Creak... creak...
A horrible screech like grinding bones or an ancient violin came from deep inside his ribcage.
What the hell...?!
Before he could process it, an enormous shadow rose behind Ingvild Leviathan.
It blocked out the entire sky.
The sheer presence of that towering figure made Baraggan momentarily forget the pain in his bones.
"What... is that...?"
The flames in his eye sockets flickered. A primal fear surged through his very soul.
It was like standing before a divine entity straight out of mytha being that shouldn't exist in this world.
The phantom form of Leviathan glanced at him with cold, indifferent eyes.
Baraggan felt an icy chill shoot through his bones.
His body locked up completely.
He couldn't moveat all.
BOOM!!
In the instant, the sea below him erupted into a massive whirlpool, surging up and dragging him into its depths without warning...
Baraggan Louisenbairn suddenly ducked his head.
A powerful vortex had locked onto him, sucking him in with no room to resist!
"Damn it!!"
Reacting fast, Baraggan snapped his chains with a flick.
Fwsh
A blast of force rushed straight toward Ingvild Leviathan. The next seconda massive axe blade came crashing down toward her!
Ingvild's pupils shrank. On instinct, she raised her arm and squeezed her eyes shut.
But, the pain she expected never came. Instead, a crisp metallic clong rang in her ears.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she cautiously opened her eyes.
"Eh?"
She blinked in surprise. Standing before her was a shimmering blue silhouette that had intercepted the axe. Her eyes lit up. "Leviathan!"
Leviathan glanced at her, then quickly averted its gaze.
Ugh! What a disgrace
How did someone this timid end up as its master?
It felt like its entire life was doomed because of her.
But stillAs the mighty Leviathan's chosen master, she wasn't someone anyone could just push around.
That thought sent a chill through Leviathan's eyes. It turned its gaze to Baraggan and raised its massive hand, clenching it tightly.
"..."
Baraggan's pupils constricted, and he unleashed his full Reiatsu.
Boom!!
Dark purple flames erupted around him!
Hissssss
Flames imbued with the concept of "aging" lashed out at Leviathan's projection like an acid storm.
A constant screeching echoed as the flames scorched the illusion.
Leviathan looked down at its own fading form, a hint of helplessness flashing in its eyes.
With Ingvild's current level of magic, it still couldn't go all-out.
But to think even this meager level of power could hurt it?
Leviathan was silent for a moment before growling in frustration, "Ingvild, you've been slacking lately!"
"You better level up fast!"
"Hehe" Ingvild blinked, feigning innocence with wide, watery eyes.
Leviathan: ""
It sighed, shaking its head, then warned, "I'm about to ramp things up."
It was a message to Ingvild: it was going to draw more magic from her.
The very next moment Ingvild felt a rush as her magic power was siphoned like a flood.
Leviathan's form began to solidify, becoming more and more real.
At the same time, the flames carrying the aging effect weakened.
"What is that thing?"
Grimmjow stared at the massive projection of Leviathan, utterly dumbfounded.
Starrk was silent for a beat, then murmured with a slight gleam in his eyes, "That thing's bigger than any Hollow I've ever seen."
Harribel hesitated. "Baraggan will he be okay?"
Starrk opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He'd been pretty confident in Baraggan just a moment ago.
But now not so much.
Meanwhile
Noticing everyone's attention was locked on Baraggan's battle, Nnoitra Gilga quietly began backing away, hoping to sneak out of this mess.
.
.
.
Nnoitra Gilga Dead
Noticing everyone's attention was locked on Baraggan's battle, Nnoitra Gilga quietly began backing away, hoping to sneak out of this mess.
He'd thought this through.
Sure, they had the numbers as the Espada. ButNelliel's side wasn't exactly small either.
And just Ingvild Leviathan alone was already pushing Baragganthe second seatback.
Hell, Baraggan might even be losing.
Who knows how many more monsters were hiding in her ranks?
Besides, Nelliel had gotten stronger.
The sneak attack had felt good at the time, but he never thought she'd bounce back so fastlet alone come back for revenge this soon!
But just as he was about to use Sondo to escapeNelliel suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Expression cold, she asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
Nnoitra: "!!!"
She's fast!!
His heart skipped a beat. On reflex, he drew his Zanpakut and slashed toward her!
Clang!
A crisp sound echoed.
A jade-green barrier rose in front of Nelliel, stopping Nnoitra's blade dead in its tracks.
But Nnoitra reacted instantlyhe darted back with Sondo, putting distance between them!
