"Aizen seems very reassured about you."
Moyu's tone was calm, as though commenting on homework rather than the impending clash. His eyes never wavered.
"In our first encounter in the living world, you barely escaped me. Grimmjow and the others failed as well. Are you the last line of defense?"
The words had barely left him when Ulquiorra's hand moved. The Zanpakutō slipped from his waist in a smooth draw, and dense emerald reiatsu spilled from the blade, enveloping him in a suffocating aura.
"In fighting you, I realized a deeper form of power."
His tone was flat, lifeless, as if speaking from the void itself.
Moyu's gaze flickered with recognition. He knew exactly what Ulquiorra referred to—his second release. The forbidden Resurrección: Segunda Etapa.
"So, a second-stage Resurrección," Moyu said bluntly, the corner of his mouth lifting faintly. "A good card to hold."
Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. For a fleeting instant, his composure faltered. How could this man know? Only Aizen had been informed.
"Curious how I know?" Moyu's expression twisted into something cruel, deliberately cryptic. "Sorry—my secret."
Ulquiorra's jaw tightened. The intelligence gap was unnerving. He had no measure of this man's limits—only his suffocating reiatsu and the storm-like Zanpakutō. Meanwhile, the Shinigami knew him far too well. It was an imbalance that clawed at Ulquiorra's core.
Then another voice rasped through the air, hoarse, serpentine, carrying the chill of a beast.
"Kuchiki Moyu… so this is your reiatsu. What a taste."
Moyu turned his eyes toward the source. Another Espada stood beside Ulquiorra, face hidden beneath a sealed mask. Something about the presence stirred familiarity within Moyu.
"Introduce yourself," the Arrancar hissed, neck twisting unnaturally. With a snap, the mask was torn away.
"Espada No. 10—Ouroboros."
The moment the mask fell, his neck stretched grotesquely, extending half a meter before the bony helm came free. What was revealed was no humanlike visage like the others, but the snarling head of a serpent—bone plating where scales should have been, eyes gleaming with green disdain. As his form slithered free, his uniform collapsed, revealing the coiled body of a monstrous snake.
Moyu frowned, eyes narrowing. "An undeveloped Arrancar?"
Typically, Arrancar shed their bestial form, evolving into humanoid shapes while retaining traits like Hierro and regeneration. Yet Ouroboros still bore the beast's shell, grotesque and incomplete.
"Narrow vision," the serpent mocked, voice echoing with contempt.
Ulquiorra ignored the exchange. Raising his blade, reiatsu flaring, he spoke as if reciting law.
"We sensed your battle earlier in Las Noches. Your strength is… beyond expectation."
No fear colored his tone, only fact. His reiatsu spiked higher, winds tearing through the hall, walls trembling under the pressure.
"Under the dome of Las Noches, two acts are forbidden," Ulquiorra continued coldly. "First, the Espada's strongest Cero—Gran Rey Cero. Second, Resurrección for Espada ranked four and above. Both possess destructive force too great for Hueco Mundo itself. Aizen forbade them."
Moyu's brows twitched. So that was the leash Aizen had bound on his monsters.
"But," Ulquiorra pressed on, eyes sharpening, "Aizen-sama gave special instruction. To kill you, everything is permitted. Even if Hueco Mundo itself is destroyed, the order stands."
Moyu's eyes darkened, his lips curving faintly. "To value me so highly… I'm almost flattered."
Ulquiorra's blade lifted. His reiatsu reached its zenith.
"This battle cannot be avoided. I will end it here—using everything."
"Block it… Murciélago."
The words struck like thunder.
Emerald reiatsu detonated outward, tearing through the palace. Walls collapsed, corridors split apart, stone and sand erupting in waves. Smoke surged upward like a pillar as the very ground quaked beneath the release.
Moyu's gaze hardened. Ulquiorra's reiatsu was sharper, heavier than before. His talent was monstrous, eclipsing Grimmjow by miles. Even without the second release, he was beyond most Espada. Perhaps this was the true core of Aizen's chosen blade.
Ulquiorra's form twisted, reshaped by his power.
Black wings erupted from his back, vast and sharp as blades. His body stretched lean and predatory, arms and legs sheathed in obsidian feathers. His chest and abdomen darkened into armored scales, a long tail lashing into being. His helm's horns grew longer, sharper, curving skyward. He was no longer Arrancar—he was demon incarnate.
Dark green reiatsu seeped from beneath his feet, a suffocating miasma crushing the air. His gaze locked on Moyu, pupils narrowing to killing slits.
"Kuchiki Moyu…" His voice was a death sentence.
"Now—our battle begins."
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