Chapter 122 - Doing Some Side Quest Part 6

"Jugram Haschwalth, The Balance." Adam spoked, announcing the arrival of the Sternritter Grandmaster and the right hand man of the King of Quincy, Yhwach himself.

Jugram frowned looking at the personification of abomination. Not only the power of Shinigami and Quincy, but also the power of Hollow which are poisonous to Quincy. Yet, the creature in his sight possessed all three and faced none of the repercussions of possessing the power of all three races. In fact, he gained the benefit of all three races.

"Who are you and what is your purpose here?" Jugram asked with a calm expression but underneath his mask of calmness, he is in fact worried and even feared that such a threat that Yhwach never mentioned, appeared when Yhwach had yet to even resurrect his body.

"My purpose? Shouldn't you already know it considering you should be able to use The Almighty?" Adam questioned with an increasingly wider smile. "Or perhaps, you couldn't use it yet? Or was it because The Almighty couldn't reveal my existence?" Adam's smile morphs into a grin when he senses fear, a deep and powerful fear from Jugram.

Adam's Hollow side rejoices at the taste of such delectable emotions wafting from Jugram's body.

"Ah! It seems I am correct." Adam laughed maniacally before donning his Hollow mask and caused his already titanic amount of Reiatsu to be increased by another few folds and causing the area surrounding him to crumble into dust from the sheer Reiatsu surrounding him.

Then he flashed away.

*KaBOOM!*

"KH!" Jugram managed to draw his blade in time to block the strike but the sheer force blew away another portion of the castle encrusted in ice and also a few districts behind it until the energy behind the clash slammed into the wall of Wandenreich.

"Don't you get cocky, you abhorrent abomination!" Jugram roared and tried to overpower Adam by activating Blut Arterie to increase his strength explosively.

But Adam instead grinned wider under his Hollow mask and uttered, "Devour".

Instantly, the pitch black blade, like the Black Hole, starts rapidly devouring the Reishi in his surroundings and from Jugram.

"Tch!" Jugram hastily kick Adam away and get some distance away from him.

Jugram realized that being closer to Adam is actually more disadvantageous due to his Reishi devouring ability that rapidly drains his and the surrounding Reishi. If this continues, he wouldn't even have Reishi left to use his Shrift.

"I have to end this quickly." Jugram said with a hardened look and quickly activated his Shrift.

"End what?" Adam innocently asked after suddenly appeared next to his shoulder without him noticing.

Jugram's eyes opened wide and quickly brought his sword up to block the slash but instead, he felt a sharp pain on his wrists and heard a resounding *clang* as his sword and severed hands fell to the ground.

"Really, I felt disappointed. I mean, you are Yhwach's 'other half', right? But, you are so weak this can't even be considered a proper warm up." Adam said cockily while cracking his neck.

Jugram was enraged by this humiliation and mockery. He mustered what remained of his strength to punch Adam with his right arm which is now nothing but a bloody stump.

"Hmn. You really are loyal to him, huh? If you can see your future with The Almighty, you might change your mind though." Adam hinted about him being discarded too by Yhwach in the very end while wiping away the splotch of blood on his Hollow mask.

"Anyway, thanks for your power and you can die now." Jugram heard before he felt something stabbed him from his gut up to his shoulder.

"Devour" Jugram heard the cold and merciless voice announce his death before everything went dark.

———

After defeating Jugram Haschwalth. Adam wander into the castle again using the memories he devoured to navigate this place and eventually stumbled upon a prison cell with a blond Quincy sealed inside.

"He is sealed up. That makes things easier for me." Adam smiled as he cut the prison open and absorbed the Soul King's brain using Hogyoku.

"Next is the hand and heart and also Yhwach himself." Adam mutters as he walks out the prison but not before taking a detour to the armory and ransacking everything that isn't nailed down, especially the catalyst for Vollstandig, the improved version of Sanrei Glove.

When he arrived at the door of the throne room, he sensed three other powerful beings besides Yhwach who was still in deep slumber. These three individuals are definitely the elite guard, Schutzstaffel.

"Let's wrap this up quickly and return to my research." Adam said before he pushed the massive double door open.

Without even wasting words, he was already under attack as Reishi's condensed bullet and giant Heilig Pfeil rained down on him. Those attacks were blocked by the Forcefield but his Forcefield ran out of durability quickly and shattered. However, the time it buys is enough as Adam unsheathed Kyoka Suigetsu.

"Shatter" He intoned before he walk unimpeded as the three tear each other apart thinking they were attacking him when they were actually tearing each other apart while Adam walked up to the throne where Yhwach's corpse lies.

Even when his heart had yet to start beating or any of his power regained, Adam can feel the tangible power radiating from Yhwach's presence. But, ultimately. There's nothing Yhwach can do to stop him as Adam allows Hogyoku to absorb what it needs before he summons his Zanpakuto and devours Yhwach with his Bankai.