In fact, that slash had been a feint. His real goal was escape.
There was no way he could beat the new and improved Tres Espada!
The thought flashed through his head, butAlmost immediatelyNelliel's cold face appeared right in front of him again.
"..."
Nnoitra's gut dropped.
"It's time we settled this."
Her voice was icy.
"Wait!"
Nnoitra raised his hand, trying to talk his way out of it.
ButNelliel wasn't in the mood for negotiations.
"Declare, Gamuza ~ Capricorn Knight!"
The moment the words left her mouthHer body began to change!
Her slender Zanpakut transformed into a massive, heavy lance.
The two horns attached to her skull mask reshaped into long, segmented ones.
White armor covered her collarbone, shoulders, elbows, and hands, and long black gloves wrapped around both arms.
Most striking of all was her new satyr-like formpart human, part centaur beast.
Bzzzt
Without hesitation, green light flared across the massive lance.
Nnoitra gritted his teeth. "Nelliel, are you seriously trying to kill me?!"
"Heh"
She let out a cold laugh, as if mocking him.
"The moment you ambushed me, you should've been ready to die for it."
And with thatHer enormous lance came crashing down like a tidal wave of power!
"!"
Nnoitra's eyes went wide. He yanked out his Zanpakut and shouted, "PraySanta Teresa!"
Two crescent-shaped horns burst from his head. Yellow X-shaped markings formed across his face, and a bone-like eyepatch covered his Hollow hole, shaped like jagged teeth.
Six severed-looking arms erupted from his back, each gripping a double-bladed scythe.
He wasn't holding back. This was his strongest form.
Facing Nelliel now, he couldn't afford to take any chances.
With all six arms, he brought the scythes together, forming a makeshift shield.
Next second
The glowing green lance smashed into his blades with a thunderous impact!
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed through all of Las Noches.
Nnoitra Gilga felt his arms suddenly grow heavy as all six of his scythes groaned under the pressure, screeching like they were about to snap.
His eyes widened, pupils trembling violently as he stared at the glowing emerald tip of the lance pressing against him.
"Santa Teresa! Hold it together!!"
Feeling his Resurreccin buckle under the force, Nnoitra clenched his teeth and roared, pouring more spiritual pressure into his weapon.
But
Despite his efforts, the emerald light at the tip of the lance only grew brighter, more intenselike it was ready to consume him entirely.
CRACK
Suddenly, a sharp, jarring sound rang out.
Nnoitra's heart skipped a beat. He looked downand his worst fear came true.
A thin fracture had appeared on Santa Teresa.
"!"
"No way!!"
He stared in disbelief. "My Santa Teresa"
"It's actually crackingunder Nelliel's assault?!"
In that instant, his mouth went dry. He gulped hard, his throat tight.
A creeping sense of despair began to bloom in his chest.
His strongest movehis ultimate releasecouldn't even withstand a single attack from her?
Then what was the point of fighting?
He couldn't beat her and he couldn't run either.
"Damn it!!"
"Nelliel! Don't push me!!"
Nnoitra shouted in a mix of rage and helplessness.
Nelliel didn't respond. She just kept pushingrelentlessly.
BOOM!!
In an instantSanta Teresa shattered.
Nnoitra stared blankly, his mind stunned. It wasn't until the glowing emerald lance pierced straight toward him that he realized what was happening.
"Szayelaporro!! Are you seriously just gonna stand there and watch?!!"
He roared in panic.
In the distance, Szayelaporro Granz, who had been trying his best to stay invisible, froze.
That bastard!
Why couldn't he just die quietly?! Why drag me into this too?!
Sure enough
Nelliel's movement paused. Her gaze shifted toward Szayelaporro.
"Oh right I almost forgot about you."
Szayelaporro shot a venomous glare at Nnoitra.
Nnoitra, however, brightened upthis was exactly what he wanted. If he could shift Nelliel's attention to Szayelaporro, then maybe he'd have a shot
SPLURT
Just as hope flickered in his eyes, a sharp pain tore through his body.
His expression froze. He slowly looked down.
The emerald lance had already impaled him. Blood dripped steadily from the wound.
Wh-What?
No NO!
Nnoitra looked up, eyes bloodshot, struggling against the pain. He opened his mouth to speak
BOOM!!
A burst of green light erupted
SPLAT!!
And his body was torn to shreds on the spot.
Nnoitra Gilgadead.
A heavy silence fell over Las Noches.
