— — — — — —
Noticing everyone's attention was locked on Baraggan's battle, Nnoitra Gilga quietly began backing away, hoping to sneak out of this mess.
He'd thought this through.
Sure, they had the numbers as the Espada. But…Nelliel's side wasn't exactly small either.
And just Ingvild Leviathan alone was already pushing Baraggan—the second seat—back.
Hell, Baraggan might even be losing.
Who knows how many more monsters were hiding in her ranks?
Besides, Nelliel had gotten stronger.
The sneak attack had felt good at the time, but he never thought she'd bounce back so fast—let alone come back for revenge this soon!
But just as he was about to use Sonído to escape—Nelliel suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Expression cold, she asked, "Where do you think you're going?"
Nnoitra: "!!!"
She's fast!!
His heart skipped a beat. On reflex, he drew his Zanpakutō and slashed toward her!
Clang—!
A crisp sound echoed.
A jade-green barrier rose in front of Nelliel, stopping Nnoitra's blade dead in its tracks.
But Nnoitra reacted instantly—he darted back with Sonído, putting distance between them!
In fact, that slash had been a feint. His real goal was escape.
There was no way he could beat the new and improved Tres Espada!
The thought flashed through his head, but—Almost immediately—Nelliel's cold face appeared right in front of him again.
"..."
Nnoitra's gut dropped.
"It's time we settled this."
Her voice was icy.
"Wait—!"
Nnoitra raised his hand, trying to talk his way out of it.
But—Nelliel wasn't in the mood for negotiations.
"Declare, Gamuza ~ Capricorn Knight!"
The moment the words left her mouth—Her body began to change!
Her slender Zanpakutō transformed into a massive, heavy lance.
The two horns attached to her skull mask reshaped into long, segmented ones.
White armor covered her collarbone, shoulders, elbows, and hands, and long black gloves wrapped around both arms.
Most striking of all was her new satyr-like form—part human, part centaur beast.
Bzzzt—
Without hesitation, green light flared across the massive lance.
Nnoitra gritted his teeth. "Nelliel, are you seriously trying to kill me?!"
"Heh…"
She let out a cold laugh, as if mocking him.
"The moment you ambushed me, you should've been ready to die for it."
And with that—Her enormous lance came crashing down like a tidal wave of power!
"!"
Nnoitra's eyes went wide. He yanked out his Zanpakutō and shouted, "Pray—Santa Teresa!"
Two crescent-shaped horns burst from his head. Yellow X-shaped markings formed across his face, and a bone-like eyepatch covered his Hollow hole, shaped like jagged teeth.
Six severed-looking arms erupted from his back, each gripping a double-bladed scythe.
He wasn't holding back. This was his strongest form.
Facing Nelliel now, he couldn't afford to take any chances.
With all six arms, he brought the scythes together, forming a makeshift shield.
Next second—
The glowing green lance smashed into his blades with a thunderous impact!
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion echoed through all of Las Noches.
Nnoitra Gilga felt his arms suddenly grow heavy as all six of his scythes groaned under the pressure, screeching like they were about to snap.
His eyes widened, pupils trembling violently as he stared at the glowing emerald tip of the lance pressing against him.
"Santa Teresa! Hold it together!!"
Feeling his Resurrección buckle under the force, Nnoitra clenched his teeth and roared, pouring more spiritual pressure into his weapon.
But—
Despite his efforts, the emerald light at the tip of the lance only grew brighter, more intense—like it was ready to consume him entirely.
CRACK—
Suddenly, a sharp, jarring sound rang out.
Nnoitra's heart skipped a beat. He looked down—and his worst fear came true.
A thin fracture had appeared on Santa Teresa.
"!"
"No way!!"
He stared in disbelief. "My Santa Teresa…"
"It's actually cracking—under Nelliel's assault?!"
In that instant, his mouth went dry. He gulped hard, his throat tight.
A creeping sense of despair began to bloom in his chest.
His strongest move—his ultimate release—couldn't even withstand a single attack from her?
Then what was the point of fighting?
He couldn't beat her… and he couldn't run either.
"Damn it!!"
