Chapter 103: The Death of Nnoitra
"What's this? Do monsters like you actually feel pain?"
Nnoitra's laughter echoed across the battlefield as he began swinging his remaining scythe in relentless, brutal arcs. Though he had lost four of his six arms along with three of his distinctive crescent blades, he now fought with the desperate fury of a berserker pushed beyond his limits. His attack speed and raw power had somehow increased, as if losing his limbs had awakened something primal and savage within him.
"Haaaah!!" he roared, using his own rotational momentum to maintain constant pressure around the giant dragon's massive form.
Like a persistent wasp harassing a much larger predator, Nnoitra darted and weaved around the dragon's body, his remaining scythe finding purchase again and again. Soon, the obsidian scales that had seemed so impenetrable were marked with a growing collection of wounds, each one weeping dark blood that steamed in the cold air of Hueco Mundo.
"Damn it, his speed is incredible!" Ishida muttered from his position far below, watching the aerial combat with growing concern.
The tide of battle had shifted dramatically, and both he and Chad could only observe helplessly as their ally struggled against Nnoitra's relentless assault. The Quinta Espada's regenerative abilities combined with his manic determination made him a nearly unstoppable force.
"Is there some way we can restrain him?" Chad asked, his deep voice heavy with worry as he studied their enemy's movement patterns.
"Yes, there is," Ishida replied, reaching for a silver object at his waist, "but I can't execute it with only one arm. I'll need your assistance."
He withdrew an ornate silver chalice and tossed it carefully to Chad, who caught it with both hands and examined its craftsmanship with interest. The cup was surprisingly light—less than two hundred grams—and its surface was covered with intricate mystical patterns. The entire vessel appeared to be crafted from mithril, giving it an otherworldly shimmer that spoke of its supernatural properties.
"What do you need me to do?" Chad asked, hefting the chalice thoughtfully.
"The plan is simple in concept but dangerous in execution," Ishida explained, adjusting his glasses with his remaining hand. "We'll ascend together, and I'll establish a containment barrier while you protect the focal point. The mithril chalice must remain stationary for at least one full minute, and during that time, we'll need to be extremely careful about interference."
He gestured toward a figure watching the battle from a safe distance—Tesra Lindocruz, Nnoitra's loyal fracción, who had been observing the conflict with the patience of a predator waiting for the right moment to strike.
"That one will certainly try to disrupt our plan once he realizes what we're attempting," Ishida continued. "Can you handle him?"
"Count on it," Chad replied with quiet determination, his spiritual pressure beginning to flicker around him like heat waves.
"Then let's begin!"
The two humans launched themselves skyward simultaneously, their sudden movement immediately catching Tesra's attention. His eyes narrowed as he watched their ascent, his tactical mind quickly deducing that they were planning some form of coordinated assault.
"Two little insects think they can interfere with Master Nnoitra's battle?" he mused aloud, his hand moving instinctively to his Zanpakutō's hilt. "How presumptuous of them."
"He's coming, Chad!" Ishida called out as Tesra began his own pursuit.
"I see him!" Chad responded, turning to face the approaching fracción as his spiritual energy began to coalesce around his arms.
"Position the chalice five meters behind you and hold that spot," Ishida instructed, his voice tense with concentration. "Whatever happens, it cannot be disturbed during the ritual period."
He gave Chad a firm pat on the shoulder before breaking away toward where Nnoitra and the dragon continued their deadly dance, leaving his friend to face Tesra alone.
"How interesting," Tesra called out mockingly as he drew his blade. "Do you really think you can interfere with Master Nnoitra's combat? Your arrogance is truly overwhelming!"
As a loyal subordinate, eliminating distractions and obstacles was naturally part of his duties. Even if these opponents were merely human insects, he couldn't allow them to affect his master's battle in any way.
Tesra's Zanpakutō emerged from its sheath with a metallic whisper, and he grasped the handle with one hand while running the fingers of his other hand along the blade's edge in a ritual gesture.
"Shall we begin, then?" he asked with predatory anticipation. "That broken-armed friend of yours seems to be hiding something in this area."
Chad's response was immediate and decisive. His left arm swung in a powerful arc, and brilliant blue light erupted around it as white armor materialized over his skin. This was the new power he had awakened during their previous battles—the evolution of his Brazo Derecha del Gigante into something far more formidable.