Nelliel calmly withdrew her lance, flicking the blood off before turning her gaze toward Szayelaporro.
"..."
Szayelaporro tensed up. It felt like a giant invisible hand was squeezing his heart.
But before he could react
Nelliel was already right in front of him.
Szayelaporro yelped and quickly leapt backward.
"W-Wait a second!"
He knew damn well he couldn't beat her. Without hesitation, he called for backup.
Looking toward Starrk and the others, he forced a strained smile.
"Hey, come on, I'm part of the Espada too, right?"
"You guys are really just gonna let Nelliel target me like this?"
"Uh"
Grimmjow scratched his head and looked over at Tier Harribel. "This kinda feels like none of our business, yeah? Or should we help?"
Harribel gave him a sidelong glance. Her voice was calm. "If you want to help him, go ahead."
Honestly, she had a decent impression of Nellielbut Nnoitra and Szayelaporro? She found their behavior disgusting.
So
She had no intention of stepping in.
At least not until Nelliel finished her business with them.
They'd brought this on themselves. She had no desire to clean up their mess.
Grimmjow: ""
He scratched his head again, laughed awkwardly, and wisely dropped the subject.
He was just the Sexta Espadawhat was he gonna do against someone who used to be Tres (3rd)?
Especially now that she was clearly stronger than before.
Besides, even though Harribel didn't outright say it, he wasn't dumb. He could read the room.
Hell, even Starrk wasn't paying attention to that fight.
Instead, Starrk was staring at Baraggan Louisenbairn, who was still restrained. He frowned subtly, then muttered to himself:
"Looks like"
"Our former king of Hueco Mundo might need a little help."
Unlike Nnoitra and Szayelaporro, Starrk actually cared about Baraggan.
As for the other two?
Yeah, they were just cannon fodder.
Even if they died, Aizen could fill their spots in no time.
Szayelaporro: "??"
"Waitseriously?! You're just gonna leave me here?!"
He stared in disbelief at Starrk and Harribel.
But neither of them even bothered to reply.
Grimmjow shrugged. "Good luck, man."
"You!!"
Szayelaporro clenched his fists, still wanting to say something.
But then
A powerful gust of wind surged behind him.
He didn't hesitate.
"Sip, Fornicars!"
The words had barely left his lips when he swallowed his Zanpakut whole. His body instantly expanded and transformed.
His lower half turned into tentacles, which quickly morphed into legs and robes. Four wings sprouted from his back, and colorful markings appeared around his eyes.
Nelliel looked at his released form with disgust in her eyes. She spat out one word:
"Disgusting."
.
.
.
Szayelaporro Granz eliminated.
Szayelaporro Granz's Resurreccin form unfurled high above Las Noches. His four grotesque wings spread wide, filling the air with a sickening stench. Slithering tendrils and warped eyes pulsed across his body, making Nelliel glare at him with pure disgust.
"What a gross form," she said coldly, as the green glow of her lance suddenly flared like a wildfire.
Szayelaporro flinched the moment he saw that dangerous emerald aura swirling around her weapon. Even though he'd already released his Resurreccin, there was still fear in his heart. The pressure radiating from Nelliel's body shook him to his core.
But there was still a chance!
Clenching his fists tightly, Szayelaporro's eyes glinted with calculation.
As long as he made full use of his Resurreccin's abilityhe could turn this around!
He took a deep breath and began laying out his plan in his mind.
But Nelliel didn't give him that luxury.
She shot forward like a green lightning bolt. Her lance sliced through the air with a piercing whistle.
A thunderous boom exploded in Szayelaporro's ears as she closed in. Panicked, he scrambled to respond
"Cero!"
All four of his wings flared at once, firing off multiple dark-purple beams of energy.
But Nelliel didn't dodge.
Her lance swept in a horizontal arc, unleashing a glowing green wave that slashed through every beam with ease.
Without slowing in the slightest, she was suddenly right in front of him.
"Impossible!" Szayelaporro cried out, shocked and terrified. He swung his tendrils in a frenzy, trying to block her
Her lance thrust forward. The green energy surged like a tidal wave.
The moment his tendrils touched that light, they dissolved like ice meeting fire.
Shlunk
Her lance didn't stop. It punched straight through Szayelaporro Granz's torso.
His eyes went wide and unfocused, his body limp, just like Nnoitra Gilga before him.
But Nelliel didn't stop there.
She yanked her lance out and slashed to the side!
Slash
A cluster of writhing tendrils was sliced clean through.
