Within an interrogation room of the palace of governance Robert, Uryu, and Jurgram looked at Keigo for a long moment while processing the full story that was told to them. Robert folded his hands above his mouth and let out a silent breath.
'And that is all you have to say in your report?' The Elder asked and Asano nodded dejectedly.
'Yeah we were supposed to bust in some Arrancar in the deadlands, but by the time we arrived, no one was there. Then Ichigo disappeared in a flash of light and latter I fought that Hubert guy he was using this black Spiritual power to amplify his abilities and after beating him he was vaporized inside out by this blue fire.
Uryu nodded in understanding. 'Then it is as I suspected...' he narrowed his eyes grimly. 'Kurosaki has been kidnapped by the Abgrundritter or in the native tongue the Abyss Knights'
Keigo then looked at the older teen in confusion. 'The Abyss what?
'The Abgurndritter...' Jugram repeated. 'They are a rogue sect of Quincy almost as ancient as the order of the Sternritter...' He then frowns while looking up at a banner of the Quincy that hung in the room. 'However, unlike the Order which has sworn to protect the Soul King. The Abyss Knights seek to assassinate them'
Keigo then winded his eyes uneasily at what he just heard. 'Assassinate the soul king...and you are telling me these guys have been trying to do that since the founding of the Holy Kingdom?'
Robert then looked at Keigo and shook his head. 'Not tried to have and continued to do so dozens of times throughout history' Asano's eyes winded in absolute shock as the man continued. 'Though the reasons on why have varied'
Jugram then spoke up. 'Some of them claimed they eliminated the Kings in the name of independence, others have stated that they wanted revenge against the kings for abusing their power. But regardless of the reasons, they never once took over the Holy Kingdom only wishing to have a ruler that would follow their wishes'
Keigo then remained silent as he tried to take all this information in. 'So you're telling me these rogue Quinces have succeeded in taking out your king several times already, even when they possess the power of the Reio!?' He questioned in disbelief and Uryu let out a deep breath.
'As hard as it is believed, they have...' his eyes darken. 'With their main means being Still Silver'
'Still Silver...' Keigo questioned nervously. 'Wait...isn't that the stuff that sometimes develops inside Quincy's lungs when they are struck by Aswanwalen? How exactly could that be used to kill the past kings?'
Jurgram folded his hands 'It is a rather closely guarded secret for security purposes...but since you are part of the vanguard you deserve to know' He then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and then continued. 'While the exact reason for why it happens is unknown. Still silver has a unique property to negate the powers of any Quincy king that comes in contact with it if only for a moment, and in that state of weakness, the Abgurndritter were able to slay several kings in the past...at first in their sleep'
Keigo then swallowed uneasily. 'At first?'
Robert then looked at Asano. 'On the off chance their assassination attempt was discovered or if the King proves too troublesome to kill in their sleep...they then later use a portion of the power of the Reio himself to achieve their goals...which was stolen from their past victims'
Asano's turn winded his eyes as remembered that mysterious dark power that coursed through Hubert's body. 'So...that guy I fought was using...'
'The Reio's spiritual energy gathered from the corpses of those slain kings' Uryu confirmed grimly. 'For abyssal knights realized that even a speck of that power would enchant them well beyond the capabilities of the average sternritter and not only that, but by sharing the essence of the reio in their bodies they become immune to the almighty and combine them using weapons composed of Still Silver...'
Keigo then broke into a cold sweet. 'And it's no wonder they were so successful...' he looked at the three Quincy. 'But that still leaves the question of why they captured Ichigo!?'
'That is what we are trying to figure out Asano...' Robert explained. 'I can imagine a decent amount of Quincy who may try to take the throne themselves. Though I am surprised they didn't try to target Bazzard as well...but regardless we will investigate this matter further and question every Quincy in the order that has been gone in the last twenty-four hours' He then got up from his chair 'And stopped their scheme before it is too late'
Meanwhile, within the depths of Tartarus Ichigo slowly woke himself up and found himself in another room that looked like a round chamber that was alighted with a blue crystal-like lamp from the ceiling as he flexed his arms and legs he found himself shirtless and bound with metal chains and when he tried to channel some of his spiritual power to break free. He quickly found out that it was unable to channel through his body.
