"Hmm…?"
"So they've already charged all the way into Las Noches this fast?"
"Captain Aizen… at this point in time, shouldn't we all still be on the Karakura Town battlefield?"
Gin Ichimaru lifted his eyes and swept his gaze around their surroundings.
Aside from the fact that the stands were missing the full crowd of Arrancar who had been watching the battle…
Everything else was exactly the same as the scene on the screen!
Yes—
Ichigo Kurosaki had charged in alone and invaded the very palace where they were currently sitting!
The only difference was that, as for the Arrancar who were supposed to be guarding the place, the footage right now seemed to show only Ulquiorra and a couple of others still around!
According to the "background setting,"
After just having defeated Grimmjow,
Ichigo was immediately facing a brand-new challenge!!!
"Gin…"
"In your opinion, this time—without any 'outsiders' interfering—what do you think the odds are that I'll win?"
On the throne above,
Aizen asked mildly.
With just a single glance,
He could clearly feel that Ichigo Kurosaki at this moment—
Whether it was his aura, his presence, or the confidence in his eyes—
All of it had grown far stronger than when he fought Grimmjow!
In other words…
Every time he defeated a powerful enemy,
That opponent would turn into an EXP pack for Ichigo to pick up.
And this "Hueco Mundo raid dungeon"
Was essentially a leveling dungeon that Lord Aizen had personally designed for Ichigo Kurosaki!
Now,
The final boss of this dungeon was finally stepping onto the stage—
The only one among the Espada
Who could undergo a second Resurrección: the Black-Winged Demon!
As for this secret,
Aizen of course knew it very well.
For that reason,
Even he could not help feeling curious.
Without relying on any external aid—yes, Ichigo had gotten stronger again—
But could he really defeat Ulquiorra?
On that point,
Judging from what he sensed directly,
Aizen could only put a large question mark in his mind and feel a strong sense of doubt!!!
"Now, now…"
"Captain Aizen… even so, in order not to disappoint your expectations…"
"Ichigo Kurosaki has to win here, otherwise he has no right to stand before you as an equal opponent, does he?"
Even though
Gin Ichimaru likewise harbored doubts in his heart,
Believing that the gap between the two was still enormous, that Ichigo Kurosaki would find it extremely hard to win—
That it might even end up as a one-sided slaughter—
Even so…
The protagonist status was what it was.
If Ichigo could not even make it past the hurdle called Ulquiorra,
Then he had no right to become a savior in the future!!!
It was just that
The process of the fight itself
Was indeed incredibly intriguing.
No one had any idea
What Ichigo Kurosaki was about to go through in the scenes to come!!!
——
At the same time.
Right in the middle of Aizen and Gin's conversation,
On the video feed—
After a clash of sheer presence and killing intent,
Ichigo Kurosaki gripped Tensa Zangetsu tightly, eyes sharp as blades. "Ulquiorra… get away from Inoue. Now!!!"
His cold bark
Was calm and collected.
This was completely different from the last time, when he had been intercepted halfway and forced into a humiliating retreat by overwhelming pressure.
But now—
There wasn't a single trace of fear left in Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes.
That meant…
At the very least, on the level of mentality, he had already passed his trial! There was no longer a mental weak point to exploit!
"I was thinking the same thing…"
Those emerald eyes held no emotion at all.
As the steward of Las Noches, Ulquiorra spoke in a cold, ghostly tone:
"My mission is to defend Las Noches until Lord Aizen's triumphant return."
"But killing you… is also a form of defending it."
He drew his blade.
Steel rang as the sword slid from its scabbard.
The tip of the blade leveled through the air, pointing straight at Ichigo Kurosaki.
This time,
Ulquiorra was done putting on airs.
He had no intention of arrogantly trying to catch Ichigo Kurosaki's Cero with his bare hands again!
"Shiiing—!!!"
With the swing of their swords, their silhouettes crossed and blurred again and again.
At the same time, dark-red and emerald-green spiritual pressure collided,
Shaking the image itself,
Even making the transparent barrier screen tremble violently along with it.
In an instant, it gave the viewers
A dizzying, visceral sense of being thrown right into the midst of the battle!
And then,
Under the watching eyes of the audience—
"Getsuga Tenshō!!!"
Even though he gripped the sword in both hands,
The crimson crescent wave he unleashed with all his strength was cleaved cleanly in two by Ulquiorra in a single stroke.
However…
In return,
Ichigo Kurosaki also managed to withstand Ulquiorra's Cero!
After that,
Once Ichigo activated his Hollowfication ability,
And the Hollow mask appeared on his face, the momentum of the fight instantly flipped!
"Look!"
"Ichigo's mask!"
"Doesn't it look… different from the one he used against Grimmjow before?"
"Does that mean his Hollow power has grown stronger again?"
The audience were shocked to discover that,
Right now, the slanted red stripes on his Hollow mask
Were no longer just three.
Instead… they now covered almost one-third of the entire mask!