"Nelliel! Don't push me!!"
Nnoitra shouted in a mix of rage and helplessness.
Nelliel didn't respond. She just kept pushing—relentlessly.
BOOM!!
In an instant—Santa Teresa shattered.
Nnoitra stared blankly, his mind stunned. It wasn't until the glowing emerald lance pierced straight toward him that he realized what was happening.
"Szayelaporro!! Are you seriously just gonna stand there and watch?!!"
He roared in panic.
In the distance, Szayelaporro Granz, who had been trying his best to stay invisible, froze.
That bastard!
Why couldn't he just die quietly?! Why drag me into this too?!
Sure enough—
Nelliel's movement paused. Her gaze shifted toward Szayelaporro.
"Oh right… I almost forgot about you."
Szayelaporro shot a venomous glare at Nnoitra.
Nnoitra, however, brightened up—this was exactly what he wanted. If he could shift Nelliel's attention to Szayelaporro, then maybe he'd have a shot…
SPLURT—
Just as hope flickered in his eyes, a sharp pain tore through his body.
His expression froze. He slowly looked down.
The emerald lance had already impaled him. Blood dripped steadily from the wound.
Wh-What…?
No… NO!
Nnoitra looked up, eyes bloodshot, struggling against the pain. He opened his mouth to speak—
BOOM!!
A burst of green light erupted—
SPLAT!!
And his body was torn to shreds on the spot.
Nnoitra Gilga—dead.
A heavy silence fell over Las Noches.
Nelliel calmly withdrew her lance, flicking the blood off before turning her gaze toward Szayelaporro.
"..."
Szayelaporro tensed up. It felt like a giant invisible hand was squeezing his heart.
But before he could react—
Nelliel was already right in front of him.
Szayelaporro yelped and quickly leapt backward.
"W-Wait a second!"
He knew damn well he couldn't beat her. Without hesitation, he called for backup.
Looking toward Starrk and the others, he forced a strained smile.
"Hey, come on, I'm part of the Espada too, right?"
"You guys are really just gonna let Nelliel target me like this?"
"Uh…"
Grimmjow scratched his head and looked over at Tier Harribel. "This… kinda feels like none of our business, yeah? Or should we help?"
Harribel gave him a sidelong glance. Her voice was calm. "If you want to help him, go ahead."
Honestly, she had a decent impression of Nelliel—but Nnoitra and Szayelaporro? She found their behavior disgusting.
So—
She had no intention of stepping in.
At least not until Nelliel finished her business with them.
They'd brought this on themselves. She had no desire to clean up their mess.
Grimmjow: "…"
He scratched his head again, laughed awkwardly, and wisely dropped the subject.
He was just the Sexta Espada—what was he gonna do against someone who used to be Tres (3rd)?
Especially now that she was clearly stronger than before.
Besides, even though Harribel didn't outright say it, he wasn't dumb. He could read the room.
Hell, even Starrk wasn't paying attention to that fight.
Instead, Starrk was staring at Baraggan Louisenbairn, who was still restrained. He frowned subtly, then muttered to himself:
"Looks like…"
"Our former king of Hueco Mundo might need a little help."
Unlike Nnoitra and Szayelaporro, Starrk actually cared about Baraggan.
As for the other two?
Yeah, they were just cannon fodder.
Even if they died, Aizen could fill their spots in no time.
Szayelaporro: "??"
"Wait—seriously?! You're just gonna leave me here?!"
He stared in disbelief at Starrk and Harribel.
But neither of them even bothered to reply.
Grimmjow shrugged. "Good luck, man."
"You—!!"
Szayelaporro clenched his fists, still wanting to say something.
But then—
A powerful gust of wind surged behind him.
He didn't hesitate.
"Sip, Fornicarás!"
The words had barely left his lips when he swallowed his Zanpakutō whole. His body instantly expanded and transformed.
His lower half turned into tentacles, which quickly morphed into legs and robes. Four wings sprouted from his back, and colorful markings appeared around his eyes.
Nelliel looked at his released form with disgust in her eyes. She spat out one word:
"Disgusting."
.
.
.