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"What's going on?"
Baraggan was filled with doubt, his gaze fixed in surprise on the Picaro swarming in mid-air like locusts.
Originally, he had expected that defeating Picaro after his Cero wouldn't be difficult, and indeed, once he entered his Cero, the aging power had completely overwhelmed the Freshman.
However…
No matter how great an advantage he held, he couldn't completely erase Picaro's existence; instead, he subtly felt that Picaro's vitality was growing stronger.
Not only that, but the area enveloped by the gale expanded again.
Unbeknownst to them, not just District 5, but even the surrounding areas were now engulfed in the gale.
A hint of blood red had appeared in the originally colorless gale, formed from the Arrancar and Hollows inadvertently caught within it.
Although the endless wind blades posed no threat to Baraggan, this didn't mean the wind blades were weak; quite the opposite, in fact. If he hadn't decayed the wind blades themselves, even Baraggan wouldn't dare to be too careless about the power they contained.
Boom, boom, boom—
Deafening roars continuously echoed, and the black mist within the gale spread wildly, almost completely merging with the gale.
But in the small area where the Picaro were located, there was only gale and no mist; all the dark mist that approached them seemed to be pulled away, constantly spreading outwards.
At this moment, each Picaro, though still looking childlike, no longer had a playful expression.
Outside the battlefield.
Cirucci had already led Rukia, Roka, and Orihime in a continuous retreat, completely exiting the battlefield.
"Soon!"
Cirucci looked at Picaro's expression, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes.
"Huh?"
Rukia was startled, looking at Cirucci with some confusion, but before she could ask, she heard Miss Roka's voice beside her: "Cirucci-sama, please be careful."
"Don't worry, it's just the sky falling."
Cirucci shook her head. The Reishi barrier, which had been retracted after they retreated from the combat zone, reappeared around the four of them.
This made Rukia even more confused, and just then…
Bang~!
A loud bang suddenly erupted, as if something heavy had slammed into the Reishi barrier.
This is…
Rukia looked up, and the sight that met her eyes made her pupils contract sharply. She finally understood what Cirucci meant by 'the sky falling'.
Looking up, she saw a pitch-black hole in the originally blue sky above Baraggan and Picaro.
The large hole was concave, its surroundings distorted and deformed, and an inexplicable storm continuously spread out from within.
At the center of the battlefield, Baraggan and Picaro's Reishi solidified at this moment, continuously dripping from the sky like raindrops.
"What… what exactly happened?"
This scene was incredibly shocking, looking like the end of the world had arrived, sending an endless chill through Rukia's heart.
Cirucci said calmly, "In Las Noches, two things are absolutely forbidden."
"One is to prohibit the Espada from using Gran Rey Cero within Las Noches, and the other is to prohibit the 'top four' Espada from entering their Cero. Because both are too powerful and will warp the space of Las Noches, thereby destroying the artificial sky above Las Noches."
"It's normal for the artificial sky to completely collapse when both the former and current No. 2 Espada enter their Cero within Las Noches."
"Gulp—"
Rukia looked at the sky above her, and indeed found that the collapsing void was gradually expanding. Although they were now far from the battlefield, things still continuously fell from above them, finally shattering completely after hitting the Reishi barrier.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Rukia turned to look at Cirucci, saying in confusion, "Two No. 2 Espada?"
"Didn't I tell you?"
Cirucci said, "Picaro once had the same rank as Baraggan; both were No. 2 among the Espada. However, when they were both Espada, Baraggan was No. 1. This battle can also be said to be between the former No. 1 Espada and the No. 2 Espada."
You didn't tell me!!
Rukia's mouth twitched slightly. Although she had already suspected these children were not simple after feeling Picaro's power in Cero.
But she really hadn't expected…
This group of children, who looked to be only about ten years old, were once members of the Espada, and even ranked No. 2 among them.
"Here it comes!"
Just then, Cirucci's excited voice interrupted Rukia's thoughts.
What's coming?
Rukia subconsciously followed Cirucci's gaze. Before she could clearly see the situation in the battlefield, she felt her body become heavy. Even though she was within the Reishi barrier, she still felt an incredibly terrifying Reishi emanating from the center of the battlefield.
