"Roar!!"
The Menos Grande formed through fusion with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi roared, and then endless red light gathered in his mouth.
"Damn it! Resurrección..."
As Szayelaporro watched the dazzling red light flare in Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's mouth, beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and he immediately performed his Resurrección.
Whoosh!!
The next second, a savage Cero shot toward Szayelaporro, destroying everything behind him.
Boom!!
Terrifying explosions rang out one after another. The entire laboratory was reduced to rubble, and a mushroom cloud slowly rose from the ground, sweeping away the endless dust and sand on the surface.
"Hmm?! This Spiritual Pressure..."
Sōgo Shihoin and the two women, who were enjoying themselves, frowned as they felt the Spiritual Pressure shoot into the sky and then shower down like rain.
"It feels like both a Soul Reaper and a Hollow. What on earth did that idiot Szayelaporro create?"
Lilynette closed her eyes, sensing the Spiritual Pressure in the air as she spoke.
"Whatever it is, that idiot is about to get killed by it. Let's go take a look! We can't just let him die, can we?"
Sōgo Shihoin sat up on his beach chair and spoke to the two beside him.
"Mm!"
Tier Harribel nodded lightly at Sōgo Shihoin's words.
"Roar!!"
The Menos Grande that Kuruyashiki Kenpachi had become stood in the desert, roaring and bellowing without restraint, displaying his unparalleled strength.
"Damn it..."
Behind a rock five hundred meters from the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Szayelaporro, half his body scorched black, furrowed his brows. The enemy's strength surpassed even his imagination. He had been grievously wounded in a single instant. Such terrifying power was simply unprecedented.
"But fortunately, that fellow has nothing but invincible strength, without the intelligence to match. In the end, he's only a beast. Given enough time to prepare, dealing with him wouldn't be impossible. For now, though, I should retreat..."
Szayelaporro took one last look at the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi and slowly turned around, hiding behind the rock as he prepared to retreat for the time being and seek another opportunity to deal with the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
"Huff..."
Then a scene straight out of a horror story unfolded. The instant Szayelaporro turned around, facing him was the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who had just been roaring in the desert five hundred meters away.
"Huh!?"
"Sonído? You've got to be kidding..."
Looking at the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi panting heavily before him, Szayelaporro panicked.
Slash!
In that brief moment of panic, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, Zanpakuto in hand, severed one of Szayelaporro's arms with a single slash.
"Run! I have to run..."
A trace of disbelief flashed through Szayelaporro's eyes as he looked at the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who had sliced through both his arm and the enormous rock behind him with just one strike. Then only one thought remained in Szayelaporro's mind: escape. His opponent's combat strength was beyond what he could handle.
Smack!
But before Szayelaporro could think any further, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's enormous foot slammed into his chest, sending him flying along with the rock behind him.
Boom!
Szayelaporro instantly smashed through the rock behind him and skidded several hundred meters across the desert before slowly coming to a stop.
"Roar!"
But before Szayelaporro could think any further, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi planted his foot on his chest.
Hum!
Then brilliant red light gathered in Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's mouth, its dazzling radiance making Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's scalp prickle.
"Now I'm completely finished!"
Szayelaporro, an alchemist, watched the Cero formed from the endless Spiritual Pressure gathering in Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's mouth. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. Before this attack, he would depart this world.
Whoosh!
The next moment, red light illuminated the space before Szayelaporro's eyes.
Boom!
The violent blast shook all of Baraggan's territory. Every Menos Grande, whether a mindless Gillian or an Adjuchas that had already gained self-awareness, instinctively dropped to its knees, as though bowing before its king!
"Am I dead?"
Szayelaporro's last conscious impression was of being swallowed by a sea of red light, and his own instincts told him that if a Cero of that level struck him, he would certainly die.
"Wow, Little Sa, just what kind of monster did you make?"
Just as Szayelaporro kept his eyes tightly shut, a clear voice rang out beside his ear.
"That voice...?"
Hearing the voice beside him, Szayelaporro slowly opened his eyes.
The person standing beside him was none other than Sōgo Shihoin! And the person who had blocked that attack for him was also Sōgo Shihoin!
"Roar?"
The Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi looked at Sōgo Shihoin in confusion. He did not understand how the person before him had appeared, or how he had blocked his Cero.
Bang!
Before Kuruyashiki Kenpachi could figure it out, Sōgo Shihoin sent him flying with a kick, carving a deep trench through the desert-like ground.
"Hey! Szayelaporro, what exactly is going on? Why is something so strange here?"
Tier Harribel glared at Szayelaporro as she questioned him.
"Well... can I say it was an accident?"
Szayelaporro stood and brushed the dust off himself. Usually so poised and elegant, he now wore only a bitter smile. In his original calculations, even if that Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande did not perish together with Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, it should at least have caused him some trouble. Who could have known that the two would end up in a symbiotic state? This had indeed exceeded his calculations.
"An accident? You caused Lord Sōgo this much trouble because of an accident? You should just kill yourself."
In a flat voice, Tier Harribel recounted Szayelaporro's sins.
"Haha, now isn't the time for that... this thing is more interesting than I imagined."
Sōgo Shihoin interrupted their chatter, because the Hollowfied Kuruyashiki Kenpachi had risen from the desert once again, though Sōgo Shihoin had never thought he could defeat his opponent so easily in the first place.
"Roar!!"
Kuruyashiki Kenpachi roared at Sōgo Shihoin like a Hollow, but unlike when he had attacked Szayelaporro, he did not charge straight at him. He seemed to be pondering something through instinct.
"Just as I theorized, a Hollow evolves by removing the mask from its face, while a Soul Reaper evolves by putting on a mask!"
Sōgo Shihoin's eyes gleamed as he watched Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, who still retained his human form but had become even more like a Hollow.
(End of chapter)