Chapter 173
"It's time to end it, Kurosaki!"
Grimmjow swung his Panther King Claw toward Kurosaki Ichigo with explosive force. Their blades clashed violently, but after only a few exchanges, Ichigo's mask shattered and blood covered his body. Even so, the look in Ichigo's eyes reflected exactly what Grimmjow had claimed earlier-it was the gaze of someone convinced of victory. That expression unsettled Grimmjow more than the wounds he inflicted.
"You will all become my flesh and blood-and witness my path to becoming the king!"
Before the last word left his mouth, Ichigo's sword cut cleanly through Grimmjow's Panther King Claw, shattering it into countless fragments. Shock spread across Grimmjow's face as the weapon fell apart before him. Ichigo's voice followed immediately after.
"You're right. I came to fight in Hueco Mundo-to defeat you, to defeat Ulquiorra, and to defeat Aizen Sōsuke."
Blood sprayed as Ichigo's next strike slashed across Grimmjow's chest, sending him crashing down from the sky to the ground below.
...
When Szayalaporro Granz was still human, he worked as an alchemist. His brother, a military general at that time, frequently brought him defeated enemies as test subjects, allowing Szayalaporro to begin experimenting on humans. After death, both became Hollows, but Szayalaporro devoured his brother's soul along with countless others to increase his power. Through endless hunts and evolution, he gained the strength to defeat even Vasto Lordes. However, his obsession with obtaining living material for experiments left him accustomed to restraining his strength in direct battle.
After being recruited by Baraggan to serve as a researcher in Hueco Mundo, Aizen's later takeover of Las Noches elevated Szayalaporro briefly to the rank of Espada Number 0. Even with such strength, Szayalaporro despised his own imperfection. In pursuit of a perfect existence through the mastery of his ability "Gabriel," he split himself in two-his expelled flesh became the Arrancar Ilforte Granz. His power was reduced to that of an Adjuchas-class Menos and he was excluded from the Espada. Only after refining "Gabriel" to completion did he regain his place and reenter the Espada as Number 8.
"Do you know what a perfect life is?"
Szayalaporro's eyes gleamed with arrogance as he stood before Yuta. "I… am the perfect life."
His smile sharpened as he continued. "I have already analyzed your Zanpakutō. Now there is no need to resist. Although your weapon seems effective in close combat, as long as I maintain my distance, my long-range attacks will overwhelm you."
He lifted his hand. "Cero Oscuras!"
Energy condensed into a pink flash in his palm before bursting forward with overwhelming power toward Yuta. The entire chamber began to shake under the pressure of the blast. Yuta steadied his blade and swung smoothly through the beam. The Cero split apart like water against steel, collapsing harmlessly to either side. The energy blew apart a line of pillars and shattered the walls behind him, but Yuta remained undisturbed at the center of it all.
Szayalaporro's expression darkened. He hadn't expected even his Cero to be cut. His tone shifted from confidence toward desperation as he shouted. "Impossible! There must be something in this world that your blade cannot cut!"
He raised his Zanpakutō and recited with venom in his voice: "Sip… Fornicarás!"
He shoved the blade into his own mouth and swallowed it whole. His body swelled grotesquely before erupting in a torrent of black rain. Within that storm, his body reformed into its Resurrección: a twisted hybrid with humanoid features on the upper body, but lower limbs stretching as countless tentacles across the ground. Behind him, four pairs of wing-like protrusions hung with swollen sacs leaked dark fluid into the surrounding air. Black markings spread outward beneath his eyes as his fingers transformed into grotesque appendages.
Yuta recognized the transformation instantly. The black rain was his cloning ability, a grotesque mockery of life itself. Without hesitation, Yuta formed a barrier, locking the storm within its confines. The rain poured back down upon Szayalaporro alone.
"Your black rain can create clones, can't it?" Yuta's voice remained steady. "I may not fear it, but it is filthy nonetheless. So drown in it yourself."
Szayalaporro hissed in frustration, smiling with strained defiance as the poisonous storm drenched his warped body. "How dare you call my black rain dirty… I am perfection itself!"
Yuta answered calmly. "If it were before you split your brother from yourself, perhaps you might have retained some true strength. As you are now, weakened and degraded, these tricks won't allow you to stand against me."
Szayalaporro's laughter rang through the chamber, unbalanced but filled with conviction. "Ridiculous! My brother was nothing but a burden. I have cast off imperfection! Through Gabriel, I can parasitize upon the womb and be reborn endlessly. I have incorporated death into my cycle itself. I cannot fail!"
Yuta raised his hand and focused spiritual pressure into his palm. The energy condensed into the deep red of a Cero and hummed with restrained devastation before erupting forward.
The blast tunneled straight through the barrier, annihilating everything in its path. Szayalaporro's body was torn apart instantly, erased before he realized what struck him. Even Gabriel could not activate under such overwhelming force. His scream was cut short as his form disintegrated completely, leaving only silence in the chamber. The beam continued across Hueco Mundo without pause, tearing through towers of Las Noches before finally fading into the distance beyond sight.
Szayalaporro Granz was gone-the god of self-proclaimed perfection reduced to nothingness.
Yuta's eyes lifted calmly as the dust settled. "Now… only Ulquiorra remains."
He turned to face Espada Number 4 as Ulquiorra stepped forward, his cold gaze unwavering. Among the Espada, Ulquiorra was one of the few who had unlocked the second stage of Resurrección-a transformation that multiplied his strength to immeasurable levels. Yuta raised his blade and without hesitation slashed upward, cutting the dome of Las Noches in two. The sky split apart, half exposing the eternal night of Hueco Mundo and half revealing the false blue sky within the dome. The battlefield shifted into open air as both Yuta and Ulquiorra ascended above the ruins.
Ulquiorra lifted his Zanpakutō and declared evenly, "You are strong. I will fight you with all my strength." He raised the blade high and called out the words that unleashed his transformation. "Enclose… Murciélago."
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