"Thunder Spear!"
Ulquiorra's spear appeared again in his hand, which he hurled at Ichigo!
The latter tilted his head, the powerful spear of lightning passing through the open side, flying out of Las Noches in an instant.
Boom!!
A tremendous explosion erupted in the distance!
In the desert under the blood moon, the endless white sand of Hueco Mundo stretched like the corpse of a dead giant beast.
The thunder spear struck the very heart of this barren land—right where the "corpse's heart" would be.
In an instant, the surrounding air ignited, a heatwave surging with the thunder!
A mighty shockwave sent sand and dust flying, forming a giant mushroom cloud that even blotted out the moon!
The sands of Hueco Mundo weren't supposed to burn, but now, thanks to the intense heat and air blast, they melted, forming a swirling vortex far from Las Noches!
After the explosion, thick green raindrops poured down, heavy and desperate, while the wind told the story of inner tragedy like a ghost…
Just as Ulquiorra had said, he projected nothingness, soaking the land and tearing the world apart!
If this blow had exploded inside Las Noches, the whole kingdom might have been destroyed!
Choosing to fight here was truly wise.
Facing this overwhelming might, Ichigo felt no fear. He gripped his blade with both hands and charged toward Ulquiorra like a bolt of lightning!
The two fought atop the shattered dome, their power ripping the air, twisting even space itself!
Ulquiorra condensed another thunder spear. At such close range, this blow would surely pierce Ichigo!
But as he thrust, Ichigo suddenly caught the blade with his hand!
Boom!
A powerful force exploded, but the white substance covering Ichigo's hand emitted a strong spirit pressure, suppressing even the unstable thunder spear!
The two spirit pressures began to clash, Ichigo slashing with his blade, Ulquiorra firing another Cero with his remaining hand!
Flash! Boom!
Ichigo's shoulder was pierced by the Cero, and Ulquiorra's chest was slashed by Tensa Zangetsu!
The thunder's force exploded, but the suppressed spirit pressure made it far weaker than the last time—not even one percent of the previous blow's power!
The burst of spirit pressure separated them, but they quickly clashed again.
At this point, both Ulquiorra's chest wound and Ichigo's shoulder wound regenerated. With both possessing high-speed regeneration, the match came down to who would strike a vital point first…
Or—who would give out first!
Boom!
The two began a fierce clash, each swing of their blades causing the rain to tremble and the wind to shift, staggering dozens of times in a brief span!
But with each impact, Ichigo's face twisted even further.
Yet, as they clashed again, Ulquiorra used his tail to suddenly stab Ichigo from behind!
Ichigo hadn't expected this. The sharp tail pierced through his neck like an arrow!
Flash!
From left to right, straight through!
Ichigo's pupils widened, the pain jolting his nerves, nearly breaking his concentration!
"Roar!"
Ichigo suddenly howled, his eyes growing even redder, mouth opening wide!
Ulquiorra was shocked. Was that… a Cero?!
Ichigo had already used Cero before, a power unique to Hollows, but… was he using it now?!
Ulquiorra tried to condense a Cero of his own at close range, but just as he moved to attack, Ichigo vanished!
It wasn't a normal shunpo—it was… a sonido?
No, it looked more like a new footwork technique combining shunpo with sonido!
Ulquiorra, still stunned by Ichigo's movement, suddenly found Ichigo behind him, tail vanishing and a Cero forming in his mouth…
Direct blast!
Boom!
A virtual Cero enveloped Ulquiorra!
The deep red beam evaporated the rain, melted the spiritual rain in its path, and even the wind dared not approach, as if the fierce rain had become a vacuum!
Ulquiorra tried to leap away, but his body, battered from the previous attacks, was slow to recover—almost a third of it was gone!
Though it quickly regenerated, Ichigo was already behind him!
Grab, slash!
Ichigo grabbed Ulquiorra's massive black wing, trying to tear it off, but instead sliced it clean with a blade!
The wing was severed, Ulquiorra tumbled through the air before regaining his balance, ready to counterattack—but Ichigo appeared again!
So fast!
What speed!
Ulquiorra didn't bother with a Cero, instead firing a rapid Bala!
