Chapter 174
Yuta and Ulquiorra stood atop the massive pillars beneath the dome. Each pillar was tens of meters thick and rose hundreds of meters high. Under the pale moonlight, the cold wind tugged at their clothes.
"Enclose it, Murciélago…."
It had to be noted that there was always a distinction among the Espada. Those ranked lower carried madness and despair, but the higher-ranked ones retained a sense of solitude and sacrifice rooted in fragments of humanity. Perhaps it was the process of fallen Hollows clawing back pieces of what they had lost. The first four Espada served as the clear division line. Ulquiorra, an embodiment of emptiness, remained the most rational among them. His emotions never wavered, bound by his belief that things unseen simply did not exist. Concepts such as the "heart" were beyond his comprehension. Not only could he not acknowledge it, he could not understand it at all.
Dark spiritual pressure erupted violently.
Below the dome, Pesche and Dondochakka immediately felt the crushing weight of the reiatsu washing over them. They had already been stunned by witnessing Yuta unleash a Cero earlier. Neither of them could understand how a Shinigami-or what they assumed to be a Shinigami-could possibly wield such a Hollow technique, let alone one of such power. Terrified and confused, they pressed themselves into the rubble, covering their heads as they trembled under the pressure.
"This is terrifying… that kind of power is unreal."
"Tell me about it… just looking at it makes me feel like I'm going to be erased completely."
"He actually split the sky open… is that Yuta guy really still human?"
"Either way, this is terrifying."
"Ulquiorra's Resurrección is overwhelming. As expected of the former Cuarta Espada, that oppressive reiatsu can be felt from this far away."
The weight of the released power forced both of them to slow their breathing as they fought to steady their own bodies under its force.
Nel's eyes widened as she saw Ulquiorra's release. She clutched her hands against her chest as tension gripped her. Standing nearby, Shihōin Yoruichi braced one foot against a stone and looked upward. She narrowed her eyes as the transformation unfolded before her.
Compared to Nnoitra and Szayélaporro, the aura released by Ulquiorra was leagues apart. His presence was suffocating even from a distance, unlike the previous Espada they had encountered.
The ice field created by Kuchiki Rukia slowly began to thaw as her body temperature returned from the deep cold of her released Bankai. Shards of frozen spirit energy melted away as she blinked up at the dome overhead, regaining the warmth in her body little by little until her strength returned.
Matsumoto Rangiku had already finished her battle and looked upward as well, sensing the overwhelming reiatsu. Inoue Orihime clutched her hands over her chest and silently prayed for Yuta's victory. She didn't fully understand Yuta's power, but even if she had, her nature would still push her to offer her unwavering support for the one she trusted most.
On another battlefield nearby, Kurosaki Ichigo stood over the fallen Grimmjow. His Hollow mask shattered piece by piece as he stared upward despite his injuries. When his gaze found Ulquiorra high above, his pupils contracted sharply. The speed at Ulquiorra's level had surpassed Ichigo's sight entirely. If he had faced that blow himself without instinctively calling on his Getsuga Tenshō, he might not have survived.
Ishida Uryū and Chad also lifted their gazes toward the dome. They could see the flare of Ulquiorra's blade strike aimed at Yuta from their place below.
Yuta raised his hand casually and stopped the descending attack as though it carried no weight at all.
The impact was felt everywhere. Wind whipped violently at Yuta's clothes and hair. Behind him, one of the massive stone pillars cracked apart under the pressure. The pillar, several dozen meters thick, split cleanly in two, and the upper half toppled downward with an explosive crash that shook the ground.
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression hardening more than usual. His blade had not even marked Yuta's skin. Even discounting that, the sheer power of his strike should have at the very least forced a step back. The same swing had just cleaved through solid stone without resistance, but against Yuta, it hadn't moved him an inch.
Even more disconcerting was the way Ulquiorra couldn't sense any reiatsu from Yuta at all. His own Resurrección had already reshaped his Zanpakutō into a luminous spear of condensed spiritual energy, yet his opponent's spiritual pressure remained completely concealed.
"In that case," Ulquiorra said evenly, "I will show you one of the powers of the Espada in Resurrección… Cero Oscuras."
The dark surge of spiritual energy condensed in Ulquiorra's hand. The entire Las Noches trembled from the concentration of power. High above, Orihime staggered on her feet, unable to remain steady under the crushing wave of reiatsu. Beads of sweat fell down her face, and her knees weakened as though she might collapse under its weight. Pesche and Dondochakka pressed themselves flat against the ground, voices breaking in nervous panic.
"This spiritual pressure… it's unbearable!"
"Too much… it feels impossible to even stand…"
The air warped with the condensed energy as Ulquiorra unleashed the Cero Oscuras. The black beam tore through the dome with devastating force, vaporizing everything in front of it as though it were nothing more than dry wood before flame.
Facing the oncoming blast, Yuta didn't even draw his sword. He raised his hand slowly, his eyes steady.
"So you can use Cero Oscuras… then I'll show you mine as well."
The energy of Ulquiorra's Cero, drawn by a force beyond reason, bent toward Yuta's open palm. The destructive black power collapsed inward and condensed into a fierce, concentrated point of light at his fingertip no larger than a nail.
Ulquiorra's eyes widened as his pupils constricted sharply.
"What…?" (T/N: poor lil ulqy, he don't know that he be fightin the cultrivator guy... he is just a frog in a well that cannot see mount tai after all... poor lil ulqy.)
In the next instant, Yuta's own Cero Oscuras tore back through the air, surging directly toward Ulquiorra.
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