"So, another Shinigami dares come before me, and this time you bring two Vasto Lorde with you? What is it you want?!"
The flames in Baraggan, the self-styled King of Hueco Mundo, flared violently in his eye sockets as he thundered with rage.
Natsuro paused at his words. If Baraggan spoke of "another Shinigami," that meant someone had already visited him before.
And there was only one possibility: Aizen.
So at this time, Aizen had already come to Hueco Mundo, and perhaps used Baraggan to gain influence here?
Still, no matter how he looked at it, this skeletal monarch seemed nothing more than a self-proclaimed ruler. Neither Stark nor Ulquiorra cared in the least about his title.
"Stark, Ulquiorra—don't reveal my name," Natsuro's voice whispered directly into their minds.
The two exchanged glances with him, then silently nodded.
"We only came to see this so-called King of Hueco Mundo. But from the looks of it, you're nothing more than the watchdog Aizen defeated and left behind," Natsuro said bluntly.
Since Baraggan was already entangled with Aizen, Natsuro had no intention of recruiting him into their group. Still, he wanted to confirm it.
"Who are you?! You know that bastard Aizen?! What is your relationship with him?!"
At the mention of Aizen's name, Baraggan's oppressive reiatsu erupted like a storm. He seemed furious beyond reason.
Yet, despite his outburst, none of the three were affected in the slightest.
Natsuro and Stark's reiatsu surpassed his, and though Ulquiorra's was a little weaker, it was still not far behind.
Seeing Baraggan's reaction, Natsuro silently nodded. So it really is Aizen…
Stark also gave Natsuro a sidelong glance. He remembered when they first met, Natsuro had brought up Aizen's name then too, testing whether Stark recognized it.
And now it was clear: Natsuro's connection to Aizen was that of enemy, not ally.
"I've got nothing to do with him. Stark, Ulquiorra, let's go elsewhere," Natsuro said.
But as the three turned to leave, Baraggan's voice bellowed again:
"You think my Las Noches is a place you can just enter and leave at will?!"
"Oh? You mean to stop us?" Natsuro asked, slightly amused. Had Aizen not "tamed" him yet?
Even so, when Natsuro had mentioned Aizen, the man's reaction was rage. Perhaps his fury stemmed from Aizen stealing his title as ruler of Hueco Mundo.
Baraggan glared at the three. In his eyes, they overlapped with the memory of those three who had once stormed into Las Noches.
Even the number was the same.
Those intruders had slaughtered countless of his followers. That was why Natsuro had sensed so few Hollows remaining in Las Noches.
Even when Baraggan had fought personally, he had been crushed with ease.
That humiliation still burned inside him. One day, when his power was enough, he would kill Aizen and wash away that shame in blood.
And now, another Shinigami had appeared before him.
Baraggan hesitated. He wanted to draw his weapon, but when his gaze fell on Natsuro, especially on Stark and Ulquiorra behind him, his confidence faltered.
Natsuro's strength was completely unreadable, just as Aizen's had been back then.
Stark's reiatsu was unstable, but the sheer power emanating from it was enough to make even Baraggan wary.
As for Ulquiorra, he was the only one Baraggan felt confident he could defeat.
But what use was defeating just one?
"You two! Why follow a Shinigami? You are Vasto Lorde! Shinigami are our enemies!" Baraggan barked, hoping to sway Stark and Ulquiorra.
If the three of them turned on the unknown Shinigami, perhaps they could crush him here.
"I don't think Shinigami are necessarily our enemies. Just like you could never be our comrade," Stark said with a lazy yawn.
"Why must Shinigami and Hollows be enemies?" Ulquiorra asked calmly.
Baraggan blinked, startled, then quickly pressed, sensing an opening:
"Because Shinigami hunt us, drive us out of the World of the Living, and slaughter us! How could they not be our enemies?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. "Then it seems you truly understand nothing."
He had accepted Natsuro's explanation of the balance of the three realms. As one part of that balance, he believed Hueco Mundo's survival depended on it too.
In fact, Ulquiorra thought balance shouldn't rest solely in the hands of Shinigami. If possible, Hueco Mundo itself should have an organization to safeguard it.
"You dare mock your king?!" Baraggan roared.
"No. I merely state facts," Ulquiorra's calm, flat voice replied.
But that very tone only fanned Baraggan's fury.
"And you're too weak. That's why I follow him instead of you. With your strength, you couldn't even defeat me," Ulquiorra added.
Both Natsuro and Stark glanced at him in surprise.
That was a death flag if there ever was one.
Baraggan had been angry, yes, but his survival instinct might have held him back.
Now, thanks to Ulquiorra's blunt words, a fight was inevitable.
Of course, from what Natsuro and Stark had learned of him, Ulquiorra hadn't meant to provoke. That was simply his honest assessment. He didn't yet understand that some truths were better left unsaid.
Sure enough, Baraggan's rage boiled over.
A black double-bladed axe materialized in his hands.
Still, perhaps he hadn't completely lost his reason, his reiatsu focused entirely on Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra glanced at Stark and Natsuro, signaling them not to interfere. Then he stepped forward alone.
Natsuro and Stark exchanged a look, then stood aside, watching as Ulquiorra faced Baraggan head-on.
