Nelliel's Lanzador Verde pierced the winged horse's left wing.
Medusa's short sword plunged viciously through Nelliel's abdomen.
But neither stopped.
Medusa yanked the reins. Pegasus neighed and continued diving with her, driving Nelliel toward the ground, while Nelliel clung tightly to the winged horse's mane. Lanzador Verde twisted sharply, tearing through half its body.
Multicolored light filled the sky.
Medusa fell from the horse's back.
Nelliel also slammed heavily into the ground.
Pegasus dissolved into motes of light, and Bellerophon's golden glow slowly dimmed.
Medusa rolled several times across the ground before crashing into a piece of rubble and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Nel lay in the center of the ruins, her abdomen pierced through, blood pouring continuously from the wound.
"Hah... hah..."
She stared up at the sky, gasping for breath. Her body began to turn transparent.
"It looks like... my time is almost up."
She turned her head toward the direction Ichigo Kurosaki had left in the distance, a gentle smile touching her lips.
"Take Miss Rukia with you and live a good life, okay? You promised..."
Green motes of light scattered from her body.
Her Antelope Form gradually reverted to a human shape. She returned to her mature, statuesque appearance, then continued shrinking until she became a little girl curled up among the rubble.
"And the next time we meet, you have to treat me to lots and lots of food."
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck.
The defeated Third Espada from distant Hueco Mundo.
Had finally left the Holy Grail War.
Medusa struggled to her feet amid the rubble and looked toward where Nel had vanished, remaining silent for a long time.
"Remarkable. I never expected Hueco Mundo, so often forgotten, to produce someone no less outstanding than those of Heaven and the Terrestrial Realm. You were