Chapter 116 - This Battle, the Fight to Save the World!
Gilgamesh's chant wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the ears of everyone present.
Even the ordinary Soul Reapers in Seireitei could hear his voice.
While most didn't understand the meaning of Gilgamesh's chant, a few seemed to recognize something, their expressions trembling with realization.
Among them was Ichigo from the World of the Living.
Upon hearing the chant, his body jolted, and he instinctively muttered, "The Round Table? Could it be King Arthur's Round Table?"
Past Yoruichi, confused, asked, "Who is King Arthur? And what is the Round Table?"
Urahara, now fanning his face with a paper fan to hide the lower half, gazed thoughtfully at Gilgamesh and said, "King Arthur is a legendary king in human mythology, much like the Hero King himself. He is a near-mythical figure."
"His true name is Arthur Pendragon, the Red Dragon of Britain and Knight King."
Past Yoruichi was stunned, not expecting King Arthur's background to be so grand.
Before she could process it further, Urahara continued, "There are countless legends about King Arthur, but the most famous is his group of twelve Round Table Knights and his two swords: Calibur, the sword in the stone, and Excalibur, the Holy Sword."
Urahara's gaze turned to the radiant golden sword in Gilgamesh's hand as he said, "Judging by the situation, it's very likely that the golden sword in the Hero King's hand is the legendary Excalibur, also known as the Sword of Promised Victory."
Still confused about King Arthur's legend, Yoruichi asked, "Is the Sword of Promised Victory really that powerful?"
This time, it wasn't Urahara who responded, but Ichigo, his voice trembling slightly. "There are many legends about Excalibur, and its power varies depending on the story."
"In the most well-known version, the Sword of Promised Victory was forged by faeries in Avalon. Its blade is said to cut through iron as though it were nothing, which is why the Lady of the Lake named it Excalibur, meaning 'cutting steel' in ancient Celtic."
"Cutting steel?" Yoruichi furrowed her brow.
She knew that for Gilgamesh to wield it, Excalibur's power must far exceed merely cutting through steel.
Ichigo seemed ready to continue, but by then, numerous golden lights began to appear around Gilgamesh, glowing one after another.
As the golden light faded, thirteen golden silhouettes stood tall.
These silhouettes were peculiar; they had no distinct features, only human-like forms.
Yet, to everyone present, these golden figures appeared sacred and noble, as if they were legendary knights from an epic, their very presence evoking respect.
Once the thirteen golden silhouettes appeared, Gilgamesh continued his chant.
"This battle is not against faeries!"
As these words fell, one of the golden silhouettes suddenly shone with a bright light.
And then, across time and space, a resolute and firm female voice echoed: "Acknowledged, Lancelot!"
Immediately, a golden light flickered atop the radiant sword Gilgamesh held aloft, like a golden star.
Ichigo, finally confirming his suspicions, exclaimed, "The Thirteen Restraints, the Round Table—there's no mistaking it! This is the Star of Salvation, the Star Sword!"
Yoruichi was baffled.
Even Urahara, who knew much about King Arthur's lore, was equally perplexed.
Clearly, neither of them knew about this so-called "Star Sword."
Noticing their confusion, Ichigo explained, "The Star Sword is said to be the ultimate form of the Sword of Promised Victory, a shining Holy Sword capable of saving the planet. It's the strongest sword, meant only to be wielded in the battle to save the world."
"Because the Star Sword is so powerful, King Arthur and his twelve knights created strict regulations for its use, called the Thirteen Restraints."
"The sword can only be released in situations where multiple glories and missions align."
"The full release of the sword requires seven acknowledgments."
"It's said that even though King Arthur and his knights are long gone, the Thirteen Restraints will remain forever, and when a wielder of the Star Sword requests its release, the Round Table will automatically convene."
Yoruichi was visibly shocked by this revelation, unable to fathom the true strength of Excalibur.
Saving the planet, saving the world—just hearing such descriptions left her in awe.
Urahara, however, frowned in thought. Unable to contain his skepticism, he asked, "Ichigo, while what you're saying is plausible, isn't this all just a setting from a novel?"
Without hesitation, Ichigo replied, "Because this is from a light novel that recently became popular among students."
"My friend loves it and talks about it constantly. That's how I know so much."
Both Urahara and Yoruichi were left speechless, black lines forming on their foreheads.
Urahara, still trying to process this, cautiously responded, "Ichigo, that's all well and good for a story, but applying it to reality seems a bit..."
Before Urahara could finish his sentence, Ichigo interrupted, his voice filled with anticipation, "This battle is against a foe stronger than oneself! Acknowledged, Bedivere!"
And just as Ichigo spoke, Gilgamesh's voice rang out once more.
"This battle is against a foe stronger than oneself!"
As those words fell, another golden silhouette flared to life.
And the same resolute, time-transcending voice echoed again: "Acknowledged, Bedivere!"
Another radiant light, like a star, ignited on the golden sword Gilgamesh held.
Urahara and Yoruichi stood there, dumbfounded, faces full of disbelief, their minds blank.
They couldn't fathom that a story from a novel had suddenly become real.
Gilgamesh's chant continued.
And each time, the firm, time-transcending female voice responded.
"This battle is for survival!"
"Acknowledged, Kay!"
"This battle is not one of inhumanity!"
"Acknowledged, Gaheris!"
"This battle is for the pursuit of truth!"
"Acknowledged, Agravain!"
"This battle is for fairness!"
"Acknowledged, Palamedes!"
