— — — — — —
Szayelaporro Granz's Resurrección form unfurled high above Las Noches. His four grotesque wings spread wide, filling the air with a sickening stench. Slithering tendrils and warped eyes pulsed across his body, making Nelliel glare at him with pure disgust.
"What a gross form," she said coldly, as the green glow of her lance suddenly flared like a wildfire.
Szayelaporro flinched the moment he saw that dangerous emerald aura swirling around her weapon. Even though he'd already released his Resurrección, there was still fear in his heart. The pressure radiating from Nelliel's body shook him to his core.
But… there was still a chance!
Clenching his fists tightly, Szayelaporro's eyes glinted with calculation.
As long as he made full use of his Resurrección's ability—he could turn this around!
He took a deep breath and began laying out his plan in his mind.
But Nelliel didn't give him that luxury.
She shot forward like a green lightning bolt. Her lance sliced through the air with a piercing whistle.
A thunderous boom exploded in Szayelaporro's ears as she closed in. Panicked, he scrambled to respond—
"Cero!"
All four of his wings flared at once, firing off multiple dark-purple beams of energy.
But Nelliel didn't dodge.
Her lance swept in a horizontal arc, unleashing a glowing green wave that slashed through every beam with ease.
Without slowing in the slightest, she was suddenly right in front of him.
"Impossible!" Szayelaporro cried out, shocked and terrified. He swung his tendrils in a frenzy, trying to block her—
Her lance thrust forward. The green energy surged like a tidal wave.
The moment his tendrils touched that light, they dissolved like ice meeting fire.
Shlunk—
Her lance didn't stop. It punched straight through Szayelaporro Granz's torso.
His eyes went wide and unfocused, his body limp, just like Nnoitra Gilga before him.
But Nelliel didn't stop there.
She yanked her lance out and slashed to the side!
Slash—
A cluster of writhing tendrils was sliced clean through.
And the Szayelaporro before her crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
But from the side—another Szayelaporro appeared, his expression grim.
"How did you know?" he asked, jaw clenched.
Nelliel didn't answer.
She didn't need to. The "feel" of a hit—she could tell when it wasn't right.
But the corrosive liquid dripping from Szayelaporro's body made her frown in revulsion.
Disgusting...
After a brief moment, Nelliel clearly decided she didn't want to get her hands dirty.
She raised one hand. A vibrant emerald light began to shimmer in her palm.
"Capricorn Queen Devil: Lance Trajectory!!"
(Lance Trajectory: Summons three emerald spirit lances that auto-target vital points. Each causes spatial disruption. )
Vmmmm—
As her voice rang out, three lances of pure magical energy materialized around her, spinning in place.
Nelliel had finally remembered her ranged option.
With a wave of her hand—
Shhhhk—
All three green lances launched at once, ripping through the air like bolts of lightning, leaving behind radiant streaks in the sky.
Szayelaporro's eyes narrowed. He instantly used Sonído, vanishing from his spot and reappearing in the distance.
"You think that little trick's gonna work on me?" he sneered. "Sure, I'm not the strongest, but you really think something like that's enough to take me down?"
But before he could finish gloating, the sound of space being torn apart erupted behind him.
An intense sense of danger slammed into him.
He spun around—just in time to see the three green lances racing toward him.
Shlunk—
No hesitation. No escape.
Each lance pierced a different part of his body, dead center.
"Ghhhk…"
Blood poured from Szayelaporro's mouth as his eyes bulged wide in disbelief.
"Wh-Why… how?!"
Nelliel walked toward him calmly, her lance slung over one shoulder, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Forgot to mention… they home in on their target."
Szayelaporro's body wavered in mid-air, trembling, barely holding together.
One more push, and he'd drop like a rock into the sea below—summoned earlier by Ingvild Leviathan.
But then suddenly, Szayelaporro's head snapped up. His bloodshot eyes flared with madness, and a twisted smile crept across his face.
With a furious shout, he screamed—"Gabriel!!"
A shrill screech echoed through the air as a strange, whip-like tentacle launched straight at Nelliel's abdomen—his last desperate gamble.
But Nelliel's eyes darkened. Her Reiatsu surged, fusing with her magical energy in a violent burst.
The moment the tentacle crossed into her aura—it was shredded instantly.
Szayelaporro's triumphant expression froze. His eyes glazed over.
"You know," Nelliel said softly, towering above him, "Lord Aizen once said something I really liked…"
She looked down at him, cold and detached.
"Fights between Shinigami are decided by whose Reiatsu is stronger."
She paused.
"And the same goes for Arrancars."
Flick—
She snapped her fingers. A small green bullet formed and shot into Szayelaporro's already mangled body.
In the next second—Szayelaporro's body began to swell uncontrollably.
"Gaaaaaaah—!"
His scream was the last thing anyone heard before—
BOOM!
He was completely obliterated.
Szayelaporro Granz: eliminated.
Thud!
Grimmjow instinctively stepped back, eyes wide in horror as he looked at Nelliel.
Two Espada… gone in a matter of minutes.
He swallowed hard, his mind flashing through every past interaction he'd had with Nelliel.
"Please tell me I never pissed her off…"
Around him, the others were racking their brains too—frantically trying to remember if they'd ever gotten on her bad side.
---
On the other side of the battlefield—
Coyote Starrk and Tier Harribel narrowed their eyes, staring at the pressure radiating from Nelliel's body.
Mixed within that Reiatsu… was another kind of energy.
One they'd felt before.
The same energy that came from Katerea Leviathan.
And more than that—
It was incredibly powerful.
.
.
.