
"She must have gone mad..." growled Candice, still feeling the pain from the injuries Bambietta had caused.
"Meninas, what happened?" said the blonde girl in a harsh voice. She was Liltotto Lamperd.
Meninas snapped out of her stupor and ran to hug the little girl, who didn't look too pleased.
"Something very good happened today!~," said Meninas.
After that, Meninas told the others about her new friend, omitting that Allen was His Majesty of course. Bambietta got upset that Meninas had become so close to Allen and began to get annoyed, but Meninas just laughed at her attitude. Trying to fight with Meninas as if she were Candice was impossible.
Bambietta realized this and gave up.
"Oh, so a Soldat..." Giselle didn't show much interest, which secretly relieved Bambietta and Meninas.
Bambietta knew that Giselle was another type of sick sadist like her, and Allen was in danger of being around her. As for Meninas, she didn't want Giselle to die miserably by bothering Allen, not because she was a great friend of Giselle, but because of her kind nature.
Liltotto was intrigued. "Challenging Gremmy? What kind of suicidal lunatic does that?... more than anything, 'that' Gremmy let him go?"
Liltotto felt there was a bigger mystery than just a messenger from Jugram, something that didn't even make sense, because why would Jugram trust a simple Soldat?
...
(Outside the Wandenreich fortress)
Allen discreetly flew over the Shadow Realm, just taking a glance from the dark sky above. It was a huge place, but the most incredible thing was that the Soul Society had never noticed its existence.
"I need to leave..."
Allen had already decided on his next move. There was something that prevented the Quincys from staying outside the Shadow Realm for long, but that didn't apply to Allen.
Now his priority was to reach the human world to find Urahara Kisuke. If anyone knew about the evils in the world, it was that man.
Allen looked at the castle, technically it was already his castle. Later, there would be time to meet the other Sternritter, evaluate them, and decide whether they were trustworthy or not.
Allen moved far enough away from the fortress. He couldn't be too trusting of what he knew. There were still possibilities, even if they were slim that some Quincy might betray Yhwach; after all, his death had been too quiet, something that didn't match Yhwach's fall.
It was true that quincies like Gremmy had low loyalty to Yhwach, and his involvement in the war had been conditioned on Gremmy defeating a war potential in exchange for real freedom.
Something that wasn't mentioned was that Gremmy had spent a lot of time locked up, perhaps out of caution or fear, and would only be released for the thousand-year war. Of course, it seemed there had been modifications in this regard, and it was most likely Jugram who had freed him early. Considering there was an enemy capable of ending Yhwach, it wasn't surprising.
Allen arrived at a secluded area with no one around and then asked the system to open a portal. The system had no way of knowing where exactly that portal would lead, but it would definitely take him to the Soul Society.
Allen also had to be careful, after all, they weren't kind to the Ryoka (demon travelers), which is what the Shinigami called those who arrived in the Soul Society without having been purified by a Shinigami beforehand.
Another problem is that Allen must be cautious to ensure that no one notices the existence of the Schatten Bereich (Shadow Realm), since Allen has decided to be the new Quincy King. The Wandenreich (Invisible Empire) is now under his responsibility, so he cannot risk the Shinigami finding out that all this time their nemeses have been living right in their backyard.
Allen stood with his arms crossed, the space around him isolated. Then a door opened in front of him. As Allen entered, he felt a different atmosphere compared to the Shadow Realm—much heavier in reishi in the air and purer.
The light blinded Allen, and when he was able to open his eyes, he was standing on a hill surrounded by an endless forest and distant mountains. However, the sensation he felt was completely different from the physical world, as everything from the mountains to the air was composed of reishi.
"In the world of Kung Fu Panda, I never went to the spirit realm, but it must be similar. This is incredible..."
Reishi is spiritual energy in the physical world, but seeing solid objects made of it was incredible to Allen.
The girls appeared by his side...
Harley and Rebecca immediately clung to him, but 2B called to Rebecca, who kissed Allen on the cheek before heading over to 2B, who was a little further away.
Nokotan appeared and puffed out her chest, her eyes shining as she felt the truly pure and untainted atmosphere.
Bocchi seemed like a vampire hiding in the shadow of a tree, as the light was too much for her.
Esdeath unsheathed her sword and moved it several times to test what it would feel like to fight in this place.
'Now that I think about it, what effect does a real demon have in a world of spirits?' Allen turned to look at Makima, who, despite wearing a maid outfit, was still an apocalyptic demon.
