Barragan glared at Aizen, resentment filling his murky eyes as he growled.
"Aizen, you've actually toyed with me once again!"
Aizen merely smiled faintly, not at all concerned by Barragan's fury. He glanced at Ulquiorra and said softly,
"Go ahead, Ulquiorra. Granting death to a hound whose thoughts are filled with defying its master's wishes is a kindness."
At Aizen's words, Ulquiorra nodded respectfully, then turned to face Barragan, his eyes cold.
"Whoosh!"
Right before Barragan's eyes, Ulquiorra vanished from the spot!
"Thud!"
Before Barragan could react, a terrifying punch slammed into his abdomen. His burly frame was utterly powerless to resist; like a punching bag, he was mercilessly battered by Ulquiorra's incredible speed.
"Boom—"
His body flew uncontrollably into the air. Ulquiorra appeared behind him in the next instant and kicked him back down, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.
The tremendous impact instantly pulverized the paving stones. The ground caved into a semicircular crater, webbed with cracks like a spider's web.
"Cough, cough..."
A trace of blood escaped Barragan's lips. His eyes were half-open and he looked weak, yet his expression remained defiant. Panting roughly, he fixed his murky eyes on Ulquiorra as he hurtled down toward him and roared,
"Damn it! You're nothing but an inferior Hollow who was under my rule, and you dare act so brazenly!"
With that, he swept his hand out. A wisp of black mist suddenly appeared beside him and shot toward the rapidly descending Ulquiorra!
"Whoosh!"
Like a long snake striking from ambush, the black mist shot straight at Ulquiorra.
But in the next instant!
"Bang!"
To Barragan's astonishment, the Ulquiorra struck by the black smoke instantly turned into a cloud of white smoke that billowed upward!
What...!?
Before Barragan could react, a shadow suddenly appeared off to the side.