Adam can feel his Reiryoku rapidly increase again until it hits a ceiling limit.

"Ah, I finally reached the growth limit of the species. I must break through the limit to continue growing." Adam felt disappointed because he wasted so much Reiryoku he could gain if he kept Yhwach for after he transcended using Hogyoku.

"Well, it's too late to regret it." Adam mutters before he look at the three still locked in battle.

The one with the sniper rifle is nearly dead while the other two still survive thanks to their existence as the incarnate Soul King's body part.

Thanks to them exhausting each other, Adam easily swoops in and claims the hand and heart of the Soul King. Allowing Hogyoku to absorb them before he left the now tattered Wandenreich.

———

Another week later, Adam finally allowed the Hogyoku to absorb the brain, hand, heart and Yhwach. As the Hogyoku grow stronger, the speed of assimilation also gets faster. Hence, he can complete it in a week.

"The preparation is complete. It's time to transcend." Adam grasped the Hogyoku which reached a new form. A black sphere lined with mysterious glowing letters with a singular eye that contains four irises.

He placed the Hogyoku on his chest as a hole appeared in the middle of his chest where the Hogyoku firmly latches itself in the center of the hole, levitating there before the eyes shut itself.

A deep thrumming comes from the Hogyoku before it starts dripping out black viscous sludge-like fluid that transforms into an eyeball-like creature that quickly surrounds Adam's body, encasing him and forming a shell like a pupa.

The transcending process caused quite a ruckus across all worlds as every spiritual aware being can sense the majestic and primordial Reiryoku crashing down on them as an invisible pressure.

Like the reenactment of the tale of genesis. Everyone can instinctively sense the birth of a similar creature as the Soul King.

The pupa-like shell didn't last long as a few minutes later, the shell started cracking and forming fractures where light burst out from it and blind anyone that dared to see. A fist then punched out from the shell and another followed before both hands tore the shell open to reveal Adam in nude state with six pairs of pure white energy wings behind him, making him look like a celestial being descending into the mortal world. His body radiates bright light like he is a pure and inviolable existence. But those lasted until the moment before he opened his eyes.

When Adam flutters his eyes open, an eye appears on each wing mimicking his real eyes that have four irises symbolize the divine authority of the Soul King, the Omnipotence or the True Almighty.

"This power feels intoxicating." Adam mutters while flexing his hand and dismisses the energy wings that flaked away into ambient Reishi and temporarily enriches the Reishi in his surroundings.

"But firstly." Adam held his arm to the sky and declared, "Auswählen" as he casually wiped out the remnants of Wandenreich and increased his total Reiryoku by a meager 2-3%.

"It's quite disappointing." He mutters emotionlessly, unaware of the five Quincies staring at him while shivering in fear and terror when he uses Auswählen.

"Congratulations, Master!"

"Congratulations, Milord."

Adam's Zanpakuto Spirits and the Arrancars congratulate Adam for his successful transcending.

"Hmn? It's nothing worth congratulating. Everything had been calculated and predicted perfectly to reach my desired outcome. Success is merely a matter of time." Adam shrugs before turning to face them and his four irised eyes focus on the remnants of the Sternritters.

The Sternritter he spared, minus Meninas, all harbor rebellious thoughts as their loyalty still resides with the Quincy Emperor. However, now. They received an answer. Auswählen is the power exclusive to Yhwach.

If Adam can use it, it can only mean one thing. Adam had killed Yhwach similarly and devoured him like how he devoured the rest of the Sternritters. Also, Adam has the power to end their life with a mere word. To continue their rebellious intention is nothing more than asking for the worst death as Auswählen takes away even their soul from them.

When the four irised eyes return back to his normal eyes. The feeling of coldness and detachment from Adam also disappeared as he returned to his normal self.

"Now, why don't we celebrate this occasion? I know a place that has good drinks and food in the human world." Adam suggested because all his goals had been achieved and he wanted to use his remaining time to prepare for his departure from the Bleach world.

———

Adam and his group later find themselves in Kuoh Town. Still not yet moderned but that didn't really matter. They are here for celebration.

Inside a private room.

"Drink more Master." Kyoka Suigetsu poured more wine for Adam but he caught on with her true intentions.

"You should know that I will not get drunk unless I want to, right?"

"Hmn? What are you talking about, Master?" She feigns ignorance and continues to smile when her intentions are laid bare in Adam's eyes. Literally.

With a sigh and look at the rest of his companions. The Quincies aside, he is surprised that the Arrancar can eat human food since Hollows only find Soul to be edible. Perhaps because they had been mixed with Shinigami power?

Anyway, he raised his cup and toast with everyone before the feast. His tasks had mostly been finished. All that is left is to return this body to Seireitei and leave to let Shiro take over again.

"Cheers."

"Cheers!"

—————