Makima was very interested in this world. She crouched down, grabbed a flower, and held it for a moment. It quickly turned black and was absorbed by her.
Allen opened his eyes, and Makima smiled in his direction, "Is something wrong Master?..."
"No"
"Hehe~..." Makima narrowed her eyes with a seductive but equally dangerous touch. "I see... this place looks.... delicious."
"..."
Artoria appeared a little further away, closing her eyes. Then a large amount of reishi began to accumulate around her. Her power started to increase as this happened.
Allen smiled. He hadn't forgotten that before she was a goddess, she had been a heroic spirit...
In this world, a soul's uniqueness is not determined by what they did in life but by their reiryoku (spiritual power). But a heroic spirit is a very special soul, so Artoria immediately received benefits from being here.
"For her, this place is like fighting at home..."
Fighting in different places produces different results. Artoria was stronger in the Soul Society, and Makima was poison to souls, but not everything was laughs and cheers. 2B removed her visor, which was taken by Rebecca.
Allen approached the pair. "Is something wrong?"
2B bowed in apology. "Sorry, master, my visor doesn't work in this place, and I'm having some functionality issues..."
Rebecca huffed. "What the hell? Half of my devices were deactivated. I hate this place!"
Allen smiled ironically. The blessing of some is the misfortune of others. The same would happen in a world where all supernatural power is restricted; Rebecca and 2B would be goddesses.
This wasn't about a restriction of the world like Allen, but the effect of the place. If Allen were in the human world, Makima and Artoria's advantage would disappear, while Rebecca and 2B would return to normal.
Allen petted the heads of both girls. "It's better that you don't use your technological forms in the Soul Society..."
By technological forms, Allen referred to the bodies of 2B and Rebecca, where one is 100% a YorHa android, and Rebecca has almost entirely cybernetic parts.
"Master..." 2B wanted to deny it, no inconvenience was an excuse for not protecting Allen.
"Alright, leave that to me while we're in this place..."
Artoria, knowing 2B's mentality, approached to place her hand on her shoulder. 2B might have doubts about all the girls, but not about Artoria. 2B nodded and returned to her doll form.
Rebecca smiled bitterly and did the same. Bocchi also disappeared, as she wasn't suited for this world. Ordinary humans can't stay here for long.
Allen looked at his dolls and finally chose Makima and Artoria to accompany him. He had wanted to go to the human world, but first, he wanted to take a look at the Soul Society.
Makima, Artoria, and Allen disguised their presence with the help of the system to resemble the souls of this world. They then covered their bodies and heads with large, discreet cloaks and headed towards a place with people.
...
...
...
The world is poorly made...
These were Allen's thoughts, which ironically matched the thoughts of many villains from Bleach. But is it wrong?
Let's start by clarifying one thing: the Shinigami are not the "good guys," they are not the heroes. The story of Bleach is told from their side because the villains are not the good guys either, and it generally causes less harm if the Shinigami win.
But we must make one thing clear: the Shinigami are not the good ones in the story.
Imagine you are a regular human and die. Your fate is to be devoured by a hollow, become one, be destroyed by a Quincy, or be purified by a Shinigami. But "purifying" means erasing your memory and sending you to the Rukongai. But if you think it's a paradise to relive your second life as a spirit, that's a big mistake.
The Rukongai (City of Wandering Souls) encompasses most of the Soul Society and is by far the most populated area.
It's a new world with none of the comforts of modern life, houses made like ancient Japan, clothing limited to cloth garments, yukatas, and sandals.
The Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls) is the center of the Soul Society, and the surrounding districts are very rich with a high standard of living. However, this doesn't apply to everyone.
The Rukongai is divided into 320 districts, 80 in each cardinal direction, named in descending order based on their distance from the center. This has caused the furthest districts, the ones with higher numbers, to be very poor, with high crime rates and massive mortality rates. While District 1 is usually peaceful with a high quality of life, District 80 is a place where anarchy reigns, and the law of the strongest prevails.
There is no evidence that the Shinigami or other control agents patrol the streets of the Rukongai. As a result, the citizens are the only ones responsible for their own safety (which has also caused, in many cases, some fear or hatred of the Shinigami).
So yes, the "kind" beings who purify souls in the human world send them to a place where they can suffer a miserable fate and "live" only to be brutally killed or worse.
Not only that, but the Shinigami are responsible for maintaining the balance between the three worlds and will sacrifice whatever is necessary to keep it. For example, when the balance between the human world and the Soul Society is threatened, the Shinigami can request permission to "kill" citizens in the Rukongai to restore the balance of souls between the two worlds.