"Who do you think will win?" Natsuro asked Stark.
"I'd like to say Ulquiorra… but that so-called king probably has the edge. His reiatsu is stronger, and Ulquiorra's spent most of his time in that white forest. He doesn't have much battle experience," Stark said.
"Isn't that your problem as well?" Natsuro shot him a glance.
"Heh. Which is why I can beat him so easily in our spars," Stark said with a laugh.
He wasn't worried for Ulquiorra's safety. With him and Natsuro here, nothing could go wrong.
"Not necessarily," Natsuro murmured, watching the two stand motionless, each searching for an opening.
If Ulquiorra could use this battle to break through the wall between Hollow and Shinigami, and achieve Resurrección, his power could explode upward. Then he might truly have a chance at victory.
As he pondered, the fight finally began.
Both combatants moved as if by agreement, unleashing the signature technique of the Hollows...
Cero!
A black beam and a deep emerald one clashed with earth-shattering force within Las Noches.
The shockwaves blew away the few remaining Hollows in the palace.
Stark and Natsuro stood unmoved, calmly watching.
From the clash, it was clear: Ulquiorra's reiatsu was weaker. His Cero was the first to shatter.
But though his attack broke, Baraggan's blast was greatly diminished as well, dissipating into the air before it could reach him.
At that moment, a spear-like blade of green energy formed in Ulquiorra's hand, his Lanza de la Luna, a moonlight spear of concentrated reiryoku. He raised it high and hurled it at Baraggan.
Baraggan, however, did not dodge. A shroud of black miasma swirled up around him, intercepting the spear.
The green moonlight spear didn't erupt in a powerful explosion as it should have. Instead, the instant it touched the black aura, it fizzled out, dispersing as though drained of energy.
Seeing this, Ulquiorra froze, unable to understand why his attack had simply vanished.
But that black aura gave him an ominous, dangerous feeling.
"Is that all you've got? Where's that arrogant tone from before?!" Baraggan bellowed with mocking laughter.
Ulquiorra didn't answer. He conjured several more moonlight spears and threw them in succession.
The result was the same. Even when he poured more reiatsu into them, every one of his spears dissolved against the black miasma.
"Ha ha ha! Useless, boy! Your petty tricks are nothing before me!" Baraggan jeered.
Ulquiorra's exposed emerald eyes narrowed in concentration. After those volleys he realized it wasn't his reiatsu at fault, rather, that black aura itself had a unique property.
It consumed his reiryoku, dissolving his long-range attacks before they could connect.
Just then, while Baraggan laughed, Ulquiorra quietly fired a Bala, a bullet of compressed reiryoku.
"What?!" Baraggan spotted it only at the last instant. Too late. The Bala pierced through a gap in the black aura and punched straight through his body.
Feeling pain, Baraggan roared in fury. "Damn brat! Always with your cheap tricks!"
"You talk too much," Ulquiorra said, frowning.
That Bala had worked only because it caught him off guard. Its power was far inferior to a Cero, but its speed was dozens of times greater, making it nearly impossible to react to.
Still, it wasn't nearly enough to defeat Baraggan.
If he wanted to win, he'd have to figure out how to overcome that black aura. Did that mean close combat?
Ulquiorra weighed the risk. Melee would be extremely dangerous. He still didn't fully understand the aura's ability, if his body touched it, the consequences could be disastrous.
But if he relied solely on ranged attacks, his reiatsu couldn't match Baraggan's. Defeat would be inevitable.
"Failure?" Ulquiorra muttered under his breath. His eyes hardened. No, he would not accept failure.
If this was the only possible road to victory, then he would take it, no matter how perilous!
In the next instant, another moonlight blade formed in his hand. This time, instead of throwing it, he charged straight at Baraggan, bringing the blade down in a direct strike.
Clang!
Baraggan swung his great axe, colliding with Ulquiorra's blade.
"Hmph! Finally stop hiding like a turtle, but your power is still too weak!" Baraggan sneered. With a burst of reiatsu, he cleaved through the moonlight blade, following through with his axe toward Ulquiorra.
Ulquiorra dodged with a sidestep, but then he saw the strange fire flare in Baraggan's eyes. The black aura that had surrounded him suddenly surged along his axe, lashing toward Ulquiorra. It had been hidden on the weapon all along!
"What—?!" Ulquiorra had no time to react. The miasma wrapped around his left arm.
He shunpoed back, retreating at high speed. But Baraggan wasn't about to let him go, he too used Sonído to chase.
Unfortunately for him, Ulquiorra was faster. He slipped away from pursuit.
Looking down, Ulquiorra saw his left arm already withering, the decay spreading further up.
Without hesitation, he summoned another moonlight blade in his right hand, then severed his left arm at the shoulder.
Immediately, the Vasto Lorde's super regeneration kicked in. His arm began regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Tch…" Baraggan clicked his tongue, frustrated. So decisive! If his ability had reached Ulquiorra's core, he would have been finished.
Baraggan's gaze shifted to the two watching figures. If it came down to him against both of them at once, perhaps… perhaps he could still win.
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Currently on Chapter 501 - An Ambition To Reach The Top