In the sky above Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra Cifer and Soi Fon arrived at an empty expanse of air. The two figures stood facing each other, suspended silently in midair as reishi particles drifted around them.
"So the one who arranged for you to face me… does that mean they believe you might actually kill me?"
Ulquiorra asked calmly, emerald eyes studying her with quiet curiosity.
Soi Fon shook her head lightly and replied, "It wasn't Captain Kyōraku Shunsui who decided the matchups. It was Kurotsuki Renya."
Ulquiorra's expression shifted slightly in surprise.
"The one who once fought Sōsuke Aizen?"
"That's right," Soi Fon said with a faint smile. "And his intention isn't for me to kill you. I'm to defeat you… and send you back to Hueco Mundo."
"Why?"
Ulquiorra frowned, clearly puzzled.
Soi Fon shrugged. "You'll understand once you return. Now draw your sword."
"…Very well."
Ulquiorra slowly drew the long Zanpakutō from his waist. The moment the blade cleared its sheath
Whoosh.
Soi Fon vanished.
In an instant, she appeared beside Ulquiorra, her Zanpakutō slicing toward him with lethal precision.
Shunpō.
Ulquiorra twisted his body sideways, raising his blade to block, but Soi Fon vanished again and reappeared to his left, slashing downward.
Puff.
The blade cut into Ulquiorra's left arm, blood trailing through the air.
Soi Fon leapt back, opening distance, and spoke coldly,
"Return your blade. You can't keep up with my speed like this. Even among the Espada, only the fastest Zommari might barely keep pace."
Ulquiorra looked at the wound and replied quietly,
"No… you are faster than Zommari."
Zommari's Sonído had been inferior to Kuchiki Byakuya's Shunpō. Naturally, it could not rival Soi Fon's speed.
Soi Fon's Shunpō was among the fastest in Soul Society, rivaled only by Yoruichi Shihōin herself.
More importantly, Soi Fon was the only Shinigami who had trained alongside Kurotsuki Renya for sixty years.
Abarai Renji could not do it. Shiba Kaien could not do it.
Only Soi Fon endured sixty years beside Renya—tempering her body through extreme reishi pressure, magnetic-field conditioning, and relentless combat—pushing her spiritual pressure to the eighth level, a realm beyond standard captain-class Reiatsu.
Soi Fon raised an eyebrow.
"If you know my speed, why haven't you released yet?"
Ulquiorra answered calmly,
"Because my speed is no slower than Zommari's."
As his words fell, Ulquiorra vanished.
He appeared beside Soi Fon and slashed.
Boom.
Soi Fon raised her Zanpakutō to block, but Ulquiorra disappeared again, reappearing behind her and striking.
Puff.
His blade passed through her body
but it turned into a fragment of cloth.
Utsusemi.
An advanced Shunpō displacement technique.
Soi Fon reappeared at a distance, eyes narrowing.
"Your speed isn't bad… but it's still not enough."
As she spoke, her figure multiplied. two, five, ten, then dozens surrounding Ulquiorra from every direction.
"This technique was developed specifically to counter Aizen. You're just a test subject."
One figure rushed forward but Ulquiorra slashed straight through it.
The image vanished.
Puff.
Blood suddenly sprayed from Ulquiorra's back.
He turned and stabbed piercing another figure but it vanished as well.
Another wound appeared.
Soi Fon stood at a distance and said coldly,
"Return it."
Ulquiorra nodded.
"Very well… Enclose. Murciélago."
Black wings erupted from his back as his Zanpakutō dissolved into spirit particles, reforming as a pale spear of condensed reishi.
His Reiatsu shifted dramatically.
Soi Fon's eyes narrowed.
Ulquiorra vanished and appeared directly in front of her, thrusting the spear forward.
Soi Fon twisted aside, but the spear grazed her waist, drawing blood.
"So fast…" she muttered, retreating.
Ulquiorra studied her with faint surprise.
"Your skin is unusually resilient… similar to Hierro."
During her sixty years of training with Kurotsuki Renya, both had used extreme reishi compression to temper their bodies. Renya's Hierro-like defense rivaled the Espada, and Soi Fon's had reached a level comparable to Arrancar-grade steel skin.
Soi Fon smiled faintly.
"Still nowhere near yours."
"Then use your Zanpakutō," Ulquiorra said. "A Shinigami's strength comes from it."
"My Zanpakutō would kill you," Soi Fon replied flatly. "And that's not my goal."
Blue lightning flared behind her.
Boom.
Her fist slammed into Ulquiorra's abdomen, launching him through the air and crashing him into a distant mountain.
Shunkō: Raijin Senkei (Incomplete).
Yoruichi Shihōin had once shattered an Arrancar's second-stage Hierro with Shunkō. After sixty years, Soi Fon's raw power exceeded Yoruichi's former level though lacking the iron armor, its destructive force was slightly reduced.
Ulquiorra slowly rose from the rubble, regeneration knitting his wound together.
"…Impressive."
Soi Fon frowned.
Boom.
Ulquiorra rushed her, spear thrusting. Soi Fon crossed her Zanpakutō to block while striking his face with her free hand.
Ulquiorra blocked the punch but Soi Fon's kick slammed into his abdomen, sending him flying into the mountain again.
This should have been enough…
The mountain exploded as Ulquiorra burst out, spear thrusting toward her face.
In a flash, Soi Fon appeared behind him and slashed.
Puff.
Blood sprayed from Ulquiorra's back.
He countered instantly, but Soi Fon evaded effortlessly.
"You still can't catch me," she said.
"I don't need to," Ulquiorra replied.
He hurled the spear.
Lanza del Relámpago (Compressed).
Soi Fon dodged instinctively but the spear detonated behind her, the shockwave tearing through the sky.
Lightning surged across her back as she braced herself.
Boom.
She was thrown off balance.
Ulquiorra appeared instantly, grabbing her by the neck
but the lightning behind her detonated sideways, twisting her body midair. She escaped and counter-kicked.
Ulquiorra crashed into another mountain.
Soi Fon pursued relentlessly, striking him again and again, shattering the mountain entirely and blasting him through the far side.
Blood dripped from her knuckles.
Even with Hierro-like defense, eighth-level Reiatsu, and Shunkō reinforcement, her hand had been injured.
"…What a monster."
She leapt forward
and froze.
Ulquiorra stood unharmed.
"How…?"
"My wings possess absolute defense," Ulquiorra said calmly.
The black wings flared as he ascended.
Even Tensa Zangetsu, wielded by Hollowfied Kurosaki Ichigo, had failed to pierce them.
Soi Fon clenched her teeth, blood dripping to the ground.
Ulquiorra looked at her.
"In this state, I cannot attack. But you cannot harm me either."
"…So you're leaving?" she asked.
"No," Ulquiorra replied. "One release is insufficient."
His Reiatsu surged violently.
Curved horns emerged. A tail formed. His clothing dissolved. A hollow hole opened in his chest.
"This… is my true form."
Ulquiorra Cifer gazed down at Soi Fon, his voice devoid of emotion.