"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Raizen Kō drove his blade downward in rapid succession, sparks erupting as steel met bone-forged edge.
Simultaneously, he extended his left hand.
"Hado #4 Byakurai."
A concentrated bolt of white lightning tore through the air toward Halibel's chest.
Halibel vanished with Sonído at the final instant, reappearing at mid-range. Golden reiatsu flared violently around her form as she raised the massive bone blade fused to her right arm and charged again without hesitation.
Raizen Kō gave a faint chuckle and used Shunpo to shift position.
Halibel's strike cleaved directly into the cavern wall behind him.
"RUMBLE!"
The impact detonated the stone structure. The cave collapsed instantly, fragments raining down in a violent cascade.
Raizen Kō burst through the falling debris first. Holding his Zanpakutō horizontally, he spoke clearly:
"Chimi Shinra, Moryō Banshō… awaken, Annihilation God."
Dark-gold reiatsu surged along the blade.
The plain Asauchi elongated and transformed into a slender, bone-white blade edged in black.
Halibel emerged from the collapsing cavern in the same breath.
Without pause, she opened her mouth.
A golden Cero erupted toward Raizen Kō.
"Annihilation God Second Form: Rift Ring."
He rotated the blade in a smooth arc. A gray-black circular distortion expanded outward like rippling space itself.
The Cero struck the ring.
The two forces collided violently.
Behind them, the three female Adjuchas Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun had just escaped the debris.
"Lady Halibel! We'll assist you!"
Before they could advance further, the shockwave from the collision blasted them backward across the dunes.
Halibel's eyes narrowed briefly.
"Withdraw. Your presence will only restrict me."
They hesitated but obeyed.
Now alone, Halibel released her restraint.
Reiatsu condensed along her blade.
"Sōken Zan."
A massive crescent of golden energy fired forward like artillery.
Raizen Kō thrust his palm outward.
"Hado #31 Shakkahō."
A crimson sphere of flame detonated from his hand, colliding with the golden blast.
"BOOM!"
The explosion flattened dunes for dozens of meters.
When the dust cleared, Raizen Kō stood slightly disheveled.
He exhaled through his teeth.
"As expected… defeating an unreleased Vasto Lorde-class Adjuchas at Vice-Captain level isn't simple."
Halibel stared calmly.
"You possess considerable strength for a Shinigami. But you are not my equal. You injured my subordinates. Prepare yourself."
Raizen Kō laughed softly.
"Comrades? For a Vasto Lorde-class Menos to cling to such sentiment… how wasteful."
At that instant
His reiatsu surged.
The air trembled.
The pressure spiked to full Captain-class density.
Hidden in the distance, his true Hollow body observed. Only thirty percent of its total reiatsu had been lent yet with no dimensional loss in Hueco Mundo, the amplification was absolute.
Raizen Kō advanced.
"First Form Tremor."
Blades met again.
But this time
A vibration traveled through Halibel's weapon.
Into her arm.
Through her core.
Her internal structure shook violently.
A suppressed gasp escaped her lips.
The tremor wasn't external it resonated internally, destabilizing spiritual flow.
Raizen Kō pressed forward relentlessly.
Halibel forced her reiatsu outward in a violent burst, creating space between them.
She raised her arm-blade skyward.
"Cascada."
A colossal torrent of water erupted from her sword, crashing across the battlefield.
The water wasn't natural it was condensed reishi in liquid form, sharp as countless blades.
Raizen Kō used Shunpo repeatedly, narrowly avoiding being shredded.
The surrounding terrain dissolved beneath the surge.
"So this is the pressure of a water-dominant Vasto Lorde…"
Halibel lowered her blade slightly.
The floodwaters trembled
Then began to rise.
"Jōkai Kōro."
The gathered water converted instantly into scalding vapor. The battlefield became a superheated death zone.
White steam engulfed everything.
Raizen Kō responded immediately.
"Second Form Triple Rift Ring."
Three interlocking distortion circles expanded outward.
The steam collided with the vibrating spatial fields and was shredded apart.
The recoil blasted Halibel backward.
She crashed into a rocky formation, blood staining the sand.
Breathing heavily, she raised her fused blade one final time.
Her reiatsu compressed to its limit.
"Gran Rey Cero."
A sphere of condensed golden energy formed.
Though not yet Espada, Halibel's lineage as a Vasto Lorde allowed her to manifest a proto-Gran Rey-class Cero, fueled by blood and core reiatsu.
The beam erupted far denser than any prior attack.
Raizen Kō did not dodge.
He smiled.
"Third Form Mustard Net."
A singular black point formed at the tip of Annihilation God.
It expanded instantly
Splitting
Multiplying
Becoming a vast black lattice.
The net swallowed the golden beam whole.
The Gran Rey Cero vanished into darkness.
Silence fell over the desert.
Only drifting reishi remained.
Halibel knelt, breathing raggedly.
Raizen Kō lowered his blade slowly.
The difference in reiatsu was now undeniable.
And yet
In Halibel's eyes
There was no fear.
Only resolve.
The tide had not yet receded.