Chapter 124: Demonized Kurosaki Ichigo
As the black Reiatsu gradually settled, Ulquiorra revealed his true form in the second stage of Resurreccion, his indifferent eyes surveying the battlefield.
His upper body clothing had completely disappeared, and green liquid flowed from both eyes. The lower half of his previous tear markings had split into two distinct streams. The whites of his eyes had turned green, and his pupils resembled those of a Hollowfied Shinigami. From his abdomen to his legs, as well as his arms and back, everything was covered in black feathers.
After completing this transformation, Ulquiorra's strength had increased by more than fifty percent, and the terrifying aura emanating from his entire being now formed a genuine rivalry with the demonized Kurosaki Ichigo before him.
Bzzt!
As Ulquiorra pulled his hands through empty air, a lightning-wreathed Luz de la Luna materialized in his grasp.
"You can try to see if you can withstand my technique!"
Seeing the fierce demon-Ichigo rushing toward him, Ulquiorra didn't hesitate for a moment and launched the Thunder Spear directly at his opponent.
If his earlier battle had been somewhat restrained due to the strength gap between them, now in his second stage, he attacked with full power and complete emotional detachment.
The Thunder Spear, which condensed the powerful spiritual energy within Ulquiorra's body, collided with demon-Ichigo's dark claws with thunderous force, creating a massive explosion.
At this moment, the zenith platform began shaking violently. The sky filled with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder, and with their battle as the epicenter, the surrounding space began distorting uncontrollably.
Observing the battlefield situation with cold calculation, Ulquiorra didn't dare become careless, because his all-out attack had not diminished his opponent's Reiatsu in the slightest.
Sure enough, with a strange roar, an afterimage pierced through the heavy smoke. Black razor-sharp claws cut through space itself, appearing directly before Ulquiorra at lightning speed.
Slash—
As five bloody scratches appeared across Ulquiorra's face, demon-Ichigo's body was simultaneously pierced through half its torso by Ulquiorra's Thunder Spear.
Both combatants possessed the regenerative abilities of Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grande, and within the blink of an eye, both recovered rapidly from their injuries.
However, even after his wounds healed, Ulquiorra touched the scratches on his face caused by his opponent and still felt a dull, persistent pain.
Ultimate black flames were attached to those slender, sharp claws. Whenever his body was burned by those flames, there was an agonizing sensation of his very soul being torn apart.
He needed to maintain distance. Judging from the situation before his opponent's transformation, the original soul seemed to have been invaded by some unknown, powerful spiritual entity.
Thinking this, Ulquiorra immediately understood his next fighting strategy. He flew directly into the air, opened his hands, and began condensing energy at the hollow opening in his chest. Black lightning and massive amounts of Reiatsu gradually compressed into an energy sphere.
Just as the energy ball was about to fully condense, demon-Ichigo leaped with his wings, covering several hundred meters and appearing directly before Ulquiorra in less than half a second.
"This creature..."
Ulquiorra was startled, but his expression remained unchanged as he immediately used Sonido to create distance, dodging behind his opponent.
But the moment Ulquiorra moved, demon-Ichigo followed him relentlessly.
Above the zenith sky, thunderclouds continued condensing, purple lightning bolts fell one after another, the surrounding space had been distorted to its limits, and the battle space between them was compressed to less than the size of the Hueco Mundo palace.
With space warped around and above them, the area had become inaccessible. The only way to reach this location was through the thundercloud storm formations beneath their feet.
At this moment, several afterimages kept moving and clashing in the sky. Ulquiorra needed distance to release his black energy sphere, but demon-Ichigo wouldn't give his opponent this opportunity, and the scene suddenly became a war of attrition.
As the energy ball continued condensing, the power contained within had exceeded the limits that Ulquiorra could currently control. Just as it became unmanageable, a blade suddenly pierced through the energy sphere and directly penetrated half of Ulquiorra's head.
BOOM!!
The powerful mushroom cloud instantly filled the entire zenith platform. At this moment, not only they but also the Hueco Mundo palace below felt the explosion, shaking violently in response.
The explosion's smoke caused both fighters to lose sight of each other temporarily, but Ulquiorra had been directly blasted apart—half his chest and both arms were destroyed.
"Roooar!"
Demon-Ichigo roared and slowly exhaled black breath from his mouth. He used High-Speed Regeneration to quickly recover from his limb injuries, but because he'd been too close to the explosion, his chest was blown to pieces with no sign of immediate recovery.
