Solo Marking Ichimaru Gin

However, compared to Ulquiorra, who had grown a pair of enormous black wings after entering his first-stage Resurrección, Kuchiki Byakuya was undoubtedly in a far more miserable and battered state.

Covered in blood, his hair disheveled, with a bloody hole already torn through his abdomen, he stood unsteadily before Ulquiorra.

"Soul Reaper, it seems that your White Emperor Sword, which supposedly carried all your heart, was nothing special after all."

In Ulquiorra's eyes, as he gripped his Reishi Blade, the final desperate strike Kuchiki Byakuya had unleashed—the White Emperor Sword—was still faintly reflected.

That dazzling blow, infused with all of Kuchiki Byakuya's spiritual pressure...

Ulquiorra lowered his head and glanced at the tiny bloody hole on his body, which was rapidly regenerating. That strike... Kuchiki Byakuya's White Emperor Sword had shattered Ulquiorra's Reishi Blade, but its remaining force had not even been enough to pierce Ulquiorra's body.

"The gap in spiritual pressure cannot be bridged by something as trivial as the heart."

Ulquiorra calmly walked step by step toward Kuchiki Byakuya, looking down at him as he hunched slightly, already seeming unable to stand straight.

"Still, you can take pride in having delayed me for so long with your level of spiritual pressure. Soul Reaper, state your name. In my long life, you are someone worth remembering."

"Ku... Kuchiki Byakuya!"

Kuchiki Byakuya panted heavily, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the surrounding situation. When he saw Nel in Soi Fon's arms, his expression relaxed slightly.

"Kuchiki Byakuya? You do not seem to fear death. Instead, you seem pleased by something?" Ulquiorra asked in confusion.

"That is something Arrancar like you, who possess no 'heart,' cannot understand..."

Kuchiki Byakuya struggled to straighten up and met Ulquiorra's gaze. There was not the slightest fear or cowardice toward death in his eyes as