230: Chapter 230 The Final Bloom

The scene Mia had envisioned, of herself falling to the ground and shattering into pieces, did not occur.

What appeared was a pair of warm, soft hands. The woman before her was gentle and lovely, wearing a white Captain's haori and sporting a beautiful, large braid, looking at her with deep affection.

The gaze made Mia's small face turn red.

The 12th Division's Senkaimon had finally been repaired, and Retsu Unohana and Kenpachi Zaraki had arrived in the World of the Living ahead of time, relying on their immense personal strength.

"I'm sorry, you look so familiar, but I really can't remember. *Cough, cough*..." Mid-sentence, Mia coughed up two more mouthfuls of blood.

She pointed to the beautiful tattoo below her collarbone and said to the woman, "This tattoo is called the [black rose]. Every time it's used, a new petal blooms; it's called the [Thorns of Reverse Life]. It grants about a few seconds of invincibility, but the price is that I will forever lose a part of my precious memories... The further it goes, the more precious they are. In the end, I'll probably forget who I am, right?"

Retsu Unohana looked at the seductive rose tattoo on Mia's chest, where three petals had already bloomed. Her eyes flickered with a dark emotion for a moment before she spoke to Mia with a sunny disposition, "It's alright. Nice to meet you, please take care of me. My name is Retsu Unohana!"

"I'm sorry, Tosen is dead. I couldn't let him die in vain; I had to take a piece out of Aizen. It was my selfishness..." Mia's low murmur was silenced by Retsu Unohana's gentle palm.

"It's okay. As long as you are still here..."

"Leave the rest to us!" From behind Retsu Unohana stepped a fellow who one could tell at a glance was not a good person, with spiky hair and bells tied all over his head.

Seeing the slightly surprised look in Mia's eyes, the delinquent middle-aged man's arrogant gaze dimmed for a moment, but then his fighting spirit flared up again. "Well, forgetting me at least proves I was pretty important, doesn't it? Captain Unohana?"

The endless fury Kenpachi Zaraki carried when he drew his sword grew even deeper. Two generations of the Soul Society's Kenpachi stepped forward simultaneously, drawing their blades to strike at the evolving Aizen.

Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure-suppressing eyepatch flew off in the wind, drifting into the distance and landing right on the head of Madarame Ikkaku, who had just arrived in the World of the Living...

"What the hell? Boss just took off his eyepatch? I hope he didn't take off the contact lenses Big Sis Mia gave him?" Ikkaku was a bit worried that Kenpachi might be tricked by [Kyoka Suigetsu], yet he wasn't worried at all about Kenpachi being unable to defeat Sosuke Aizen.

Kenpachi Zaraki's slash, which could tear through almost anything, got stuck on Aizen's [Hierro], only managing to pry open a small gash.

Then, ignoring Retsu Unohana who was chuckling beside him, he shifted from a one-handed grip to two, raising his zanpakuto high once more, and with all his might, he swung down...

Blood splattered everywhere, and the high-speed friction of the blade almost ignited half of Aizen's body. The body that had just been mostly repaired by the [Hogyoku] was sliced in half diagonally once again; fortunately, he didn't die.

"Oh, being looked after by two generations of Kenpachi at once—that's a rare treat." Gin-ko's voice came from behind Kenpachi Zaraki and Retsu Unohana.

Gin-ko had returned through Xiaoya's special teleportation array.

Traveling with her were Tuaner, Ryan, Toshiro, and Kurosaki Ichigo; the rest of the people remained in Hueco Mundo.

Firstly, Xiaoya's spiritual power was limited and she couldn't teleport too many people;

Secondly, Gin Ichimaru had been cautious and left Rangiku outside the battlefield;

Thirdly, some people had to stay behind to ensure the safety of the exhausted Luo Xiaoya;

Even when not exhausted, Xiaoya's combat strength was basically that of a useless person...