The Bala struck Ichigo's heart, but he ignored it, grabbed Ulquiorra's arm, blasted another Bala, and slashed again with his blade!
First the right wing, now the left arm—gone!
The arm flew into the air, but Ichigo raised his blade again, aiming to cut off Ulquiorra's head!
But at the critical moment, the blade suddenly stopped!
Even Ulquiorra was surprised—he hadn't expected Ichigo to unleash such power, nor that…
He would actually stop himself at the moment he tried to kill!
Ichigo clutched his head with one hand, struggling intensely!
Not only did he stop his blade, he suddenly pulled it back and slammed the hilt against his head!
This time, the white substance covering his body shattered!
Ichigo's head was exposed, the cocoon on his face broke apart, revealing his true face!
"Hah! Don't cause trouble!"
Ichigo yelled, his eyes no longer red, but pitch black—fading, as if returning to normal!
"Idiot!"
A voice seemed to come from within Ichigo. "Are you a stupid? If you'd waited just thirty more seconds, you could've killed him!"
"I refuse such a victory!"
Ichigo clutched his head and said in a low voice, "Give it back… come back to me!"
Boom! Crack!
In an instant, spirit pressure burst from Ichigo, shattering the white cocoon covering his body!
Ulquiorra stared at Ichigo but neither spoke nor attacked.
Instead, he used his overdrive regeneration to recover, but… his power had reached its limit—recovery was slow, and eventually, only his broken body was restored, his left arm still missing.
Seeing Ichigo's restored body, Ulquiorra asked quietly,
"Why didn't you do it?"
"I told you before, I won't accept a victory like that… I'll strike you myself!"
Ichigo said, "Your arm is broken, so…"
Suddenly, Ichigo did something Ulquiorra never expected—he cut off his own left arm!
The arm, still clad in Hollow's armor, soared skyward and fell to the ground.
At that moment, the storm stopped, the green rain and howling wind ceased, and the sound of the arm falling was clearly heard.
"What are you doing?"
"I wasn't the one who cut off your arm… so I cut mine off, too!"
Ichigo's face was pale. It took courage to cut off his own arm! It required endurance! The pain stabbed his brain!
"Foolish…"
Ulquiorra said quietly, "Victory is victory, defeat is defeat."
"Sometimes, victory is equal to defeat, and defeat equal to victory,"
Ichigo retorted.
"Neither of us has much strength left… how should we decide the result?"
"…Fine."
Ulquiorra said softly, "But if I win, I promise… I'll never kill that woman again."
"…You're not the same as before,"
Ichigo said quietly.
"Does that matter?"
The thunder spear appeared again in Ulquiorra's hand, absorbing the moonlight and emitting a bewitching red glow.
"Let's settle this in final blow!"
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
A black crescent spun along Ichigo's blade as he charged at Ulquiorra!
Boom!
Both with only one arm, they launched themselves with immense power, lightning and darkness colliding, starting a strange battle atop the sky's dome!
Their power shook the ground, the resounding crash causing the entire dome to collapse!
The sky dome, already cracked from previous battles—since Yammy transformed into the three giants, it had endured Ulquiorra's spirit pressure, and now, as the two fought atop it, finally shattered!
The entire dome covering Las Noches broke apart, and rocks fell, smashing into the palace, destroying more buildings, and even causing casualties among the Arrancar and Hollows who scrambled to flee!
The three still-fighting captains—Byakuya, Hitsugaya, and Zaraki—were also affected by the collapse.
The two atop the dome fell with the sky, returning to the very core of Las Noches where the original battle began!
"Kurosaki-kun!"
Orihime created a golden barrier to block falling rocks and watched Ichigo land.
She ran to him, but as she reached him, his body was suddenly covered in countless wounds!
Especially his chest—it bore a terrifying wound, twenty or thirty centimeters long, deep and gushing blood that even splashed onto Orihime!
Ichigo's body lost all strength and collapsed!
Orihime's pupils widened, but she ignored her fear, rushing to Ichigo and casting a double shield!
A golden light covered him, and this time, it finally had some effect—but Ichigo's injuries were so severe that even Sōten Kisshun couldn't heal him quickly!
