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"Her combat instincts aren't bad. She knows how to use her strengths."
From atop a stone ridge, Nanatsuki gave a small nod.
Harribel's swirling water shield was both offensive and defensive. If Nel relied solely on swordplay, she'd be at a disadvantage.
Boom boom boom—
Nel's figure blinked rapidly through the air, using Sonído repeatedly to evade the pursuing torrents.
But the torrents didn't simply vanish after missing their mark. Under Harribel's control, they looped back mid-air and resumed their attack.
Unable to dodge in time, Nel had to raise her sword to block.
But once the first torrent struck her blade, the rest followed immediately.
The heavy, rushing streams battered her sword one after another. After the seventh hit, her arm began to go numb.
Her guard faltered slightly.
In that instant, the torrents pierced through her defense and slammed into her body.
More torrents surged in.
Boom!
Nel was flung backward by the force, crashing into a stone mountain in the distance.
Rumble—!
The mountain collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.
Nanatsuki and the three beast-like Adjuchas had to relocate to continue spectating.
Nel had been blasted directly into the very mountain they had just been standing on.
"This technique still lacks power—it's limited by her Reiatsu. If she could release hundreds of water jets, she could crush someone to death," Nanatsuki commented while observing the dust cloud. He could still sense Nel's Reiatsu—it hadn't changed much.
Harribel's strategy was clever by Hollow standards. Water manipulation was a rare ability among Hollows.
Without a formal system to develop it, the fact that she had reached this level on her own was impressive.
However, "water-type Zanpakutō" were common among Shinigami, and their mastery over water techniques far surpassed Harribel's.
Just then, a beam of light tore through the dusty sky, shooting straight toward Harribel.
It moved fast—but Harribel didn't intend to dodge.
With a wave of her hand, most of the water shield surrounding her diverted and formed a massive water dragon.
It surged forth and swallowed the incoming light beam.
But that light was a Reiatsu Blade, compressed by Nel to the utmost limit of her control!
Even though the water dragon was infused with Harribel's Reiatsu, it couldn't match the concentrated force of the beam.
The next moment, the light burst through the dragon's belly.
Harribel's face changed. She used Sonído to evade just in time.
Boom!
The beam pierced through several stone mountains, completely unhindered.
Heart pounding, Harribel glanced back at the wreckage. Luckily, Nel had been flung far enough that the water dragon had slowed the attack's speed—or else she might not have escaped.
That strike, had it hit directly, could've seriously injured her.
A subtle drumming sound echoed behind her, beating in sync with her own heartbeat.
Nel's blade had pierced through the shield and was thrusting toward her.
Sonído: Shun Strike!
Shun Strike wasn't a movement technique—it was a compression burst of power released in a single moment.
Now enhanced by Reiatsu Blade, its piercing strength was multiplied several times over.
The glowing blade struck Harribel's left shoulder, instantly shattering the shoulder's bone armor.
Shlick—
Before the pain fully hit, Harribel swung her arm in retaliation.
But Nel had already vanished.
Bright red blood dripped from her shoulder.
Harribel had caught a fleeting counterattack opportunity.
She had managed to tear open Nel's training uniform sleeve and left a deep cut along her right flank.
Silent, Harribel raised her arm again. A Cero began charging at her fingertip.
"So it's finally here..." Nel murmured.
Her teacher had once told her: if she could withstand a powerful Cero with a slash, she might learn that technique.
She sheathed her sword.
She would cut down Harribel's Cero!
Two heartbeats later, the Cero launched toward her.
At the same moment, a streak of light erupted from her scabbard.
Zzzz—
The beam collided with the raging Cero.
This time, she couldn't slice through it immediately.
Harribel's Cero was far stronger than the Leopard King's by many times!
Perhaps due to her water-based affinity, her Cero also carried the crushing weight of a crashing tide.
Nel gritted her teeth, doing everything to maintain the integrity of her Reiatsu Blade—but it still couldn't break through that dense Cero.
"What is that technique?! It's actually blocking Lady Harribel's Cero!"
Up in the air, the three beast Adjuchas were stunned.
Judging by the Reiatsu fluctuations alone, the pink beam was far weaker than the Cero.
And yet, Nel had managed to hold it off with just that.
"I thought the stronger the Reiatsu, the stronger the technique?" said the serpent Hollow, its worldview cracking.
None of them had undergone structured training. Their understanding of Reiatsu usage was still extremely shallow.
But it was Harribel who truly felt the difference.
"My Cero... was blocked... with that technique. How can it be so strong with so little Reiatsu?"
Harribel reflected on her own experience.
She had just felt that blade firsthand—a highly compressed Reiatsu Blade, launched with Shun Strike.
"Is it the density of the Reiatsu...?"
A flash of insight passed through her mind. It felt like she had glimpsed a truth—but it remained hidden behind a thin veil.
Meanwhile, Nel focused on the sensation of her Reiatsu Blade colliding with the Cero.
"This is it..."
Her Reiatsu surged, concentrating into her hand. Tapping into Hollow instinct, she transmuted it into another form.
A soft pink glow radiated from the hand holding her hilt.
Nel was unleashing a Cero!
It merged with her Reiatsu Blade, the pink hue quickly flooding the beam.
In moments, the beam had transformed into Reiatsu Blade: Cero!
Harribel's face went pale. She felt the terrifying threat in an instant.
The moment the beam turned pink—everything changed.
Zzzzzzz—
The pink blade sliced through Harribel's Cero and surged toward her.
"I'll die!"
The thought flashed through her mind. Then, just as suddenly, an image surfaced—her first memory of making a friend in Hueco Mundo.
The pink blade stopped just inches in front of her.
Harribel could feel its immense power directly.
Her back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
"...I lost," she whispered.
She slowly lowered her arms.
"I did it!!"
Nel suddenly appeared beside her teacher and pounced, wrapping herself around him. "I finally merged my Cero with the Flowlight technique!"