At the same time, Arrancar and Shinigami scattered throughout Las Noches, no matter where they were or what they were doing, involuntarily stopped their actions and turned their gaze towards the 5th Tower!
Rumble, rumble—
A sudden, deafening sound erupted.
Following the sound, one could see that the sky covering Las Noches suddenly began to widely twist and indent at this moment, and then…
It collapsed with a crash!
Las Noches, which had been filled with sunlight, was now completely exposed to the night.
The pitch-black night sky and the cold crescent moon gave a feeling of immense solitude.
This, was Hueco Mundo's original sky!
It was perpetually night, and Hueco Mundo's moon, unlike that of the Human World, was like a reflection, always appearing opposite to the Human World.
Fragments of the sky continuously fell from the void, pockmarking the entire Las Noches, looking like a meteor shower.
This sight made Cirucci shake her head.
Compared to Hueco Mundo's incredibly desolate sky, she actually preferred the sunlight-filled artificial sky, which was why she had always suppressed her aura during battle to avoid affecting the sky.
But it was impossible to make the inherently innocent and playful Picaro suppress themselves.
Moreover…
He was now using his Second Cero, which he had only used once before!
Feeling the pressure coming from the center of the battlefield, Rukia, Roka, and Orihime all slumped to the ground.
The terrifying aura made them unable to move even a single finger; they could only stare blankly at the distant battlefield.
Seeing this, Cirucci frowned slightly. Reishi surged around her, and a layer of purple Reishi continuously flowed over the shield surrounding them.
Rukia suddenly felt her body lighten, and the terrifying aura completely disappeared.
But when she saw the scene outside, she understood that the pressure hadn't vanished; it had merely been completely blocked by Miss Cirucci outside the barrier.
Looking out, she saw a torrential downpour suddenly begin in the sky.
However, the color of the rain was a pitch black that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
That was entirely formed by…
Raindrops of freely emanating Reishi.
And in the center of the downpour, tiny figures stood in the void, still with various wings on their backs, but their bodies had undergone immense changes.
Insect-like exoskeletons covered each Picaro.
The exoskeletons displayed characteristics of different insects, but one thing was extremely similar: the surface of these exoskeletons, without exception, bore strange purple patterns, which were extremely conspicuous on the pale bone shells.
And what made Rukia feel even stranger was…
She always felt as if she had seen the patterns on those exoskeletons somewhere before.
Cirucci looked at the patterns on Picaro's body and nodded to herself. As expected, with the change in the core within their bodies, the patterns on the surface of their Second Cero had also changed from the original crimson Hollow Marks to purple Reikaku Mons.
She just didn't know if this transformation would bring about an increase in Picaro's strength.
"What… what happened to them? Is it a Cero?"
Rukia couldn't help but say, "But Arrancar can only undergo Cero once, can't they?"
Although Arrancar are products that break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows, their Cero using Zanpakuto is different from a Shinigami's Bankai.
When Arrancar perform their Zanpakuto Release, they merely revert to their original, more combat-suitable form. Their normal state can be considered a seal, meaning their Zanpakuto Release is not an enhancement, but rather an unsealing of themselves.
However…
The scene before her completely shattered this understanding.
Cirucci smiled slightly: "Picaro and I are different from other Arrancar. We are the only two in all of Hueco Mundo who can perform a Second Cero. The reason we can do this isn't because of Aizen, but because Ishikawa granted us this ability, allowing us to truly, like Shinigami, further enhance our own abilities."
Ishikawa?
Rukia and Orihime exchanged glances; they were already somewhat immune.
When they heard Cirucci say that Ishikawa had modified them, both of them actually felt a sense of 'as expected'…
"This battle is almost over."
Cirucci's face showed a relieved smile as she gazed at Picaro in mid-air: "The moment Picaro used his Second Cero, he had already won!"
"But didn't you just say…"
Although Orihime didn't know how terrifying a Second Cero was, she remembered that Miss Cirucci had previously said she wasn't sure if Picaro could defeat Baraggan.