In the canon, when the Wandenreich began to destroy a large number of Hollows, the Captain of the 12th Division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, ordered his division members to kill 28k residents of the Rukongai.
All those people were regular people in their human lives...
Aizen said it: this world is poorly made...
Yhwach wanted to restructure the world...
Of course, neither of them were the heroes either. One sought to break free from the control of the Spirit King, regardless of whether that destroyed the world. The other wanted to become the Spirit King and rebuild the world to his will.
Allen observed the children playing. If you couldn't feel the amount of spiritual energy in the air, you'd think you'd arrived in ancient Japan.
People in the Soul Society can starve. Why? Because the Spirit King thought it was a good idea to make that happen.
People in the Soul Society can die like common humans, they even bleed. Why? Because some soul gained the ability to bleed in the Soul Society? Who thought that was a good idea?
People in the Soul Society live for a long time, though "living" is a strange term. But they live fifteen or twenty times longer than a human, yet they age... Why?! Why did the Spirit King think souls should age like humans?
But the most unpleasant thing is that they feel pain...
Allen doesn't know the Spirit King, but why did he think a soul without nerve endings should feel pain?!
"What's the point, for them to suffer? If you're going to make souls suffer, then why the hell does hell even exist?!"
Allen doesn't think that Aizen and Yhwach were right either, but he understands their hatred for the Spirit King. He knew what kind of world would exist if he split the original world, and yet, he did it.
Allen shook his head. If he kept thinking about the Spirit King, he would end up becoming the real Yhwach and attacking the Seireitei.
Allen sighed and looked at a corpse in an alley... Allen doesn't know the Spirit King, but the number of flaws and bad decisions in his world makes him seem like one of the worst creator gods that could exist... or maybe from the very beginning, he never cared about the living beings in this world, only the world itself.
Allen doesn't know. Maybe there's information about this world that he still doesn't know that justifies the Spirit King's actions.
But one thing is for sure...
...
"Come back here, thief!!"
"Ah!"
A man caught up to a thief who looked very thin and stabbed him in broad daylight. The man screamed as he fell to the ground...
No! I'm just hungry, no!" the thief crawled away while bleeding. The wound was not yet deep, but the owner of the bread stall had no intention of letting him go. One important detail is that no one would help him and that was not out of malice but because that's the way this world worked.
"Huh?! And you think I don't?!" the owner wasn't the villain either. These scenes were repeated everywhere except in the central part and the first districts.
"This world is poorly made..." said Allen while grabbing the knife that was about to kill the man.
"W-what?!"
"Don't worry, I'll pay for it, sir"
"Huh?!"
The man, who had originally been scared, calmed down when he heard the words from the mysterious young man in a cloak.
Allen took local money from the system and threw it to the shop owner...
"This is too much... thank you," the owner bowed and left...
Allen gritted his teeth... money... they really had to use something like money in this world to circulate goods.
Allen began to feel irritated, so he decided to go to the human world...
Allen turned around and prepared to leave with Makima and Artoria.
"Wait!"
The voice of a boy trying to sound serious called out to him from behind. Allen glanced over his shoulder and was surprised.
There were two people dressed like Shinigami, one was a boy with messy white hair and blue eyes, with a grumpy look, and the other was a voluptuous woman with orange hair and blue eyes. One had a Haori, and the other a talisman on her arm.
They were the captain of the 10th division, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and his vice-captain, Matsumoto Rangiku.
Allen narrowed his eyes... in another situation, he would be curious to meet the genius Shinigami and his charming vice-captain, but Allen wasn't in the mood right now.
Artoria and Makima sensed Allen's intentions and got ready to fight.
"What do you need from me, captain?" said Allen in a calm voice, with no hostility but no courtesy either.
"What do I want? This is the Rukongai, where did a captain level soul come from?! Where did you come from?!" Hitsugaya looked very serious as he spoke. His gaze is fixed on Artoria.
It's no wonder; there are only thirteen captains in the Gotei 13. It's not a power anyone can reach.
Allen looked at Artoria, and she shook her head... they must have sensed Artoria's power before the system hid it.
===
A/N: As I was writing this chapter I realized that Allen would have every reason to be like Yhwach and try to be the Spirit King... but Allen would not accept such a responsibility especially because it would mean that he would never be able to leave this world... So it doesn't seem a likely path... đź‘€
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