'I guess you already figured out that breaking out of those chains is pointless' The voice called out into the darkness and Ichigo growled upon recognizing it.
'Joeseph...' the shinigami spate while the regent appeared out of the darkness. 'So you really are behind all of this huh?'
The middle-aged then sneered at the restrained teen. 'Oh believe me half-breed, I rather wish I wasn't...but given the current circumstances my hand was forced and reluctantly...you are needed to become the current lynchpin of the world'
Ichigo then tightens his hands into a fist. 'Just what the hell are you even planning?' The Shinigami argued angrily. 'First, you didn't want anything to do with me, after making your son the Soul King's successor, now you need me to become its Lynchpin?' He then snorted in dismissal. 'Guess Bazzard was right about you overlooking a couple of things'
Joseph then bared his teeth in irritation. 'You are very fortunate that I need you alive for the ritual and can't risk maiming you beyond use...' he then used the flying step to appear right in front of Ichigo, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled his face up. 'Otherwise, I would have blasted off one of your limbs for your insolence'
Ichigo then chuckled. 'I feel honored...' He said sarcastically, which made Joesph growl in rage before tossing the teen's head aside.
'You can act defiant as much as you like filth but it changes nothing!' Joseph snapped back while walking out of the chamber. 'For no one is coming to save you, you are helpless in your state, and soon...' He then glanced back at Ichigo and his eyes then flashed a blinding yellow light. 'You won't even be a person anymore' He then turned his back around and exited the chamber through a locked door and accompanying him behind it was Berenice Gabrielli.
'The Sternritter order is already undergoing investigations involving the disappearance of Ichigo Kurosaki and are now questioning every Quincy they can get their hands on' Berenice explained and then narrowed his eyes. 'And it will only be a matter of time before they will try to search this area as well'
Joseph then let an irrational sigh. 'Tartarus is forbidden for anyone, Sternritter, and Director included without permission even if they were foolish enough to come here regardless. This compound is hidden from their spiritual sense' He then smiled. 'By the time they do manage to find this place. 'Ichigo will long be disposed of, the nail will be ready for my son, he will inherit the throne of the soul king, and the...little problem the Dark Ones are dealing with will soon be settled'
'And what about Quilge who sent in that false message?' Berenice asked.
The Regent then smiled. 'We have an alibi that some of my men impersonated him and if worse comes to worst he will be disposed of like Hubert' He explained while entering another room that had walls lined with silvery weaponry, that consisted of bows, arrows, swords, spears, and guns and in the center of it all was a black orb that radiated with tremendous power.
Joseph then walked towards the orb and grinned at it blissfully. 'So long as everyone including you plays their part, everything will go according to plan'
Later that night in the partially cleared-out ruins of BG9's lab, the Sternritter of the Knight overlooked several of his hologram screens that showed maps of the city that had either remained partially intact after the Arrancar invasion or still under construction. From the Quincy academy, several of the reincarnation domes, the Palace of Government itself many of the barracks, home districts, shopping centers, and even a few sewers that have been exposed. All this was done to find survivors still trapped in the rubble, bodies that had yet to be recovered after the massive battle, or even a few Hollows and Arrancar that may be hiding.
But then he heard a signal from his head that one of the drones spotted something unusual in one of the places he least suspected.
Yet, when he pulled up a screenshot of the display which showed to be the lowest level of the three underground prisons, BG9's eyes widened in intrigue at finding a particular badly damaged hallway, that was scoured with burns, molten rock, and deep crevices.
'Well now...' he said amused placing his hand on his chin. 'How interesting'
Looks, like things keep going downhill for Jespoh black huh?
Anyway For my Spanish-speaking audience, I have just allowed Kaisercero HD Kun to upload this fic to his website to audio read and the first three chapters are up. So be sure to check his webpage when you can.
Anyway, see you all later.
