Chapter 420

Magic radiated, and the Weakness Soldier's body transformed, firing streams of magical light toward Lucy's position.

The attack came too suddenly, too sudden to react in time.

"Damn it."

Seeing the magical beams hurtling toward them, Lucy and Wendy froze in shock.

They knew there was nowhere left to flee—they were thousands of meters up in the treetops.

Yet…

Just as the Weakness Soldier's attack was about to strike Lucy, a beam behind her suddenly blazed with even brighter light, illuminating the entire earth and dispelling the magical beams.

Immediately after, a figure stepped out from behind the beam.

As this figure appeared, a pinpoint of light condensed from within the beam behind them, landing in the figure's hand; as the halo faded, a stone engraved with patterns materialized.

The moment they saw this figure, both Wendy and Lucy were utterly stunned.

For the figure before them was no one else—it was Aizen Sōjirō, long vanished!

"Mr. Aizen!"

A cry of shock rang out across heaven and earth.

It drew everyone's attention at once,

and all fighters on the battlefield halted their battles, turning toward the beam.

And when everyone saw the fragment in Aizen's hand, they, like Lucy and Wendy, froze in place.

".'This is the "Fragment of the Great Will"!'"

Though they had seen the stone through the screen, the moment they laid eyes on it in person, their hearts trembled violently.

'Fragment of the Great Will'

A product of the world's collective will, possessing the power to fulfill any wish—there it was, right before their eyes, Lee.

In an instant, everyone's gaze toward the 'Fragment of the Great Will' in Aizen's hand turned greedy; especially Precht, who momentarily forgot his fear of death.

Compared to these people, only a few remained calm.

Yet, compared to the shock of the 'Fragment of the Great Will,' Auguste was more stunned by Aizen's appearance.

"These bastards were prepared all along!"

Perhaps too frantic, Auguste had forgotten—among the three, Aizen was the strongest—while he had been fighting Shihōin and Gin.

Now he understood why they hadn't fought to seize the fragment but instead chose to fight him and hold him back—they had planned this all along.

It wasn't just Auguste who came to his senses; Precht was also stunned, but beneath his shock lay greater fury.

He had struggled here in battle, only to have the victory snatched away by a man who had barely shown his face—no matter what, he could not accept this.

Boom—!

Undeniably, Aizen's final move of stealing victory shocked everyone, but it also made him the enemy of all.

Everyone abandoned their opponents and charged toward Aizen.

Among them, Precht and Val were the fastest—after abandoning their foes, they reached Aizen's side in barely a second.

"Give me the fragment!"