"My lord, what abilities do you wish to test?" Nel asked after understanding Sombravida's intent.
"Let's begin with fundamentals," Sombravida replied calmly. "Speed, strength, Hierro, reaction time, and Cero output. As for my abilities… something changed during advancement. I haven't fully grasped it yet."
Sombravida's innate ability had always been concealment.
His spatial authority was something deeper — something awakened.
But first, measurable combat capability.
He summoned the Sky-Splitting Greatsword.
His evolution had not granted him new techniques.
It had refined everything.
Spiritual pressure density.
Reiatsu control.
Physical reinforcement.
That was what defined a true Vasto Lorde.
"Yes, my lord."
Nel stepped back and materialized her double-ended lance. She did not underestimate him.
Sombravida vanished.
No sonido trail.
No reiatsu flare.
One moment distance.
Next moment—
Face-to-face.
Clang—!!!
The blade crashed down.
Shockwave exploded outward, sand erupting like a blast crater.
Nel blocked—
And was forced to her knees.
Half her lower body sank into the desert.
Sombravida had not used full power.
Yet she had been crushed purely by physical output.
"My strength and reiatsu density have increased dramatically," Sombravida observed.
Nel stood slowly.
"When you moved just now… there was no fluctuation. Even Sonido has a signature. Yours… didn't."
Sombravida nodded.
After reaching Vasto Lorde, his spiritual pressure no longer dispersed wastefully during movement. It compressed inward, making his speed appear almost like spatial displacement.
This was not teleportation.
It was efficiency.
"Cero next."
They separated.
Sombravida raised his hand.
Pale gold light gathered.
Unlike before, the Cero did not swell in size.
It condensed.
Compressed.
Whoosh—!!!
The beam fired.
Nel immediately responded with Cero Doble.
The collision detonated violently.
Her Cero was pushed back.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
After several seconds, Nel gritted her teeth.
"Enough!"
Sombravida withdrew the beam instantly.
Nel countered with a fully charged blast.
Boom—!!!
The beam struck Sombravida directly.
Smoke rose.
When it cleared—
Sombravida stood unmoved.
Only faint heat distortion lingered around his Hollow hole.
"Your Cero cannot break my Hierro at current output," Sombravida concluded calmly.
Vasto Lorde Hierro was fundamentally different from Adjuchas defense. It was not simply harder — it was spiritually reinforced armor.
"Try your strongest thrust."
Nel did not hesitate.
"Emerald Lance!"
She hurled it with full power.
Clang!
The spear pierced.
But only shallowly.
Several centimeters.
Blood appeared — but minimal.
Sombravida calmly grasped the spear and removed it.
"The Hierro has evolved."
Then—
He noticed something.
The wound was already closing.
White spiritual tissue sealed the damage rapidly.
"High-Speed Regeneration…" Nel whispered.
Sombravida tested it directly.
He raised his sword.
And severed his own right forearm completely.
The limb flew into the air.
Blood sprayed.
"Master!" Nel shouted.
Sombravida did not flinch.
Spiritual tissue surged from the stump.
Regeneration was not explosive — it was controlled.
In under three seconds, a complete arm reformed.
Perfect structure.
No instability.
This was true High-Speed Regeneration — an ability seen only in high-level Arrancar and certain Vasto Lordes in canon.
Sombravida retrieved the severed arm via spatial pull.
"Test it."
Nel absorbed the severed limb's spiritual residue.
"Comparable to a mid-class Gillian," she concluded.
Sombravida frowned slightly.
So regeneration did not duplicate his total reiatsu mass.
It converted stored energy into physical restoration.
No infinite loop.
No sustainable exploitation.
Logical.
He abandoned the idea.
Next—
"Cero Oscuro equivalent test."
He raised two fingers.
Cero Flash.
A thinner beam launched.
But its density had multiplied many times over compared to his Adjuchas form.
The diameter remained moderate.
The destructive force increased exponentially.
Still—
It was not Gran Rey Cero.
Gran Rey Cero required Arrancar blood activation and royal lineage traits.
Sombravida understood now.
Certain abilities required evolutionary stages beyond pure Hollow.
"Later," he muttered.
Nel grinned.
"My lord, what about your concealment?"
Sombravida tapped her lightly on the forehead.
Instantly—
Nel disappeared.
Not visually.
Existentially.
Her body remained.
But her presence vanished.
Even her consciousness dimmed.
For several seconds—
Nothing.
Then Sombravida released the effect.
Nel gasped violently.
"Just now… I couldn't think."
Sombravida nodded.
"Before, concealment masked physical and spiritual signatures. Now… it can suppress conscious activity upon contact."
He spoke calmly.
"I call it — Null State."
It was not annihilation.
It was suppression.
If the opponent's reiatsu exceeded his significantly, they could break free.
But even a moment of consciousness suppression in high-speed combat meant death.
It was no longer support.
It was assassination.
Nel's eyes sparkled.
"And space?"
Sombravida smiled slightly.
Reality folded.
In an instant—
The desert vanished.
Blue sky.
Trees.
Buildings.
The Human World.
Nel blinked rapidly.
"My lord… this is…?"
"The World of the Living."
Sombravida pointed toward the fruit stall they had once raided.
"This time, no Garganta. Direct spatial anchor traversal."
He had refined his spatial markers.
Instead of carving a Garganta path, he compressed coordinates.
He was not breaking dimensional law.
He was folding mapped points.
There was a difference.
Still dangerous.
Still precise.
But now viable.
"The Black Cavity is no longer necessary for realm travel," Sombravida said calmly.
"However, it remains useful as an intermediary buffer dimension."
He opened a spatial aperture.
A controlled storage pocket.
About the size of a football field.
Unstable for living beings.
No atmospheric stability.
But perfect for storage.
He looted the library efficiently.
Books.
Reference materials.
Electronics.
He even located power solutions.
And yes—
Two orchards for Nel.
They returned to Hueco Mundo within the same day.
This was strategic mobility.
Not reckless dimensional tearing.
Back in the stronghold, Sombravida distributed materials.
Timd nearly vibrated from excitement.
Then—
Barragan's envoys were summoned.
The shark-headed messenger bowed deeply.
"His Majesty awaits."
Sombravida nodded.
"I will accompany you. Alone."
He grasped the envoy.
Spatial ripple.
Gone.
Meanwhile—
Sombravida appeared instantly within Barragan's territory.
His arrival triggered immediate alarm.
A Vasto Lorde entering sovereign domain without Garganta signature was no small matter.
Barragan's deathly aura surged.
Then—
Recognition.
The giant skeletal monarch planted his axe into the ground.
"You brat," Barragan rumbled.
"You've grown."
Sombravida stepped forward calmly.
Reiatsu compressed.
Contained.
Vasto Lorde to Vasto Lorde.
"Ah," Sombravida replied evenly.
"The advancement was successful. Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Majesty."
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