"So humans can possess such abilities as well?" Tesra observed with genuine interest, his expression shifting to one of professional curiosity. "How fascinating! Since you've revealed your transformation, I suppose I can't be too stingy with my own."
He raised his Zanpakutō above his head and spoke the release command with dramatic flair: "Stab, Verruga!"
White smoke erupted around Tesra's form, and when it cleared, he had transformed into a humanoid wild boar, his spiritual pressure spiking dramatically as his Resurrección took hold. Curved tusks emerged from his jaw, and his body swelled with newfound power.
Meanwhile, Ishida maintained his distance from the ongoing aerial battle, using his remaining right hand to control blue spiritual threads that danced through the air around Nnoitra and the dragon. He didn't dare get too close to their conflict—the raw spiritual pressure being released by both combatants was dangerous enough to overwhelm him if he made a mistake.
The clash between Chad and Tesra began in earnest just as Nnoitra gained further advantage in his battle above.
With a particularly vicious swing of his crescent scythe, Nnoitra managed to carve a hideous gash across the dragon's left eye, sending torrents of dark blood streaming down its scaled face.
"ROOOAAARRR!!" The dragon's agonized bellow shook the very foundations of Hueco Mundo as it beat its wings frantically and began circling higher into the pale sky.
During its desperate flight, the creature continued to breathe streams of black flame in all directions, painting the heavens with curtains of destructive energy that transformed the night into a hellish tableau.
"Running away already?" Nnoitra taunted, pursuing his wounded prey with relentless determination.
However, his flight speed couldn't match the dragon's natural aerial mobility, and gradually the distance between them began to increase. Just as Nnoitra paused to reassess the situation, the dragon executed a sharp banking maneuver and reversed course, diving directly toward him at tremendous velocity.
BOOM!!
The impact was tremendous as the dragon's armored head connected with Nnoitra's midsection, driving the air from his lungs and carrying him along in its flight path.
For more than ten seconds they traveled this way, locked together in a deadly embrace, before finally returning to the general area where the battle had begun. It was then that Ishida made his move, having completed the complex spiritual formation he had been weaving during their absence.
The dragon suddenly jerked its head to one side, releasing Nnoitra and hurling him directly into the center of Ishida's trap.
"Chad, get clear!" Ishida shouted to his friend below, who was still locked in combat with Tesra.
Chad heard the warning and immediately used his Brazo Derecha del Gigante to block Tesra's slashing attack, then delivered a devastating counter-punch that sent the fracción flying several meters backward. Using that moment of respite, he executed a swift retreat from the danger zone.
Ishida formed a complex hand seal with his single remaining arm, and countless transparent spiritual threads began manifesting in the air around Nnoitra. They drew power from the ambient spirit particles in the atmosphere, gradually forming an intricate containment array beneath the Quinta Espada's feet.
"What is this supposed to be?" Nnoitra demanded suspiciously, preparing to continue his assault.
Before he could move, blue threads shot out like striking serpents, wrapping around his right arm and binding it securely. More threads followed, ensnaring his remaining limbs and rendering him temporarily immobile within the geometric prison of Ishida's design.
"Master Nnoitra!" Tesra cried out in alarm, immediately understanding that the one-armed Quincy was responsible for this development.
His gaze darted to where Chad had been protecting something, and he spotted the silver chalice steadily absorbing spirit particles from the surrounding air and channeling that energy directly into Ishida's binding threads.
"So that's the power source!" he realized aloud. "I have to destroy it!"
A crimson Cero began building between his eyes as he targeted the mithril chalice, but Ishida remained calm even in the face of this counterattack.
"Did you only just figure that out?" he asked with clinical detachment, adjusting his glasses with practiced ease. "I'm afraid you're far too late."
He formed another hand seal, and when Tesra's Cero struck the chalice, something unexpected occurred. Instead of being destroyed, the artifact absorbed every joule of the attack's energy, its surface beginning to glow with increasingly brilliant light.
"Detonate!" Ishida commanded.
The mithril chalice's body began expanding rapidly, growing larger and larger as the absorbed energy sought release. In less than three seconds, it exploded with the force of a small star going supernova.
Tesra, being closest to the detonation, bore the brunt of the explosion's fury and was hurled to the ground like a broken doll. Nnoitra, trapped within the formation, found himself strangled by spiritual threads that had suddenly become supercharged with destructive energy.
