"Is that your last will?"
"What a pity…"
Raizen Kō watched dozens of Adjuchas raising their Cero toward him, yet there was not a trace of panic on his face beneath the dark mask. Calmly, he remained seated on Baraggan's throne, his posture relaxed as if he were observing a work of art.
He simply snapped his fingers.
"Clatter!"
Instantly, eighty-one dark-golden lightning pillars erupted from the main hall of Las Noches, encircling the Adjuchas like a prison. From the throne, a sky-covering sea of lightning spread outward in every direction.
"Rumble!"
The Hollows who had already begun charging their Cero were violently interrupted. The worst affected was the bullfrog-like Adjuchas that had initiated its Cero first. Its own attack backfired, detonating explosively in its mouth.
"Ah!"
"Roar!"
Raizen Kō spread his arms like an artist admiring his masterpiece, relishing the chaos and wails of the Adjuchas before him.
"Lightning Sea Domain!"
The assault had only just begun. With a shout, Raizen Kō amplified the power of the lightning, causing the storm to engulf the entirety of Las Noches.
"Rumble!"
After a series of deafening clashes, the palace built of massive stone began to crumble. Even the towering pillars nearest the throne were heavily damaged. Yet, the area immediately surrounding Raizen Kō remained untouched a precise setup he had prepared beforehand.
The Lightning Sea Domain was Raizen Kō's most potent, far-reaching technique, designed to obliterate a wide area. Its only limitation was the preparation: eighty-one lightning seeds had to be planted prior to activation.
Originally, Raizen Kō had planned to rely on stealth and Camo to pick off the Adjuchas one by one. But with Aizen's imminent arrival, there was no time for subtlety. He had to risk using this devastating technique to kill en masse. His goal was simple: evolve into an Adjuchas as quickly as possible.
Evidently, the plan worked flawlessly.
"Now!"
Sensing the spiritual particles from the Adjuchas being violently expelled, Raizen Kō unleashed his signature ability:
"Soul Eater!"
A colossal dark-golden vortex erupted behind him, greedily consuming the spiritual particles emanating from the lightning-struck Hollows.
"Ah! So exhilarating!"
As the Adjuchas fell, their spiritual energy surged into him, and Raizen Kō felt the familiar, long-missed sensation of true growth.
"More… I need more!"
The vortex expanded, absorbing every last particle in the field with increasing frenzy. Almost all the Adjuchas in the area were dead, reduced to corpses awaiting his consumption.
Yet one bullfrog-like Adjuchas still survived. Each time its body was destroyed by the lightning, it rapidly shed its damaged form and regenerated anew. After each regeneration, however, its size diminished slightly.
"I didn't expect Speed Regeneration… too bad, it won't save you!" Raizen Kō sneered.
Before long, all other Adjuchas were reduced to nourishment for Raizen Kō. Only the bullfrog-like Hollow remained, shrunk to less than half its original size, struggling to persist.
"Emperor Baraggan will avenge us!" it croaked, barely able to speak in the sea of lightning.
"Just the barking of a defeated dog," Raizen Kō replied flatly. He had no doubt that after his evolution, Baraggan would be powerless against him. Besides, at this exact moment, Baraggan was already preoccupied with Aizen unable to defend even himself.
Finally, a thick arc of lightning struck the bullfrog-like Hollow squarely on its forehead.
Unable to regenerate further, its charred, headless corpse collapsed, transforming into wisps of spiritual particles, fully absorbed by Raizen Kō.
As the last of the Adjuchas were consumed, Raizen Kō experienced the long-lost fullness of growth. His body trembled with power as he felt himself on the verge of evolution.
He ceased suppressing his abilities and dissipated the Lightning Sea Domain entirely.
With a roar that shook the desert, his spiritual pressure skyrocketed. A dark-golden pillar of Reiatsu erupted from the throne of Las Noches, piercing the sky. Within it, Raizen Kō felt his form disassemble and reforge, life energy restructuring itself in accordance with his ascension.
On a distant hill at the southern end of Las Noches, the King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn, sat atop his bone-white throne, his skeletal hand resting against his jaw with casual indifference.
Around him were his loyal Adjuchas.
Before them stood a humanoid Hollow, completely encased in white keratin, looking toward Baraggan. Her form was almost human: short golden hair, graceful curves, and a massive bone sword attached to her right arm. Her tail resembled that of a shark.
Behind her were other Hollow subordinates: a white serpentine Hollow, a golden lion-like Hollow, and a deer-shaped Hollow.
The humanoid Hollow's gaze hardened as she addressed Baraggan.
"You've returned. Why?"
Baraggan remained calm, skeletal features unchanging.
"How many times must I tell you, Halibel? I do not wish for anyone to cause disturbances under my rule. But I cannot bear to destroy you outright… today, I offer two choices."
"The first, as I have said before, is submission."
"The second… disappear from my sight. But know this: my eyes are everywhere in Hueco Mundo. Where could you possibly flee?
Hahaha!"
Baraggan's laughter echoed across the desert, joined by the mocking laughter of the Adjuchas around him. Their eyes glimmered with derision for Halibel and her entourage.
Suddenly, an Adjuchas with a gray-black body, jagged teeth, and fin-shaped hands jumped forward, slapping Halibel's shoulder with a mocking tone:
"Halibel, you are smart enough to know there is only one choice!"
Before it could finish, Halibel swung her bone sword, cleaving through its forehead.
"Ah!"
The gray-finned Adjuchas fell, wailing in pain.
"Hmph. Such audacity, harming my subordinate before me. You'd best not regret this!"
Baraggan's skeletal gaze remained cold and indifferent. Yet a faint, calculating glint betrayed some unknown plan.
Neither side noticed the three figures wearing Captain's haori, silently observing the scene from a distant hill.