Baraggan made a grasping motion in the air. Several clouds of black mist blocked all of Katori Sora's escape routes and rushed towards him at extreme speed.
"Turn into nothingness!"
Just then, a mass of shadow enveloped Katori Sora.
The shadow was like a sharp black dagger, piercing through the dense black mist and breaking through the 'Respira's' encirclement.
"What is this?!"
Baraggan was profoundly shaken. This black substance was unaffected by 'Respira'!
"Shadows are not affected by time, Baraggan!"
From within the shadow, Katori Sora's voice emerged.
The reason Sora hadn't retreated further while dodging the 'Respira' was because he knew his shadow ability would not be affected by it.
A shadow is not something that is subject to the effects of time!
Moreover, the source of his shadow was the Soul King's Shadow!
Baraggan's 'Respira' could not erode the Soul King's Shadow.
"The ability to control shadows!"
Baraggan suddenly remembered seeing this Shinigami use a shadow to block 'Respira' the last time they met.
His ability was useless against Katori Sora!
Sora had finished charging his attack while dodging the 'Respira'. With Getsuga Tenshō imbued in his blade, he rushed toward Baraggan.
The black mist of 'Respira' could erode Getsuga Tenshō, but Sora could carry the attack through it.
In an instant, Sora passed through the layers of black mist and arrived in front of Baraggan.
However, Baraggan was prepared for Getsuga Tenshō. Knowing this Shinigami had the power to injure him, he didn't dare to take it head-on.
He swung the great axe in his hand, smashing it violently towards the approaching shadow.
CLANG—
The giant axe blocked Sora's attack.
"I didn't become the King of Hueco Mundo by relying on 'Respira' alone!"
Baraggan raised his left hand, and a Cero Oscuras began to form at his fingertips.
The next moment, an agile shadow shot out from the main shadow.
Lightning enveloped the shadow's limbs and body as if it were wearing a suit of lightning armor. It had what looked like a pair of cat ears on its head and a tail made of lightning behind it.
This was Yoruichi's shadow.
And it was Yoruichi in her 'Shunkō: Ra-jū Gogyō' form!
Yoruichi had demonstrated her Bankai to him not long ago, so he had conveniently copied the form.
He could now summon a shadow of Yoruichi in her 'Shunkō: Ra-jū Gogyō' state.
The Yoruichi shadow was incredibly fast. It slapped Baraggan's hand away before he could fire the 'Cero Oscuras'.
The 'Cero Oscuras' shot straight up into the sky, and its terrifying energy exploded high above the Forest of Menos.
In the Hueco Mundo desert, a pillar of light shot up to the sky.
Any Hollows caught within it were instantly vaporized.
In the vicinity, even small animal-like Hollows that weren't hit by the pillar of light suddenly went rigid and silent.
These small Hollows were scared to death by the terrifying spiritual pressure of the 'Cero Oscuras'!
However, the master of this terrifying blast was currently in a predicament.
"So fast!"
Baraggan had only seen a black flash, and his hand had been knocked aside.
This shadow's speed was even faster than what Katori Sora had just displayed!
Before the thought could even fade, he felt a massive pushing force from behind.
The lightning-clad shadow had already gotten behind him and delivered a flying kick.
At the same time, from within the shadow in front of him, another shadow rushed out.
The black blade in the shadow's hand stabbed fiercely into Baraggan's skeleton.
"Get off!!!"
Baraggan's spiritual pressure erupted from within him, a powerful shockwave that pushed back the two shadows and Katori Sora.
At this point, the thought of retreat had already begun to form in Baraggan's mind. His most powerful tool, 'Respira', was ineffective against this Shinigami, and now he was in a three-on-one situation.
He didn't really want to continue fighting.
But a king's pride wouldn't allow him to retreat in such a disgraceful manner.
"Spiritual pressure! Spiritual pressure can push back his shadows!"
A thought suddenly struck Baraggan, and he quickly realized that spiritual pressure could affect the shadows.
Sora summoned another shadow.
The Zanpakutō in the shadow's hand flashed, and it joined the other two shadows in attacking Baraggan.
But Baraggan ignored them, taking the damage while raising his giant axe.
The surrounding black mist rapidly contracted, converging into the giant axe.
The spiritual pressure in his body also frantically poured into the axe, which began to radiate a terrifying light of destruction.
By the time Baraggan was ready, his body was covered in wounds, and his long black robe was in tatters.
The exposed skeleton was covered in a dense network of cuts and claw marks.
Baraggan swung the axe, glowing with destructive light, and smashed it down towards Katori Sora.
On the other side, Katori Sora had also been preparing for some time.
On the edge of his blade, high-frequency vibrating lightning and sharp lines of wind intertwined.
The ultimate sharpness!
However, Baraggan's move seemed to be a little faster. The giant axe smashed onto the shadow, and the destructive light exploded instantly.
The Cero Oscuras compressed within the axe directly obliterated the shadow.
"Die, Shinigami!!!"
Baraggan laughed menacingly.
But the next moment, he saw the shadow's remains shatter like a broken mirror.
The real Katori Sora appeared above Baraggan.
That spot was where a shadow clone had been just a moment ago.
"Goodbye."
The blade, wreathed in lightning and threads of wind, slashed down.
Raikiri: Tsuifūken!
The blade instantly passed through the white bones.
Crack—
"To think I would die here..."
Baraggan was split in two. The destructive light in his giant axe went completely out of control, consuming him.
Swoosh—
Sora retreated a hundred meters away.
"Whew~ It's over."
Sensing Baraggan's spiritual pressure gradually fade into silence, Sora let out a long sigh of relief.
It was a good thing his shadow ability countered Baraggan's 'Respira', otherwise this fight would have been much more difficult.
The last shadow Sora had summoned was a shadow of Sōsuke Aizen!
He had used the ability of 'Kyōka Suigetsu' to interfere with Baraggan's perception, making Baraggan mistake one of the shadow clones for him.
He was definitely not going to take a terrifying-looking attack like that head-on!
"Baraggan will probably go to Hell too..."
Sora frowned slightly.
Baraggan had appeared on the battlefield this time and killed many 6th Division Shinigami. Killing him was perfectly justifiable.
However, a Hollow of Baraggan's level wouldn't be immediately reincarnated upon death. Like a deceased captain-class Shinigami, he would go to Hell to be revived.
"And that red-tentacled Hollow... it might also be revived in Hell. That Hollow's abilities were average, but its spiritual pressure was at the captain level. The other one with the hammer didn't have captain-level spiritual pressure, so it probably won't be revived in Hell."
Sora pondered this.
Just then, his Denreishinki vibrated.
"Kidō cannons fully charged. All Shinigami units, please evacuate immediately. Move away from the center of the Hollow swarm!"
"Kidō cannons fully charged. All Shinigami units, please evacuate immediately. Move away from the center of the Hollow swarm!"
"..."
The same message was repeated several times in the Denreishinki, as if to ensure no Shinigami missed it.