Chapter 134: The Lament of the Quincy Civilization! (Patreon)

Though Ren was chanting high above the Wandenreich, his voice reached the ears of every Quincy clearly.

No, not just their ears.

It was as if the chant was resonating from within their very blood, their very souls.

And accompanying it was something that felt like a civilization's lament.

They understood. That was the lament of the civilization called "Quincy."

Uncontrollable panic rose in their hearts, gnawing at their bodies, minds, and even their souls.

The Wandenreich descended into chaos. Screams, wails, and cries rose and fell together, composing the overture to a civilization's final act.

"Ahhh! I don't want to die!"

"It's him! He's here!"

"That voice is Ren Kurogami! It's Ren Kurogami!"

"Where is he? Where is the King of Heroes?"

Not just the ordinary Quincies. Even the Sternritter, upon hearing Ren's chant, were like startled birds, restless and fearful. They all activated their Vollständig and immediately flew into the skies above the Wandenreich, searching for Ren's whereabouts.

Through the Wise King's story, they had learned of the power called Noble Phantasms, and they knew Ren was using one now. They had to stop him before he could unleash it.

But before they could finish their search, an Arrow of Light that would trigger the Great Flood descended from the heavens and struck the Vandenreich's plaza.

Instantly, the Quincies near the arrow fled in terror, as though they had encountered something unimaginably horrifying.

That arrow awakened a nightmare they would never forget.

It reminded them of the Torrent of Starlight unleashed by the Holy Sword of the Star not long ago.

That torrent had been so terrifying that it had not only killed several Sternritter but also shattered the Wandenreich entirely.

And though this arrow appeared harmless, the one who fired it was Ren Kurogami. No one believed it was just an ordinary arrow.

They had to get as far away as possible before it unleashed its true power.

Soon, no one remained within a hundred meters of the arrow.

High above, the Sternritter who had activated their Vollständig also instinctively kept their distance.

In this moment, Haschwalth appeared.

It was like a common trope from old legends. Whenever a civilization faced catastrophe, a hero would emerge to save it.

At that moment, in their eyes, Haschwalth was that hero.

Under everyone's watchful gaze, Haschwalth drew his blade and struck the arrow.

CRACK!

The arrow shattered into scattered points of light.

The Quincies watching stared in stunned disbelief.

They couldn't accept that Ren's Noble Phantasm had been dispelled so easily.

Had Ren been toying with them?

Even Haschwalth's brow furrowed slightly.

When something defied expectation, there was usually a catch.

He sensed something was wrong and grew more cautious.

Then, a Quincy pointed at the sky, his voice trembling.

"Wait... what is that?"

The surrounding Quincies instinctively looked up at his words.

The moment they did, their faces trembled with shock.

A golden meteor was falling toward the plaza.

Panic and turmoil began to spread once more.

High above, the Sternritter also noticed the golden meteor.

No. Because of the distance, they could see that it wasn't a meteor at all, but an enormous golden arrow.

And the moment they saw it, they seemed to hear the lament once more, rising from their blood, their souls, from the civilization called "Quincy."

They wanted to stop the golden arrow from falling, but their bodies felt as heavy as a thousand jun. They couldn't even take a single step.

The hero who would save them appeared once again.

Haschwalth soared into the sky, charging straight toward the golden arrow.

The Quincies watched, hope rekindling in their deadened hearts.

But they didn't know that Haschwalth cared nothing for their deaths, nor for the lament of the Quincy civilization.

All he cared about was how much time he could buy for Yhwach.

He knew Yhwach was at a critical juncture in absorbing the Soul King's power.

He would not let anything disturb Yhwach, even if it cost him his life.

Just as Haschwalth approached the golden arrow, preparing to strike it with his Schrift ability, the arrow seemed to have found its target and exploded in midair.

The terrifying impact, carrying crushed air with it, swept across everything in its path.

Haschwalth was caught in the blast and sent flying backward.

The sudden turn of events stunned all the Quincies.

Before they could react, crimson patterns engraved with the truths of the world began to spread rapidly from the point where the arrow had burst.

CRACK!

Under the Quincies' watchful eyes, the space touched by the crimson patterns shattered apart, and from within surged a Great Flood capable of annihilating an entire civilization.

Watching the Great Flood descend from above, on the verge of engulfing the entire Wandenreich, everyone felt it: fear, despair, helplessness.

The Wandenreich descended into total chaos.

Screams, wails, and cries of anguish, joined by the deafening roar of the floodwaters, composed the final movement of the Quincy civilization's fall.

BOOM!

The world-ending Great Flood eventually engulfed the entire Wandenreich, and every single Quincy within it.

Whether ordinary Quincies, Sternritter, or even Haschwalth himself, none were spared.

Some tried to resist, but within the Raging Waves of Utnapishtim, they couldn't even stir a single ripple.

…

Seireitei, near the shadow where the Vandenreich was hidden.

Ren had returned.

He now stood with the Zero Division and the Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei 13, watching a projection screen nearby.

When he had infiltrated the Wandenreich earlier, Mayuri Kurotsuchi had given him a monitoring device to bring along.

The projection screen showed exactly what was happening inside the Wandenreich.

Because the device was positioned high above, it could only show the Wandenreich as a whole, not the details of what was happening within it.

But that was enough.

Watching the world-ending Great Flood, both the Zero Division and the Gotei 13 members were deeply shaken.

Shock, awe, and disbelief filled their faces.

Even through the screen, they could feel the Great Flood's overwhelming power.

Before they could even react, the final movement of a civilization's fall unfolded before their eyes.

When the dust finally settled, the Quincy civilization had been submerged beneath the Great Flood.

Through the gradually receding waters, they could only make out the remaining ruins of what had once been the Quincy civilization.

Dead silence.