What was more,
As his Hollowfication power increased,
Ichigo Kurosaki's presence drew closer and closer to that of a true Hollow.
Whether it was his afterimages or his spiritual pressure—
If not for the shihakushō on his body and the Zanpakutō in his hand,
One could easily mistake him
For a member of the Espada—another Vasto Lorde-level Hollow!!!
"So strong…"
"Ulquiorra…"
"In your base form, it really feels like you can't hold Ichigo Kurosaki down anymore…"
Grimmjow's lips twisted up into a grin as he spoke in a mocking tone.
Even though
He had lost to Ichigo Kurosaki,
His fiercely competitive nature did not make him feel like he was truly defeated.
It was just that—
Because he had undeniably lost,
The last scene had him suffering wave after wave of ridicule.
That had left Grimmjow feeling extremely frustrated!!!
Fortunately,
It was finally Ulquiorra's turn to draw all the aggro.
And from the looks of it right now,
Unless he released his Resurrección and returned to his Black-Winged Demon form—
Grimmjow did not believe
That Ulquiorra would last very long. There was no way he could beat Ichigo Kurosaki in his Hollowfied state!!!
Sure enough—
The footage that followed
Confirmed Grimmjow's thoughts!
"Rumble—!!!"
Another Getsuga Tenshō
Smashed violently through the barrier.
Ichigo Kurosaki and Ulquiorra's figures tangled in midair,
And then—
Ulquiorra fired off another Cero.
But after Ichigo casually blocked it with nothing more than Zangetsu's hand-guard,
At last…
"Shoom!!!"
His body shot upward.
Facing the camera head-on, Ulquiorra suddenly stopped counterattacking; without even looking back, he flew straight upward toward the artificial sky-dome!!!
This one move,
Once it was revealed by the countdown video
And transmitted to the real world, instantly caused an uproar!
All of Hueco Mundo
Was shaken to its core!!!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"So you're planning to release your Resurrección? Now that's a wise decision."
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes,
A fox-like, crafty smile on his face. "If he wants to defeat Ichigo Kurosaki—and also keep Las Noches from being totally wrecked in a crushing defeat—"
"At this point, Ulquiorra has no other choice!!!"
"Gin…"
"You're not wrong…"
A faint smile appeared on Aizen's lips. "Ulquiorra's loyalty is indeed being displayed to the fullest in this moment."
"He has never once forgotten the rules I laid down for Hueco Mundo."
"It's just that, acting like this is surely going to stir up some talk among 'outsiders.'"
Aizen could already picture it clearly—
The Soul Reapers, the pure-blood Quincies, and all the ordinary human viewers.
Right now, they were probably thinking
That Ulquiorra had abandoned his duty to guard Las Noches and was deliberately running away—
Being chased across the sky by Ichigo Kurosaki!!!
But in truth,
Outsiders did not understand at all.
The "night sky" above the dome… was actually the real Hueco Mundo!!!
Sure enough.
Right after that,
In the footage—
At the exact moment when Ulquiorra's flying silhouette drew close to the dome overhead—
"Swish!"
He raised his Zanpakutō,
And, while still flying at high speed, gave the dome a light slash.
Just like that…
Before everyone's eyes,
His body slipped into the darkness beyond, and the chasing camera
Charged in under the dome with him.
The battlefield
Shifted seamlessly.
The whole image suddenly darkened, leaving only a cold, silent sky—
And shafts of ghastly pale moonlight spilling down!!!
The abrupt scene change
Naturally set off yet another wave of uproar!
This time,
The global audience was truly, utterly stunned!!!
The sudden switch in scenery
Caught everyone completely off guard and left them deeply shaken!
"What…?"
"There's a desert up here too?"
"And there are also the same kind of buildings as below, duplicated in huge numbers!"
"The sheer scale of this… it's insane! Just absurd!!!"
Inside the First Division barracks,
The Gotei 13 captains stared at one another.
Even Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had always been in charge of the Technology Development Bureau and was methodically overseeing the construction of all Soul Society—
At this moment,
The expression beneath his blue-and-white mask
Was one of genuine shock as he stared at this triple-layered night sky.
From the bottom of his heart,
He had to admire Aizen's intellect,
And the way he had remodeled Hueco Mundo over the last hundred years.
It was simply godlike!!!
"Hmph…"
From the head of the room,
The Head Captain leaned on his wooden staff and nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed… this desolate, ruined landscape is the Hueco Mundo that exists in my memories."
"If not for this particular Espada, perhaps it would never have been revealed."
Even the old man had to admit it:
The colossal project that was the artificial sky-dome truly was awe-inspiring.
However…
Just then—
Before the captains could
Recover from their shock and amazement—
On the screen,
Ulquiorra's figure
Flew to the top of a towering stone pillar.
His cold, merciless voice rang out, each word distinct:
"Ichigo Kurosaki… I may as well tell you."
"From the very beginning, there have been two taboos beneath the sky-dome of Las Noches."
