Ulquiorra's eyes dropped slightly as he slowly rounded the laboratory corner.
The first thing he saw wasn't Shigure.
It was the girl's body lying among glass shards and unknown liquid.
Her eyes remained closed, as if still sleeping.
But now wounds covered her body, blood seeping out. She was dissolving into spirit particles.
Death was undeniable.
"..."
Ulquiorra said nothing. No words existed for this moment.
He knew Aizen's mission had failed completely.
He'd protected neither Las Noches nor Alleste.
After a pause, he looked up at Shigure, who was turning toward him.
Unlike Ulquiorra, confusion flickered in Shigure's gaze.
When the Black Coffin vanished, his Resonance Vision had caught something strange.
The girl was definitely dead. But her evaporating spirit particles were flowing toward Ulquiorra.
Their presence was incredibly weak.
Without his Resonance Eyes, Shigure never would have noticed.
And clearly, Ulquiorra had no idea this was happening.
Interesting.
Shigure's eyes narrowed. "Her birth connects to you when you were dying, doesn't it?"
"Aizen used the Hōgyoku to link you two somehow."
"..."
Ulquiorra showed no expression. He simply spread his wings.
Black and green spiritual pressure wrapped around his body.
He stared at Shigure coldly. "Our Arrancar Zanpakutō are sealed versions of our original power."
"Aizen-sama's method of controlling and regulating us."
"So when we perform Resurrección, we're liberating our true strength."
"But even Aizen-sama doesn't know..."
"My current Resurrección has another stage. Deeper power."
"This power is..."
Ulquiorra raised his hand. White skin and black nails began changing rapidly.
His spiritual pressure surged again. "Segawa Shigure, witness this form."
His upper body clothing dissolved. Black feathers erupted from his abdomen, legs, and arms, covering everything.
His robe's lower section split into feathered tail wings.
The white bone helmet vanished, but his horns grew longer and sharper.
The entire space turned dark green. His spiritual pressure felt suffocating.
He raised his hand—not at Shigure, but upward.
Violent air currents exploded overhead, shattering the laboratory's upper level completely.
Las Noches' central pillar now had no ceiling.
Above them stretched the palace's clear dome.
But then Shigure's spiritual pressure erupted, pressing toward Ulquiorra.
Annihilation Reiatsu, full power!
BOOM!
The ground collapsed everywhere. Buildings plummeted at incredible speed.
Shigure condensed spirit particles under his feet as his footing crumbled.
But surprise flickered in his eyes.
Under his spiritual pressure, Ulquiorra only sank slightly. No stronger reaction.
Shigure frowned.
Even in second-stage Resurrección, Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure was far weaker. That's why he'd tried crushing him directly.
But facing his full-power Annihilation Reiatsu, Ulquiorra's reaction seemed... unusual.
Noticing Shigure's expression, Ulquiorra walked forward calmly.
"You've discovered it, Segawa Shigure."
"Your spiritual pressure is just heavy air to me now. It can't penetrate my skin or touch my soul."
"Because I have absolute resistance to your spiritual pressure."
"That's why Aizen-sama entrusted guard duty to me, despite my previous failure."
Ulquiorra pressed his hands together, then spread them wide.
Oppressive green spirit particles formed between his palms.
Lanza del Relámpago.
He gripped the spear's center, looking up at Shigure. "My carelessness let you destroy Alleste. But now..."
"Time for my counterattack."
Ulquiorra vanished like he'd teleported, appearing directly before Shigure.
He swung the oppressive spear in a devastating slash. Violent winds raged around them.
But Shigure shot out his hand and caught the Lanza del Relámpago directly.
Its green light froze in his grip, unable to advance an inch.
Ulquiorra's expression went blank.
A light smile crossed Shigure's face.
"When Grimmjow said your surface spiritual pressure matched mine, I thought Aizen was planning something troublesome."
"But now I'm... disappointed."
Shigure raised his other hand, pointing his index finger at Ulquiorra with a light smile.
"You have absolute resistance to my spiritual pressure?"
"Then try this."
A colorless, transparent whirlwind appeared at Shigure's fingertip, condensing into a light sphere.
As his spiritual pressure concentrated, brilliant rainbow light bloomed inside the sphere.
Ulquiorra's pupils contracted instantly. His body froze completely.
His mind went blank.
This was... a Cero?!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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