Cirucci slowly began, "Picaro is a very special existence. His Second Cero is different from mine; he can't just use it whenever he wants. It must meet a condition."
"That is Synchronized Cognition!"
"Synchronized Cognition?"
"Exactly."
Cirucci sighed, "Picaro is, overall, a single entity, but at the same time, they are also distinct individuals. They constantly reach out and befriend young, Earth-bound spirits who are about to become Hollows, sharing their flesh and blood with them, thus causing the number of individuals to grow more and more..."
"But they do not affect the children's original personalities; instead, they preserve each child's thoughts, memories, and behaviors, allowing them to become separate existences. So, each child displays the distinct diversity found among children."
"And in such circumstances, it's very difficult for them to reach a consensus; they even quarrel and fight among themselves... forming different factions with different understandings and ideologies."
"However, no matter how different the individuals are, the fact that they are a single entity will not change. This means they share the same Arrancar's 'spiritual nucleus,' which is precisely why he finds it difficult to use his second Cero."
"Because to perform a second Cero, one must establish a connection with the reorganized spiritual nucleus. This process is somewhat similar to the communication between you Shinigami and your Zanpakuto."
"What is a simple step for others is the most difficult thing for them, and the more individuals there are... the harder it is for them to use their second Cero."
Cirucci sighed at this point.
She had once thought about having the Picaro stop expanding their numbers to ensure they could always perform their second Cero.
But on this point, the Picaro were surprisingly unanimous: they would not stop adding friends.
Because this is the meaning of their existence!
The original Picaro, after becoming an Adjuchas, began searching for young, Earth-bound spirits who were about to become Hollows and had experienced the same plight as himself. He wanted to befriend them and offered them help.
And after those Earth-bound spirit children became Hollows, to satiate their hunger, this boy, who was a middle-grade Menos Grande, shared his flesh with them.
He firmly believed that if they could forget hunger, everyone would stop fighting.
Because this middle-grade Menos Grande boy offered his flesh and blood to feed other Hollows, he, who should have had extremely high potential, was unable to break through the Adjuchas stage and become a high-grade Menos Grande, a Vasto Lorde.
Even the original Adjuchas disappeared after constantly feeding Hollows with his own body.
But all the children who accepted its flesh and blood became Picaro... or rather, the original Adjuchas merged into all the Picaro, allowing these different individuals to share the same wish...
—To have many friends.
This is something that can never be changed!
Ultimately, Cirucci could only give up trying to persuade them and let Picaro continue to expand. She even thought... Picaro might never get the chance to use a second Cero again.
And the second Cero was the only way Picaro could defeat Baraggan.
A Picaro only using its first Cero would never be able to contend with Baraggan, which was why she couldn't be sure if Picaro could defeat Baraggan before.
But now, she was certain Picaro would win!
Because no one understood Picaro's second Cero better than her, not even Ishikawa.
No...
That guy didn't even understand his own second Cero, let alone Picaro's, which he had never seen.
It wasn't that she intentionally concealed it; rather, Ishikawa was completely uninterested and never bothered to inquire about how strong she or Picaro were.
Cirucci even suspected that in Ishikawa's eyes, she might still be the former Espada who was eliminated, completely unable to contend with the current Espada...
"This is impossible!!!"
Baraggan's incredulous roar echoed, and the situation on the battlefield had already reversed in this short half-minute.
An endless storm, filled with violent Reiatsu, formed countless towering wind pillars, each containing a tiny figure.
Dispersing, dispersing, dispersing...
The black mist formed by Death's Breath continuously dispersed.
Tearing, tearing, tearing...
Invisible wind blades tore countless cracks in Hueco Mundo's space.
All the Picaro now looked at Baraggan, who was at the center of the countless wind pillars, with cold and bloodthirsty eyes.
The void distorted, and Reiatsu vibrated!
Who could have imagined that a group of children could completely suppress the former king of Hueco Mundo to the ground, rendering him immobile.
Red light burst from Baraggan's skeletal eye sockets, filled with madness and unwillingness. He could not accept that he would be suppressed by a group of brats he had never paid attention to before.
"Unforgivable... Unforgivable..."