Soon, Orihime heard footsteps!
She turned and saw Ulquiorra walking over!
He wasn't dead?!
His body was battered, his chest wounded and bleeding, half his left side nearly gone—yet he could still stand, albeit slowly, as if his body was still regenerating.
Even in such a miserable state, Ulquiorra's face didn't change. He slowly approached the two.
"Don't come near Kurosaki-kun!"
Orihime stretched out her arms, trying to stop Ulquiorra.
But how could she stop him?
He approached, looking down at the fallen Ichigo. The sound of a heartbeat was barely audible.
"Is your heart here?"
He placed his hand on Orihime's chest, startling her—she didn't understand his meaning.
"I see…"
Ulquiorra said quietly.
"Incredible…"
Ichigo had once said that the so-called heart wasn't in the body, but was created through contact with others.
When someone grieves for you, sheds tears for you, worries for you—
That's how a heart is born.
Is this… the heart?
In this woman's grief, in her tears, in her…
Ulquiorra's finger rose to touch Orihime's cheek, tears streaming from her eyes.
"His heart was truly strong…"
Ulquiorra said quietly.
In the next moment, his body began to disintegrate!
Even the regeneration he tried to maintain stopped, his body turning into tiny particles, floating away in the wind, fading into nothingness…
He had… failed.
Just as he'd said—
The loser dies.
But at this moment, he truly felt the presence of a heart.
He closed his eyes, and then…
Became completely nothing, vanishing.
In the sky above Las Noches, the rain threatened to fall again.
Still thick green drops—not big, not fierce, nor gentle.
The raindrops no longer clung or weighed down, yet somehow, they felt heavier… as if they had a heart.
Death is naked in a silent, stone-like world… stretching toward the once-bright shadow of the moon.
"..."
Raindrops fell from the sky of Las Noches, landing on Yammy's head.
"Ulquiorra is dead."
Something flashed in Yammy's deep eyes as he looked at the three captains scampering like ants and clenched his fist.
"That waste! He died just like that!"
Yammy suddenly roared, his voice like thunder, shaking all of Las Noches!
"Useless! Useless!"
Yammy raged, "I'll do it myself… I'll kill them all!"
At that moment, all three of Yammy's heads roared almost simultaneously!
His body began to twist, as if provoked!
His body, especially his lower half, grew and grew, in an instant transforming not into a giant, but into a huge bug!
A… caterpillar?!
Yes, like a caterpillar!
Who would have thought—the biggest, fastest, and strongest Espada would become the weakest caterpillar.
Black flames burned on his body as he stared at the three Shinigami with a solemn expression, slamming his palm down!
Boom!
It was like an earthquake—his attack shook all of Las Noches, even distant lands!
"His power isn't increasing!"
Kuchiki Byakuya said in a low voice.
"His rage is not infinite—he's already at the limits of his power."
"..."
Hitsugaya Tōshirō said nothing, just gasping for breath.
Yammy was at his limit… but weren't they all?
Their power… nearly depleted!
That man… was so strong!
The three began a desperate tug-of-war.
Fortunately, it seemed Ichigo had defeated his opponent and could join the battle—
No, from the sense of Ichigo's spirit pressure, he too was nearly exhausted. They couldn't count on him now.
To defeat this monster, they could only rely on their own strength.
"Hah!!"
Zaraki Kenpachi charged at Yammy again, slashing fiercely.
Since the beginning of the battle, Kenpachi's power had only grown.
But now, it seemed he too had reached his limit, just like Yammy.
Kenpachi's power had not improved for some time…
Was this… the strength he'd sealed away?
Kenpachi had fought Unohana, the first Kenpachi, centuries ago, and developed a habit of sealing his strength in that battle, gradually weakening himself over time.
In theory, to truly unseal that power and return to his true self, he would have to fight Unohana again!
But at this moment, the power Yammy displayed was so overwhelming—had Kenpachi's limit already been lifted?
And it wasn't a normal unlocking, but as if he'd been brought back centuries, feeling that first sensation once more!
Truly… an intense battle!
He hadn't felt such excitement and blood-boiling combat in a long time!