"Now!" Ishida called out to the dragon overhead.
Seizing the perfect opportunity, the massive creature reared back on its haunches and began gathering a sphere of midnight-black energy between its claws. The very air around the attack seemed to warp and bend as reality itself struggled to contain such concentrated power.
"Kotodama—Rakuen!" the dragon intoned, its voice carrying the weight of absolute finality.
The sphere of dark flames was hurled into the storm clouds gathering above Nnoitra's position. Immediately, the sky became a canvas of roiling darkness, shot through with veins of purple lightning as a massive fireball began descending from the heavens. The electrical discharges dancing within the attack promised unimaginable devastation.
"What... what is that thing?!" Nnoitra screamed, his earlier bravado completely evaporating as he stared up at the approaching apocalypse.
Panic consumed him as he struggled desperately against his bonds. Each time he managed to break through one of the spiritual threads using his hierro, two more would emerge to replace it, maintaining his imprisonment with relentless efficiency.
"No... this can't be happening!" he raged, his voice cracking with desperation. "How could I die in a place like this?!"
In his frenzy, Nnoitra made a decision that shocked everyone present—he aimed a Cero directly at his own body, the crimson energy tearing through his torso and creating a massive wound in his chest. The self-inflicted damage was severe enough to disrupt Ishida's binding formation, but at a terrible cost.
"Damn... damn you all! Damn Quincy!" he gasped, one hand pressed against his bleeding wound as he prepared to retreat. "Mark my words—when I survive this, I'll kill every last one of you!"
Just as he turned to flee, a figure materialized directly in his path. Chad stood firm, his armored arms crossed defensively, blocking Nnoitra's escape route with unwavering determination.
"Do you want to die, insect?" Nnoitra snarled, raising his scythe for what he intended to be a killing blow.
But Chad's eyes burned with absolute resolve as he met the Espada's gaze. "You're going to die here," he declared with quiet certainty. "I won't let you escape."
Chad used his Brazo Derecha del Gigante to intercept Nnoitra's desperate attack, and the razor-sharp scythe bit deep into his armored flesh, becoming lodged between muscle and bone. The pain was excruciating, but Chad held firm, trapping both himself and his enemy in place.
Nnoitra found himself unable to withdraw his weapon or drive it deeper—his remaining strength simply wasn't sufficient for either action. As the terrible realization of his situation dawned on him, something changed in his demeanor. The panic and desperation faded, replaced by something resembling acceptance.
"Hah... hahahaha..." he began laughing again, but this time the sound carried a different quality—not madness, but the bitter recognition of a warrior facing his end. "Do you all want to die so badly? Then let's die together!!"
In those final moments, Nnoitra was no longer afraid. He had found his courage again, displaying the fierce pride that had made him worthy of his Espada ranking.
"Die together with me!!!"
BOOOOOOM—!!
The massive purple-black fireball finally completed its descent, striking with the force of a meteor impact. The explosion that followed was visible for hundreds of miles, and the terrifying heat generated by the blast transformed tens of kilometers of silver sand into blackened glass and flowing magma.
When the initial shockwave finally subsided, the area that had once been known as the Silver Beach had been transformed into a hellish landscape of volcanic craters and flowing lava. The very geography of Hueco Mundo had been permanently altered by the dragon's ultimate attack.
"Cough... cough..." Chad struggled to breathe in the sulfur-laden air, his eyes streaming tears from the acrid smoke that filled the atmosphere.
Through the haze of destruction, he heard footsteps approaching and turned to see a familiar figure emerging from the devastation.
"Ishida!" he called out with relief. "Are you all right?"
"More or less," Ishida replied, though he was clearly favoring his wounded arm. His clothes were singed and torn, but he had somehow survived the explosion's aftermath.
Looking around at the transformed landscape—the sand pits filled with bubbling magma, the twisted formations of melted stone, the complete reshaping of the terrain—Chad could only shake his head in amazement.
"It's incredible," he murmured. "To think that human power could change the very landscape itself. I never would have believed such a thing was possible."
"Chad," Ishida said quietly, his voice heavy with sorrow, "Pesche and Dondochakka... they're gone. The fusion that created the dragon... it consumed them completely."
The victory had come at a terrible price, but Nnoitra Gilga, the Fifth Espada, was no more.