Mad roars continuously erupted from Baraggan's mouth, and the abyssal black gas around him surged wildly.
"A mere swarm of locusts... dares to defeat me!?"
"I am the Great Emperor - Baraggan Louisenbairn, God of Hueco Mundo!!"
Picaro ignored Baraggan's utterly insane roars, and a chilling coldness was revealed on each of their tender faces.
Immediately...
Black spheres appeared above each Picaro's head, spinning at high speed.
Before these black spheres, even moonlight was swallowed, unable to reflect any light.
The entire world became pitch black in that instant, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.
In the area where the black spheres were located, the high-density Reishi in Hueco Mundo rapidly disappeared, as if the entire world was entering a stage of collapse in that moment.
Cirucci frowned. These mischievous children were too reckless!
Candy Land!
This was an ability possessed by Picaro. They could directly absorb all the Reishi within an enclosed area.
Whenever they felt hungry, they would not devour souls like other Hollows, but instead use this ability to consume the Reishi of an entire area to fill their hunger.
If it were just normal circumstances, it would be fine; after all, it would only absorb the Reishi of one area, and the impact would not be significant.
But right now...
Those densely packed black spheres were devouring the Reishi of the entire Las Noches.
If this battle didn't end soon, the scope of consumption would expand further, even to the entire Hueco Mundo, and most importantly... not only Reishi would be devoured within the black sphere's range, but even Hollows and souls would be consumed by them.
Boom, boom, boom—
In Baraggan's area, deafening roars continuously erupted.
His crown shattered, his royal robes ripped...
The former Emperor of Hueco Mundo, the one who called himself the God of Hueco Mundo, was now like a crazed lunatic, constantly roaring and cursing.
Crack, crack, crack—
Cracks appeared on Baraggan's body, no matter how much the black mist around him resisted.
Under the Picaro's frantic consumption and replenishment, he was still completely suppressed!
Baraggan couldn't understand why these brats, abandoned by Aizen and not fully enhanced by the Hōgyoku, possessed such terrifying abilities and such terrifying Reiatsu.
What had happened to them?
Was it that Reiatsu Crest?
Baraggan looked at the Reiatsu Crest on Picaro's body, but he was destined to never understand any of it.
"Locusts... you lowly locusts..."
Accompanied by a roar that echoed throughout Las Noches, Baraggan shattered like broken glass, collapsing with a crash.
The rising black mist gradually disappeared, slowly corroding the skeletal fragments. The moment the black mist dissipated, Baraggan completely vanished from Hueco Mundo, leaving no trace behind.
Only his final roar remained, still echoing continuously over Las Noches.
"Stop!"
Feeling Baraggan's disappearance, Cirucci, who was far outside the battlefield, suddenly shouted.
Almost as soon as her voice fell, the black spheres in mid-air collapsed one after another, like exploding balloons.
The next second...
The terrifying aura that permeated Las Noches gradually receded.
The bone shells on the Picaro in mid-air also collapsed, and tiny figures plummeted towards the ground.
For a moment, there was a continuous series of thuds.
Seeing this, Cirucci quickly dispersed her Reiatsu barrier and hurried towards the Picaro.
Arriving in front of the now-vanished 5th tower, the area had transformed into a massive basin. At the bottom of the basin, all the Picaro lay scattered, their tender faces filled with exhaustion, either lying down or prostrate.
Seeing this, Cirucci quickly led Orihime and the others down into the basin.
...
And just as they were treating the Picaro, outside Las Noches, in the Forest of Menos beneath the white sand, a crack was painstakingly torn open.
As soon as a gap was torn open, a person rushed out from within.
The crack quickly closed after he emerged.
"Phew— That really took a lot of effort."
Ishikawa looked around, then released his senses towards Las Noches:
"It seems I can only reach here. I wonder how Cirucci and the others are doing."
Hmm?
Ishikawa frowned. As soon as he released his senses, he felt a familiar aura spread out, but it completely disappeared the next second.
That was Baraggan's aura.
Did he stay in Hueco Mundo?
A strange look flashed in Ishikawa's eyes. He hoped Cirucci and the others hadn't encountered Baraggan.
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