— — — — — —
High above Las Noches, green Reiatsu tangled with ocean-blue torrents in a chaotic storm.
Nelliel retracted her lance, her amber eyes scanning the remaining Espada. Eventually, her gaze locked onto Coyote Starrk.
"Honestly, I appreciate you guys not interfering, but…"
Her voice was soft—yet it hit like a sledgehammer to the chest.
"We're here for the whole of Las Noches. All of it."
The statement sucked the air out of the sky.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez instinctively took half a step back. Whatever pride he had left as the Sixth Espada vanished instantly.
He glanced at Baraggan Louisenbairn, who was just moments away from being swallowed by the rising sea, then looked at the blood dripping from the tip of Nelliel's lance. His throat tightened as he swallowed hard.
"Whoa, whoa! This has nothing to do with me!" he shouted, throwing up his hands. "It was those two idiots—Nnoitra and Szayelaporro! I didn't have a damn thing to do with it!"
Tier Harribel shot him a cold glare. Her bronze-toned skin shimmered like metal under the weight of Reiatsu.
She didn't say a word, but the look in her eyes said it all—begging for mercy at a time like this? Pathetic. An embarrassment to the Espada.
Starrk scratched his head lazily. The usual indifference on his face faded for the first time.
He looked up at the sky where Katerea Leviathan hovered, then at Nelliel—and finally at Baraggan, still fighting desperately to stay afloat in the rising sea.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"What a pain…"
Lilynette, draped over his shoulder, muttered, "Are we really doing this?"
"Yeah," Starrk said, rubbing her head. "Looks like we've got no choice."
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
He didn't care much about the rest of them.
But Baraggan? Baraggan absolutely couldn't die.
At least… not in front of him.
And with that thought—He moved.
Fzzzt—!
A pale blue orb of light crackled into existence at his fingertip.
Cero.
A standard attack for Hollows and Arrancar alike.
But—His cero wasn't like the others'.
Unlike the usual wide beams of destruction, Starrk's cero was tightly compressed into a tiny sphere, no larger than a marble.
Yet, anyone paying attention could feel it—something terrifying was packed into that little orb. Something catastrophic.
It was as if all the destructive force of a conventional cero had been condensed into a miniature doomsday device.
Starrk flicked the orb toward Ingvild Leviathan.
Fwoooosh—!
The air split with an ear-piercing shriek.
But—
"You think I'm just gonna let that slide?"
Katerea's voice rang out sharply.
In a blink, she appeared in the cero's path.
Hummmm—
A thick wall of ocean surged around her like a shield.
Sssszzzt—BOOM!
The cero slammed into the barrier, hissing and shrieking as it met resistance—then detonated with a thunderous blast, lighting up the sky in blinding blue.
But—The sea didn't falter.
Katerea's water churned violently but held, absorbing the full brunt of the explosion. When the light faded, she stood unharmed.
All that noise… and it hadn't made a dent.
Starrk narrowed his eyes.
That was all he needed to see—Katerea Leviathan wasn't going to be easy.
Moments passed.
As the shockwaves faded, Katerea dismissed the seawater shield and stared coldly at him.
"Who gave you permission to attack Ingvild?"
"…"
Starrk let out a sigh. "Wow. You really sound like you're in charge."
There was no frustration on his face, even after his cero was completely nullified.
He glanced back at Baraggan, his voice tinged with reluctant resignation.
"Looks like… you'll have to hang in there a bit longer."
"Tch!"
Baraggan clicked his tongue. "I don't need your help."
Of course, his bravado didn't quite match his situation.
His skeletal eyes flared like flames, locked on the dark phantom surrounding Ingvild Leviathan.
His proud ability—Aging Flame—wasn't doing a damn thing.
Should he drag this out?
Wear her down?
He'd already figured it out—the phantom wasn't independent. It existed because of Ingvild. As long as she had energy—that strange, non-reiatsu power—this cursed shield wouldn't go away.
He just had to burn it out.
And he had been trying.
So why… was it still going?
A sliver of anxiety crept into his heart.
Then—BOOOOOM!
Ingvild clapped her hands, and a massive tidal wave came crashing toward him like a living mountain of water.
Baraggan's eyes flared in alarm—then his figure was swallowed whole by the sea.
Harribel moved instinctively—but a young woman in a shrine maiden outfit stepped into her path.
She halted, eyeing the girl.
And in that moment— a strange, primal fear gripped her heart.
Like she was facing a natural predator.
What… was this feeling?
She forced it down and glanced toward where Baraggan had vanished.
"…"
No sign of him.
Still, he couldn't be dead already. Could he?
He was the former king of Hueco Mundo, after all.
Harribel relaxed her brow and refocused on the shrine maiden.
She drew her blade and pointed it toward her.
"So you're my opponent?"
The girl smiled gently, like a friendly housewife.
"I'm Midoriko. Let's have a good match, okay?"
But Harribel instinctively leapt back.
A split second later—
A talisman covered in strange, arcane symbols flared into existence where she'd just stood.
"Oops~" Midoriko said playfully. "Guess you noticed."
"No… it was just instinct. I felt danger," Harribel answered honestly, watching her with more caution now.
She looked harmless—kind, even.
But her moves were quick, decisive, and deadly.
"…"
Midoriko blinked.
First time someone actually answered her in the middle of a fight.
And… she seemed like a decent person?
Her eyes flicked to the Devil Piece inside her, glowing faintly.
A new thought crossed her mind.
Maybe, she could try to bring this one into her familia?
After all, if even Katerea Leviathan could become one of them…
Then surely Tier Harribel could too.
Of course, that might require a proper fight first.
Midoriko suddenly noticed something shocking—the Devil Piece reacted to the other Espadas as well.
"Did Lord Lynn lift the 'women only' rule? Didn't he say no men were allowed in the familia?"
She couldn't quite understand it, but one thing was clear—Lynn was starting to change his ways for some reason.
It felt like, at least for now, everyone was allowed in the familia.
.
.
.