Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 88 - Forced to Join When You Can't Win

The pale-gold Reiatsu climbed higher. Wayne's left palm burned.

Harribel, caught by the face, could only circulate her own Reiatsu, condensing moisture to cool herself, but it was a drop in the bucket. The moisture flashed to steam and drifted away. The Cero's heat was already searing her face. She knew Wayne was still questioning her. Otherwise, a point-blank Cero to the face would leave her dead if not half-crippled.

She had lost.

As a fellow Vasto Lorde, Harribel understood that in a clash of their magnitude, a single misstep meant total defeat, let alone a point-blank, high-Reiatsu attack like this. Facing Wayne's question, she had no room left to argue.

Just as he'd said: join, or die.

"My lord!" Apache and Mila Rose surged forward to rescue her. Nel and Shak blocked their path. Under the oppressive force of peak Adjuchas, two mid-tier Adjuchas could do nothing at all. Matters having reached this point, Shak aside, Nel knew Wayne no longer held much regard for Harribel. If she could be taken in, he wouldn't disdain it. But if she refused to the death? Turning her into a part of himself was not a bad choice either.

"I... will join."

In the end, Harribel yielded. She was not willing to join Wayne's force, but even less did she want to see her only two remaining Subordinates sacrificed in vain because of her resistance.

"Are you certain? I don't see submission." The Reiatsu in Wayne's hand did not diminish. He saw no obedience or willingness in Harribel's tone or bearing.

"You are the stronger one. I have no right to choose." Harribel's Reiatsu slowly descended. She could only lower herself, so her two Subordinates would not be killed on her account. "I, Tia Harribel, am willing to become your Subordinate."

"Hmph." Wayne withdrew his Reiatsu and released her, then signaled Nel to let the two Hollow beasts pass.

"My lord, are you all right!" Apache and Mila Rose rushed forward, gathering around Harribel where she half-knelt on the ground. Their eyes blazed with fury and killing intent.

"Damn you — you despicable bastard!"

"Enough, Mila Rose." Harribel's eyes were half-closed as she slowly recovered. "Before the strong, insolence only gets you killed for nothing. This time, I lost. We will join them."

"But my lord... that bastard." Apache seemed ready to say more.

"Get lost!"

Wayne's backhand sent Apache flying. Blood sprayed from her deer-like mouth. "No strength, and still running your mouth — who gave you the nerve!"

He had completely lost patience with the Adjuchas under Harribel's faction. Perhaps it was the pressure Aizen had imposed that made him so irascible. Or perhaps it was that, after all his painstaking effort to climb to this height, he still lacked the power to change anything.

Unknown fears and uncertainties had pushed Wayne's negative emotions to their peak. Though fighting Harribel had confirmed his own combat strength as he'd wished, with those three beast-gods around, he simply could not muster the same patience Harribel had for them. The mere fact that they were weak yet still spouted nonsense was enough to make him despise them.

The Vasto Lorde's Reiatsu bore down massively on Apache, pinning her to the ground where the slap had sent her.

"Apache!" Harribel wanted to check on her, but sensing Wayne's enraged Reiatsu, she did not step forward. She knew he had held back, otherwise, that one slap would have killed Apache outright.

"Wayne... my lord." Harribel half-knelt toward him and forced the words out. "I pledge once more: I am willing to become your Subordinate. Please forgive Apache's insolence."

"Restrain your own subordinates. If anything like this happens a second time, I will show no mercy."

With that, Wayne's left hand slashed the air beside him. A spatial rift tore open before everyone's eyes, and a long serpent Hollow beast tumbled out, crashing onto the ground.

"Ah!" The serpent let out a miserable cry. The fall had clearly been hard.

"Sun-Sun!" Seeing her former comrade alive, Mila Rose pounced on her. "Sun-Sun, are you all right!"

"So it really is a spatial ability." Harribel was overjoyed to see Sun-Sun still alive. From the start of the battle, she had assumed she'd lost two of her subordinates. Yet in the end, all of them were intact, injured, but none dead. She cast an involuntary extra glance at Wayne, standing not far away.

"I... I was knocked into some kind of alternate space and fell freely for over ten minutes. There was no way to construct Reishi to stabilize myself in the air." Sun-Sun's face was still pale with lingering terror. She shuddered. "What kind of ability is that!"

"It's all right, Sun-Sun. You're safe — that's what matters." Harribel stepped forward to comfort her, then turned her gaze to Wayne. What spread through her eyes, she did not know, perhaps doubt, perhaps gratitude.

Seeing her look at him, Wayne made no expression in response. "Tia Harribel. Step forward."

"...Yes, my lord." Her thoughts interrupted, Harribel returned to the present and walked toward him.

"From now on, whatever I do — do not resist."

Wayne raised his hand and lightly tapped her chest. The next second, Harribel felt a strange sensation bloom at her heart, as if something had been forcibly stuffed inside. Her Reiatsu flickered slightly, though the disruption was minor.

"I just implanted a micro-communication device unique to my faction into your body. You should be able to sense it." As he spoke, Wayne hooked his finger, drawing the Emblem inside her toward the skin over her heart. A small disc-shaped Emblem pressed itself into place from within, flush against her skin.

"This is..."

"The Emblem of my faction. Try infusing a trace of your Reiatsu into it."

Harribel slowly wrapped her Reiatsu around the Emblem inside her. It began to grow warm almost at once. A shadowy tattoo in the shape of a greatsword slowly surfaced on her skin.

"This is my faction's mark. In future battles, if you encounter anyone bearing the same mark, protect them. That will be your duty."

"...Yes." Harribel stared at the Emblem on her chest, momentarily dazed, then turned to look at her three Subordinates.