"The first is the Cero used by the Espada—Cero Oscuras, the King's Cero."
"And the other… is the Resurrección of the Espada ranked in the top four."
As he spoke,
Facing the camera, his features became even clearer.
Under the pallid moonlight,
Ulquiorra raised his hand, the blade of his Zanpakutō pointing forward.
In that instant—
"Rumble—!!!"
Spiritual pressure roared.
An overwhelming surge of reiatsu
Sent his coat flaring and kicked up a sandstorm below, making the whole image shudder yet again!
"So strong…"
"The aura from Ichigo's Hollowfication is being crushed in an instant!!!"
Inside the small neighborhood shop,
Isshin Kurosaki's expression hardened,
His eyes fixed intently on the screen.
The oppressive aura radiating from Ulquiorra—
That pressure unleashed as the prelude to Resurrección—
Was powerful enough that even Isshin and the others could not help turning grave.
Sure enough,
What Ulquiorra said was no exaggeration.
The Resurrección of a Vasto Lorde-class Espada was completely different from that of other Arrancar.
At the very least,
The artificial dome below
Was now shaking violently,
Plainly reacting to the direct oppression of the Black-Winged Demon!!!
"Next…"
"We can only hope Ichigo manages to extend his Hollowfication duration as much as possible."
"Otherwise, once that Hollowfication ends… I don't even dare imagine what comes after."
For once, even Urahara Kisuke's expression grew solemn instead of playful.
From the bottom of his heart,
He was worrying about Ichigo's survival.
To take it one step further—
Urahara even felt that: the very moment Ichigo's Hollowfication ended…
Might be when his death countdown began.
It was only
Because Isshin Kurosaki was standing right there
That Urahara swallowed the second half of that thought for the sake of social grace!
——
Not long after—
Once the crushing aura had ratcheted the tension to a breaking point,
Ulquiorra's lips
Finally spoke his exclusive Resurrección release phrase—
"Enclose… Murciélago!"
In that moment,
His spiritual pressure erupted, no longer sealed away.
It surged in an explosive wave out of Ulquiorra's body,
Held back not at all!!!
"Rumble—!!!"
His reiatsu was so dense, so heavy,
That it actually took on physical form.
Like a meteor shower falling from the heavens,
It made the entire image break out into a downpour of dark-green reiatsu!!!
The rain
Lashed down in torrents,
Hammering toward the camera,
And through the countdown video, it felt as though it splashed straight into the real world!
Catching the audience
Totally off guard,
Startling them out of their seats as they stared in shock at this spectacle they had never seen before.
"Reiatsu rain?"
"This is ridiculous!!!"
"This is the first time we've seen an Arrancar's Resurrección produce reiatsu this strong the instant it's released!!!"
"This Black-Winged Demon really hid himself deep… His display, and the pressure he brings with it—"
"He's even more terrifying than the top three Espada, isn't he?"
The eerie part was,
The rain of spiritual pressure
Went on for a full three minutes—
Only when the flood of reiatsu finally drew back, surging into Ulquiorra's body again,
Did it all vanish completely.
And yet,
The visual impact it left behind
Had already made the audience bow in complete submission before this Black-Winged Demon form.
Even
The elite of the Sternritter—
Those Quincy warriors who had been mocking the Arrancar before—
Were completely silent now.
All trace of ridicule vanished from their eyes;
No one dared underestimate
This strongest warrior of Las Noches any longer.
——
After that,
With the whole world watching, in a brief, suffocating silence—
When the surging dark-green reiatsu finally dispersed for a moment,
The true form of the Black-Winged Demon
Was revealed in a close-up on the screen—
His Hollow mask was no longer cracked or incomplete,
But had become a solid, flawless white crown.
On Ulquiorra's face,
The two signature dark-green tear tracks
Had deepened, thickened, and grown even more striking.
At the same time,
The enormous black wings on his back
Blotted out the sky as they spread, filling almost the entire upper half of the screen under the moonlight!!
"Whatever you do, don't waver…"
"If you let your focus slip even for a second…"
The Black-Winged Demon—
His emerald-green, emotionless gaze
Looked down from on high, locking onto Ichigo Kurosaki's small figure below.
And every single word he spoke
Made the atmosphere of the fight grow more oppressive and suffocating.
"Ichigo Kurosaki…"
"Not even for a single second—do not relax!!!"
As his voice fell,
Even the tip of his nose seemed to twitch with intensity.
Ulquiorra's figure
Vanished from sight in an instant!
By the time he reappeared,
The emerald-green light sword in his hand—
Had already flashed behind Ichigo, almost as if he had teleported!
He appeared right at Ichigo Kurosaki's back—
And nearly sheared off his mask along with his entire head!!!
"Rumble—!!!"
A thunderous detonation.
The violent energy clash
Expanded into a sphere of green light that swallowed up the entire screen in an instant!
Only then
Did the audience truly feel
The terrifying pressure that the Black-Winged Demon exerted after releasing his Resurrección.
(End of Chapter)
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