"This battle is to vanquish evil!"
"Acknowledged, Mordred!"
"This battle is not fought for selfish desires!"
"Acknowledged, Galahad!"
"This battle is for noble honor!"
"Acknowledged, Gawain!"
"This battle is one of comradeship!"
"Acknowledged, Tristan!"
"This battle does not raise a sword against the good!"
"Acknowledged, Gareth!"
"And finally..."
"This battle is to save the world!"
"Acknowledged, Arthur!"
As Gilgamesh's chant continued, each of the remaining golden silhouettes flared to life one after another.
And with each acknowledgment, another star lit up on Gilgamesh's golden sword.
When all thirteen stars were alight, it meant that all Thirteen Restraints had been lifted.
Excalibur, with seven restraints released, was already a purging artifact of immense power.
But though this was a one-time Excalibur, Gilgamesh chose to do everything with perfection.
Thus, he opted to release all thirteen restraints.
Unsurprisingly, the Round Table unanimously approved Gilgamesh's request to lift the Thirteen Restraints.
And the moment all thirteen restraints were lifted, Gilgamesh swung down the Sword of Promised Victory, his voice ringing out: "Excalibur!"
In the next instant, a torrent of salvation's light burst forth from the sword, crashing toward the towering mountain of golden chains.
Heaven and earth seemed to fade at that moment. All that anyone could see was the immense torrent of light that spanned the sky, leaving them in stunned, trembling awe.
And just as the torrent of light was about to collide with the mountain of golden chains, the chains disintegrated into countless golden particles, vanishing from sight.
At the same moment, Zaraki regained his strength.
Staring at the approaching torrent of light, Zaraki, for the first time, felt the cold hand of death looming over him.
At that moment, his body's potential seemed to awaken, and the power he had unconsciously sealed within was unleashed, allowing him to dodge the torrent of salvation by the narrowest margin.
As he turned to look, Zaraki saw the enormous reishi monster, hundreds of meters tall, roaring and struggling in the torrent of salvation's light, but to no avail. In the end, it dissolved and vanished into nothingness.
Along with it, the sealed artifact that had traveled across worlds also disappeared, as did the storm clouds that had blanketed Seireitei.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, sunlight bathed the land, warming the rain-soaked people below. They stood there, dazed, as if everything that had just happened was a dream.
The Sword of Promised Victory in Gilgamesh's hand slowly faded away.
Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his face, Ukitake, his vision blurring from exhaustion, murmured softly, "Is it over?"
With those words, Ukitake collapsed from the sky, but Unohana was quick to act, summoning her Shikai Minazuki to catch him before he hit the ground.
Nearby, Shunsui sensed the dissolution of the reishi monster and carefully examined the reishi particles it was composed of, confirming that they hadn't vanished but had been restored to their most basic form.
This discovery left Shunsui even more astonished.
He couldn't fathom how Gilgamesh had accomplished such a feat, nor how Gilgamesh could continuously summon so many divine weapons.
First Sulsagana, then the Chains of Heaven, and now Excalibur.
What perplexed him the most was that none of these weapons emitted any spiritual pressure.
In Soul Society, nearly all weapons required spiritual pressure to function.
At that moment, Yamamoto appeared before Gilgamesh, his aged face serious and respectful as he spoke solemnly, "Your Majesty, I must apologize for my earlier actions, and I thank you for saving Soul Society."
Gilgamesh waved it off dismissively, "I didn't save Soul Society for your sake."
Pausing briefly, his tone playful, Gilgamesh added, "Besides, it's not over yet."
"As long as you haven't caught the mastermind behind this, there's always a chance another reishi monster could be born."
Gilgamesh's words caused the expressions of everyone present to shift dramatically, Yamamoto included.
They had all experienced firsthand the terror of the reishi monster, and the thought of facing another one was something they could hardly bear.
Yamamoto, ever the seasoned warrior, quickly regained his composure, honing in on the key point in Gilgamesh's words. "Your Majesty, do you know something we don't?"
At this, the others all turned their gazes toward Gilgamesh.
With a faint smile, Gilgamesh replied, "Ask Urahara. He knows more than I do. I have more pressing matters to attend to."
Everyone was taken aback, unable to comprehend what could be more important than the survival of Soul Society.
But they had no right to stop Gilgamesh.
After all, given that they had collectively misunderstood and even attacked him, the fact that Gilgamesh had still chosen to save them was already more than they could have asked for.
Gilgamesh had no intention of explaining further.
He knew that any future reishi monsters wouldn't be as powerful as the one they had just faced. With no further interest in lingering, he vanished in a flash step, appearing before past Yoruichi.
Without a word, Yoruichi, as if understanding his intentions, transformed into her black cat form and leaped into Gilgamesh's arms.
With Yoruichi in tow, Gilgamesh disappeared once more in a series of flash steps, heading toward the First Division Captain's office.
Through the Omniscient Star, Gilgamesh had already learned of Renji and Rukia's situation.
Both were currently sealed within reishi crystals located in the First Division's office.
Urahara and Ichigo had considered following him, but the sudden appearance of several figures stopped them in their tracks.
Yamamoto's gaze was now fixed on Urahara, his expression complicated.
Since Rukia's memories had been erased, Yamamoto still remembered Urahara as the "criminal" who had been exiled from Soul Society.
As Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto had his pride, and he never thought he would one day be forced to ask for help from a so-called "criminal."
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Yamamoto spoke, "Urahara Kisuke, the boy just said that you know something. Can you tell me what it is?"
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