Chapter 1288 Gone?

Fingers stuck out before an entire hand emerged from the crack, grabbing the boundary of the broken space. With a single swing of its arm, the black giant further destroyed the boundary as if a thin sheet of glass was being smashed by a hammer, revealing half of its body with all of its eyes focused on the people standing on the Soukyoku Hill.

As the shards of the boundary rained down upon Soul Society, it created a surreal and beautiful scene that complemented the grandiosity of the soul migration. Sadly, no one in their right mind would be able to enjoy and appreciate such beauty that's accompanied by a world-ending disaster.

And this is especially true for Serafall as the first thing she saw was the body-less and shriveled head of the Draconic-like monster still hanging on the black giant's neck, "N-no!" She let out a devastated shout when she realized that it was already lifeless, "Kisuke!!!"

[Ahh... That pest is finally gone.] A revibrating and grizzly voice resounded on everyone's head, [Now I finally have the time to deal with you lot.]

To the Shinigami group, however, it was a familiar voice despite its horrendous tone, "T-that's really Hyousube Ichibei?" Soifon loudly muttered with cold sweat drenching her back.

"I'm summoning Ryuuteimaru!" Issei shouted as his deep red Scale Mail covered his entire body once again and a Dragon Gate appeared behind him.

Thanks to his voice, the others also woke up from their stupor, drew their weapons, and released their auras. They knew they're not a match against this adversary but they also wouldn't sit still.

[...Otherworlders. An interesting bunch that allowed Urahara Kisuke to gain more abilities than he could've possibly had.] The giant then raised his other arm and almost in an instant, the sky turned black and the migration was ground to a halt, [A good chance to know more about you. Maybe after this, I'll be able to observe that side more.]

"!?" A collected gasp immediately erupted.

The first ones to react, however, were the 2 Seraphs as they hurriedly lit up the whole area with their Holy Power. Since the channel they were maintaining was forcibly closed Michael and Gabriel also impatiently secured the souls that couldn't cross over.

"Shit!" Issei exclaimed once again and it was because his Dragon Gate was also abruptly closed, disconnecting him from his familiar. Without much choice, Issei had to transform into Crimson Cardinal Promotion mode once again.

The next one to move was Yamamoto, jumping back from the rest and directly releasing his Zanpakuto from its restraints, "Bankai, Zanka no Tachi." The temperature all around instantly increased to an unbearable level with his blade transforming into an ancient and worn-out katana, severely scorched by fire.

'I'm not going to survive a hit from that.' Azazel's survival instinct was yelling at him even though he was just looking at his sword, 'Didn't expect that this old man was more fiery than our Tiamat.' He, of course, was referring to one of the Five Dragon Kings who possesses a similar Fire-type ability.

Azazel then immediately turned his attention back to Ajuka, "How is it?"

"I'm already analyzing this lock, but it'll take a few minutes."

The Shinigami group was worried that Yamamoto might burn them before he could the enemy, but at that moment, a counteracting force burst forth, and it came from the furious Devil King.

Flanna turned her eyes towards Serafall who had lost all of her calm demeanor and sighed, "Open the barrier for them."

'Hestia' nodded and created another hole.

Meanwhile, Ophis and Lilith are also looking up at the giant and ask her, "Kisuke... He's gone?"

Serafall's hair turned pure white and her eyes turned light blue with the temperature around her dropping to dangerous levels. As 12 wings made out of pure ice appeared behind her and a glistening crown of ice on top of her head, she shot up, going through 'Hestia's' barrier and leaving behind a white trail of light.

The ground that Yamamoto was on was also melting before it exploded and propelled the old man through the same hole.

Issei was taken aback by the auras they were releasing but also immediately followed after them, 'I knew Serafall-san already reached Super Devil level, but I didn't expect the old man to match that temperature intensity. It feels like I'm standing close to the sun.'

[That sort of heat could possibly match Sirzechs' Power of Destruction. Sadly, that's not something as versatile as the Power of Destruction since the old man probably won't be able to use that for long if Serafall is not around.] Ddraig replied inside his head.

After watching those three fly off, Flanna finally answered Ophis' question, "I don't know... But I can't feel nor see anything from Boss."

Just like her, Ophis and Lilith knew that Flanna could see the world in a different light. Both the Infinite Dragons could see Kisuke from their perspective so they were hoping that Great Red would be able to see something with her Dreams and Illusions.

Ophis and Lilith both looked down and already lost their motivation. They have been helping 'Hestia' keep up the barrier but the moment they were about to let go, Flanna glared at them, "Don't even think about it. You're just going to do that guy a favor. Besides, do you really believe that Boss would just end things like this?"

Ophis and Lilith were thinking of just evacuating Serafall, Claire, Tanis, and Kunou and leaving everything behind, forcefully breaking through the restrictions placed by the giant.

But after contemplating it more, they decided to hold on for a bit more, "If things don't change, I'm going to leave you behind."

Flanna sighed. She's also thinking of ways to change the situation and it's the real reason why she hasn't done anything yet, 'If Boss is really gone... Then the priority is to stop that guy from following.' The same as Ophis and Lilith, Flanna thinks that the safety of the girls is the most important and she has no qualms with abandoning this world and all the work they've done. 

Maybe she'll help out those who originated from the same world as them, but regarding others, she wouldn't lift a finger for them and may even use them as bait.

Flanna was formulating numerous plans in her head when she noticed something akin to buzzing, "Hmmm?"

[....r]

[... ... ...r .e.]

Flanna turned to Ophis and asked, "Can you hear something?"

Ophis tilted her head and looked around, "...No-... Hmmm? Is there something?"

Now that Flanna was able to confirm that she was not just imagining things, she turned to others and gauged their reactions only to see all of them keenly watching the three who got out to blast the giant.

[.... ... ...r .e. ... ..... ...]

'There's definitely something out there... What is it?' Flanna sharpened her senses and Ophis also did the same. Despite this, they couldn't detect any fluctuation from the surroundings aside from the battle that was going on.

[..n ... ..re me? Fla... ...is ....th.]

'A voice?' Flanna thought before broadcasting her own thoughts outward, [Who are you?]

Everyone reacted and turned in her direction, including some eyes on the giant's body. Nevertheless, she ignored them and just waited.

[C.n you .ear m.?]

Flanna, Ophis, and this time, Lilith too, heard the voice and in a much clearer tone that they understood what it was trying to say despite blanking out several times.

[Yes.] Flanna attempted to reply which further confused those who were around her and raised suspicion from the giant.

[Gre.t. B.y us .ore tim.. .isuke .s ..ill .live, bu. we ne.d mor. .ime.]

Flanna, Ophis, and Lilith looked at each other because they finally recognized who that voice belonged to, """Tiamat!""" They all simultaneously uttered.

A smile emerged on Flanna's face and her Draconic Aura exploded out and a silhouette of her previous form manifested around her, "Then I guess it's my time to shine."