Proving Himself

Tirutī pursued him relentlessly, her whip sweeping through a huge arc.

Cangya leaped over the whip's path and dodged the follow-up attacks like a ghost.

"All right, stop running around."

Tirutī's expression twisted. "I should be the one saying that. Stop running and accept your punishment, you punk."

His flashy movements made it hard for her whip to hit its target.

Cangya gave a wicked smile, his knuckles glowing with a soft blue light.

"You asked for it, woman. Don't cry when it happens."

"What's that?" Tirutī asked, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like Reiatsu, but there's more to it than that... Is it your special ability?"

After becoming Arrancar, all Hollows had a chance of developing a special ability based on their own souls.

At the Vasto Lorde stage, they could use this ability to a limited extent.

An Arrancar could fully unleash this ability in Resurrección.

"Maybe."

"Pretty cocky, aren't you? I'll crush your resistance completely and tame you... then offer you to our leader."

To reach her current position in Baraggan's army, she had slain countless others of her kind.

She knew that, in her current form, this battle would drag on for a long time.

She decided to play her trump card.

"Resurrección... sing, Girondina!"

Pink Reiatsu erupted from Tirutī.

Her Resurrección form appeared, transforming her into a gigantic figure resembling a white swallow.

A huge, beak-shaped headdress covered her forehead, and a long mane of feathers grew from her head.

She also grew two pairs of wings: one made up of five slender metal discs, and the other of ordinary feathers.

In an instant, she went from an ordinary-looking woman to a winged predator.

She grinned, displaying her huge, slender claws. "Ready to be sliced to pieces, poor thing?"

"That form makes me feel less guilty about beating you up."

Just as Tirutī lunged at him, a figure flashed past, interrupting them before the fight could begin.

An imposing figure stood there, tall and muscular, radiating an air of wicked amusement.

His black hair was styled to resemble a pair of devil horns, and the remnants of his Hollow mask stood out stark white against his forehead.

"Dun dun dun, da da da." The intruder struck an exaggerated pose and pointed at Tirutī. "Hey, old friend. I never expected to run into you here... out in the middle of nowhere."

He lied as naturally as a chameleon changed colors.

He had been following Tirutī ever since she left the base.

Neither Cangya nor Tirutī welcomed the newcomer.

After all, he was also one of the Espada, an Arrancar stronger than Tirutī.

She snarled at her "colleague" like a beast ready to devour another creature. "Get lost, Dordoni. I told you not to interfere."

She was strongly opposed to accepting help from another Espada, wanting to seek thrills within herself.

She believed she could defeat Tier Harribel and Cangya single-handedly, then take them to Las Noches.

"Using Resurrección against a young fawn is beneath our station." Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio crossed his arms, his expression somewhat serious.

He had no reason to obey Tirutī's orders, since she was below him in both Espada rank and strength.

"We're here to take this little fellow to our king, not kill him."

This so-called "young fawn" was undoubtedly the Vasto Lorde preparing to face Tirutī.

Cangya put away his innate ability and sighed. "Tirutī's right, kid. Stay out of her business and let me deal with her."

Dordoni's eyes widened. "You're calling me that too, kid. Unbelievable, kid."

"...Move, or I'll kill you both."

Cangya's eyes gleamed with a bestial ferocity.

He hated two kinds of people most: those who meddled in other people's affairs for no reason, and those who imposed their beliefs on others and expected them to act in the way they thought was right.

Dordoni belonged to the former group, though he wasn't particularly hateful yet.

The fearless Arrancar laughed. "Then come on, kid. Have it your way. If she kills you, I won't save you."

Without waiting for an answer, Dordoni used Sonído to flash over to a distant hill, going from participant to spectator.

If a Vasto Lorde died here, Tirutī would have to answer to Baraggan.

It had nothing to do with him. For him, it was a win-win situation, because he hated seeing Baraggan.

"No one gets to hurt my people." A cold voice rang out as Tier Harribel appeared in front of Cangya, like his guardian.

Her Reiatsu swelled to the limit of a Vasto Lorde's, as if daring Tirutī to attack Cangya.

Tirutī's anger brewed like a storm.

Blinded by rage, she roared and launched ten Blade Wings at Tier Harribel.

The Reishi along the edges of the Blade Wings vibrated at incredible speed, enough to cut a Vasto Lorde in half with ease.

Cangya felt a chill creep up his spine. "Dodge!"

Tier Harribel braced herself, extending her sword arm to block the Blade Wings head-on.

She did it not out of pride, but out of a fierce determination to protect Cangya from harm.

Without hesitation, Cangya grabbed Tier Harribel and used Sonído to take them out of the path of Tirutī's vicious attack.

"Are you crazy?" he scolded, nudging her shoulder. "You almost died. What were you thinking?"

He noticed that she was momentarily distracted, her gaze fixed not on his face, but on his arm.

Drip, drip, drip.

The chilling sound caught his attention, and he couldn't help shuddering.

Blood flowed in red waves, staining Hueco Mundo's white sands like paint on an artist's canvas.

Tier Harribel had emerged unscathed from the clash with Tirutī's Resurrección form, but he hadn't been so lucky.

The harsh reality of Cangya's injury washed over him.

When he grabbed Tier Harribel, his left arm had been sliced clean off at the shoulder.

A searing pain spread through his body, stimulating every nerve and burning through his consciousness.

Though he was a soul—a Hollow—the pain he felt was all too real, so intense that he could barely bear it.

"Ah." Cangya bit his tongue, holding back the scream that had nearly escaped him.

His rigorous training with Tier Harribel had taught him the importance of restraint and self-control.

Even before coming to this world, he had possessed a strong sense of self-discipline, and now it was facing the ultimate test. "Damn it."

Tier Harribel's face filled with horror. "Cangya, this..."

"Cangya!"

Tier Harribel wasn't the only one who was afraid. Apache, Sun-Sun, and even Mila Rose called out anxiously as they ran toward him, their faces full of worry.

Unfallen tears glistened in Apache's eyes as she teetered on the verge of breaking down, while Sun-Sun struggled to stay calm despite the dire situation.

Each of them felt the severity of Cangya's injury and its possible consequences.