"They are not yet qualified." Wayne understood her meaning, but he would not make an exception for the three beast-gods on account of a glance. "They are your Subordinates — you are responsible for restraining them. But they have not earned the right to join my faction. If one day you can wear down their savagery, perhaps then I will consider it."

"Tch. Who cares." Apache, barely back on her feet, was still defiant, especially after seeing her lord branded.

"This Emblem is not merely a symbol. It is also your means of calling for aid. If you encounter an enemy you cannot handle, infuse your Reiatsu into it. Once the brand turns red, you may leave a voice message, but you will only have thirty seconds. After that, my subordinates will receive the signal and relay it to me. Hold out for one minute, and I can arrive." Wayne paid no heed to Apache's mockery.

"Yes..." Harribel's heart churned with mixed emotions. She felt as though she had been forcibly lashed to Wayne's cause. She had considered fleeing, but after he branded her, she knew escape was impossible. She believed this brand was not only a symbol but also a locator. More importantly, it was very likely a bomb that could be detonated at any time, the kind that would explode directly inside her body. Wayne's ability was spatial in nature; burying something inside her would be no great difficulty for him.

And digging it out herself was not even worth considering. She might escape for a time, but the next time she faced Wayne, it would not end well.

Forget it. Joining is joining. If this Vasto Lorde's faction is truly as that female antelope Hollow described, then it may not be unacceptable. I will observe for now. At the very least, I must ensure Apache, Sun-Sun, and the others survive.

"Let's go. Come back with me and take a look."

Before Harribel could react, Wayne seized her shoulder and teleported away. Seeing their lord's Reiatsu vanish in an instant, the three beasts panicked, but Nel stopped them.

"Lord Wayne has only taken Miss Harribel back to our stronghold. You need not worry."

"Stronghold? Isn't your stronghold in the Far West? That bastard... uh... lord, he..." Sensing Nel's Reiatsu sharpening, Mila Rose's defiance immediately deflated. Never mind Vasto Lorde-level Wayne, even the peak Adjuchas Nel standing before them was not someone the three of them could handle.

"Whatever you think of Lord Wayne, I hope you will show some respect." Nel's childlike voice turned razor-sharp.

"From the time I was a low-level Hollow following Lord Wayne, all the way to my current peak Adjuchas, I have witnessed everything he has done. Not only has he never bullied me because I am female, he has treated me as family. At our stronghold, everyone who follows Lord Wayne is regarded as family. Our stronghold will not tolerate slander or contempt, and Lord Wayne even less so."

Nel's Reiatsu soared skyward.

"Since Miss Harribel has agreed to join, I hope that from today onward you will rein in your savagery. Should you dare to act against Lord Wayne's will, or commit betrayal, we will hunt you down without fail!"

"Damn it..." Feeling Nel's Reiatsu bearing down on her, Apache involuntarily lowered her body. The gap between mid-tier and peak was vast, more than enough to overwhelm her, especially since among the three beast-gods, Apache's combat power was not the highest.

"Withdraw your Reiatsu." Sun-Sun's serpentine body also strained under the pressure. "Even for Lady Harribel's sake, we would not entertain crooked intentions."

"Likewise, we hope to receive equal treatment." Mila Rose forced the words out. "If your faction dares harm Lady Harribel, even at the cost of our lives, we will resist to the end!"

Nel gave a cold snort but said no more. She dispersed her Reiatsu, because just as she was about to speak again, Wayne had already brought Harribel back to her side.

Aside from scattered inactive marks awaiting activation, Wayne had currently placed his fixed marks in only 3 locations: his own Throne, the city in the World of the Living, and on Nel's person. That was why he could appear at Nel's side in an instant.

"All right. The rest, you and your Subordinates can discuss among yourselves. You have one day. After that, all of you return to camp with me."

"Yes, my lord." Harribel lowered her head.

"Nel, come with me to inscribe the spatial matrix. Shak, go up and wait for the Great Emperor's arrival."

"Yes, my lord." Shak lowered his head in acknowledgment. In truth, his heart was full of shock. Harribel, who had given Baraggan headaches for years, had surrendered to Wayne in less than a day. There had been coercion, yes. But joining was joining. Or rather: if Harribel had been stubborn enough to refuse, she and her Subordinates might already have been devoured clean by Wayne and Nel.

"We'll take our leave. Tomorrow we will come here again." Wayne took Nel and vanished with a flash step. Shak cast one glance at his former arch-enemies, then left Harribel's territory without a word.

"My lord, are you all right?" Seeing everyone depart, Apache and the other two Hollow beasts quickly crowded around.

"I'm fine." Harribel collected herself and let out a long breath. "Return to camp and rest. Tomorrow, we leave this place."

"My lord..." Apache's voice was heavy with reluctance. Even being heavily injured by Wayne had not made her afraid. "Must we truly submit to that Ace Wayne? If my lord wishes to resist, even at the cost of our lives, we, "

"Say no more, Apache." Harribel cut her off. "We will join them."

"My lord?"

Unlike the words she had spoken when forced to join, this time Apache heard something different in Harribel's tone, composure. Probing, yet faintly affirmative. The gap between these two responses was less than an hour. In those dozens of minutes when Wayne had taken Harribel away, what had happened? What had caused such a drastic shift?

"My lord, why?" Sun-Sun, who considered herself the wisest of the three beast-gods, spoke up. "We were nearly killed just now. Must we truly yield under their threats? My lord, we are not afraid to die, if it is for you..."

"No, Sun-Sun." Harribel cut her off as well. "That Wayne... does not seem to be as contemptible as we imagined."

"...Eh?"

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