Tearing through the smoke with both hands, demon-Ichigo took advantage of Ulquiorra's weakened state to continue his assault, but Ulquiorra was the only Espada among all Arrancar who retained significant High-Speed Regeneration abilities after his transformation.
Jet-black Reiatsu flowed over Ulquiorra's body, and his injuries instantly healed.
BOOM!!
As Ulquiorra extended his finger, a massive black Cero directly struck demon-Ichigo. The terrifying explosion of the black Cero caused the cloud storm below to accelerate its rotation.
"ROAAAAR!!"
The pain coursing through his body made demon-Ichigo begin screaming in agony.
Seeing demon-Ichigo still alive and thrashing after taking a direct hit from his black Cero, Ulquiorra found the situation troublesome. At a glance, demon-Ichigo, whose body had been half-destroyed by his attack, was being drawn together by some bloody aura within him.
Soon, his body recovered once more, and the two were like unkillable cockroaches, fighting each other with their tremendous recovery abilities.
However, Ulquiorra clearly noticed that the portion of demon-Ichigo's body that had regenerated was more severely corroded by darkness.
If half his body had been consumed before, now it was two-thirds. Below the waist, including his other leg, had also transformed into demonic form.
At this moment, demon-Ichigo's original golden eyes turned beast-like scarlet, and a bloodthirsty aura emanated from his entire being.
"Still not giving up? Then... bring it on!"
Below the clouds, Fiander looked up at the storm thunderclouds above, frowning deeply.
"Can't we go up there yet?"
At that moment, a one-meter-wide purple lightning bolt fell toward Fiander from the thundercloud. This sudden development drained all color from Inoue's face, turning her pale as she let out a terrified scream.
BOOM!
A powerful explosion flashed, and a blue barrier appeared around Fiander to block the strike. Looking at the bloodless Inoue, Fiander joked: "What's wrong? Are you still eager to go up there?"
"No... no, please be careful. I won't rush you anymore."
Inoue waved her hands, shaking her head with obvious fear.
"Heh."
Inoue's reaction made Fiander chuckle as he said: "The space above is extremely turbulent and dangerous. I can say that currently, in all Three Realms, anyone who dares step up there carelessly will be torn to shreds by spatial turbulence. We need to wait."
"Wait? Then... even Gotei 13's Captain Yamamoto?"
In Inoue's heart, Captain Yamamoto of Gotei 13 was the most powerful person she could imagine. After all, having never seen Fiander fight seriously, Yamamoto Genryusai's performance at Sokyoku Hill and the respect he commanded from other captains had left an unforgettable impression.
"Yamamoto Shigekuni? That old man?"
Fiander couldn't help showing a disdainful smile as he said definitively: "Him? Absolutely not!"
At this time, outside Karakura Town, more than a dozen captains were positioned to face Aizen's three defected captains and four Espada.
"That group's Reiatsu hasn't changed at all—they're still like monsters!"
Second Division Lieutenant Omaeda Marechiyo, affected by the battlefield's solemn atmosphere, spoke first.
The originally tense atmosphere was somewhat relieved after someone broke the silence.
"If you're scared, you can run away, and I won't blame you!"
Soi-Fon looked at her lieutenant and joked.
"The first priority should be defeating their leader!"
Seventh Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba declared.
"No! Aizen's abilities are extraordinary. To concentrate our combat power against him, we need to eliminate the surrounding forces first!"
Seventh Division Captain Komamura Sajin glanced at the surrounding Espada and stated.
"Ara ara, that young man with the purple-black hair isn't here. Wasn't he an Espada?"
"According to information from Captain Hitsugaya, the Arrancar named Fiander Moros is Espada Number Ten."
Ukitake explained to Kyoraku.
"Oh? If only Number Ten was so powerful, then among the four Espada present, who's the strongest?"
Kyoraku adjusted his hat and spoke casually.
"It's difficult to say, because none of them have ever reached Soul Society before, and we've never encountered any of these Espada except for that large one with dark brown hair."
As captain of the Thirteenth Division, who controlled information about the living world, Ukitake spoke again.
"However, the problem is that it's very difficult for us to guarantee Aizen won't interfere while we're fighting the Espada."
Hitsugaya Toshiro looked at the enemies present and spoke with a serious expression.
After everyone's discussion concluded, Head Captain Yamamoto Genryusai, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened his majestic gaze.
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