"Shoot him to death! Kamishini no Yari!!" Gin-ko's squinted eyes snapped wide open, and the zanpakuto in her hand punched several holes through Sosuke Aizen's body in an instant.

When it retracted, several diamond-shaped gaps were missing from the zanpakuto.

Aizen's half-evolved body began to collapse, as if being decomposed by invisible substances in the air...

"This won't do. [Using the three worlds as fuel, burn away the fires of falsehood; using ten thousand souls as a seal, lock tight the gates of arrogance — Hear my command, let the karmic fires of purgatory bow! Accept my will, let the laws of the heavens become a cage! Kido Number Ninety-Six: Kyoka Jafuumetsu!]"

Kisuke Urahara appeared outside the fray with Yoruichi; while chanting the Kido, he also threw something into Aizen's evolving body...

Finally, the bond between Sosuke Aizen and the [Hogyoku] allowed him to complete this evolution.

A slit resembling an eye appeared on Aizen's forehead, his face turned black, and his previous facial skin tore down the middle to sit on either side of the black face. Three holes appeared on his upper torso with the Hogyoku in the top hole, and his zanpakuto fused with his right hand.

He grew six massive butterfly wings, with a 'skull' growing at the ridge of each wing. He had no traits of a Soul Reaper left, looking exactly like a Hollow.

At this point, Aizen's spiritual pressure, slashing power, speed, defense, and recovery were far stronger than in previous stages, possessing a near-immortal body.

"Hmph, it's much better to kill him like this; I have no psychological burden of slaughtering a colleague at all now." Kenpachi Zaraki happily rubbed the notched edge of his zanpakuto with his palm.

"Did this guy learn bad habits from Tuaner?" Gin-ko stumbled slightly at Kenpachi Zaraki's remark.

Even Retsu Unohana beside him glanced at Kenpachi Zaraki, her eyes holding an indescribable expectation.

Isane Kotetsu, who was treating Mia in the rear, called out to Retsu Unohana, "Captain! We need to finish this quickly; Captain Mia's condition doesn't look good..."

The [Thorns of Reverse Life] on Mia's chest began to grow vivid uncontrollably. The fourth petal, then the fifth—the petal tattoos brightened in sequence, and the situation looked critical.

"Holy crap? If these all light up, won't it be a direct divine descent? It'll definitely be an evil god for sure! Captain Unohana, stop hacking at Aizen with Kenpachi Zaraki. If something goes wrong here, it'll be scarier than Sosuke Aizen..."

Tuaner was breaking out in a sweat, gathering almost all of her [Qi] and pouring it into Mia's body, but it was still like a drop in the ocean.

The scenes of Mia's previous demonization surfaced in Ryan's mind. Back then, after he turned into a werewolf, he seemed to have endless courage, yet just one look at the demonized Mia had sent him running with his tail between his legs.

Now even Tuaner, who believed in nothing, began to pray to the Vampire Queen, hoping no more trouble would arise. If Mia underwent a demonic descent, this time "Lilith" might become a permanent guest...

But even with Retsu Unohana's help, combining her power with Isane Kotetsu's, they could hardly stop the [black rose] from blooming.

Seeing the last petal about to change color, Aizen had also adapted to his fully evolved body and began to move with more ease under the pincer attack of Kenpachi Zaraki, Gin-ko, and Toshiro.

Although the sword light, frost, and Gin-ko's ambushes on the battlefield still held the upper hand, and the three Captains could hold their own for the moment.

However, judging by the spiritual pressure, it looked more like three children fighting around a strong man; defeat was likely only a matter of time. These three guys could probably hold out for a few days...

Retsu Unohana furrowed her brows. The plan they had drafted earlier to let Kurosaki Ichigo clean up the mess didn't seem viable anymore. The men of the Shihou Family now only cared about Mia's safety and couldn't care less about the Soul Society. If Aizen didn't take the initiative to attack Mia, they most likely wouldn't even lift a finger.

The seventh petal of the black rose finally turned completely black; the [Final Bloom] had begun...