Faced with an attack that felt like absolute despair, Mantikor's torn, blood-soaked maw snapped wide open. All of his black spiritual pressure gathered inside it, condensing into a solid black sphere hovering before his mouth.
His pupils shrank violently. Muscles in his limbs tightened until veins bulged across his body. Countless gaping mouths split open across his form, releasing silent roars and shrieks.
He didn't understand what had happened—but one thing was certain.
If he failed to block this attack, he would never complete Lord Aizen's command.
No matter what, he had to stop it.
For Lord Aizen!
Mantikor's eyes burned with fanatic fervor as he mobilized every last ounce of his spiritual pressure. His entire body creaked as though it could barely withstand the surge of power.
Shimo watched quietly, making no move at all.
At his fingertip, the Cero had already fully erupted.
A black storm swept across the area, spreading deep into Las Noches. The ground—once solid in Mantikor's memory—groaned under the pressure. No… it didn't even possess the right to slow the advancing storm.
The abyss-like beam of black light roared toward him.
At the last moment, Mantikor roared:
"I am the victor!!"
A matching black beam burst from his mouth—
Gran Rey Cero!
The clash of the two Ceros tore up the floors of Las Noches. Countless chunks of stone spiraled into the air, shrieking as they were dragged into the storm.
When the beams collided, space itself seemed to warp.
Then—
BOOM!!
An explosion erupted, flames and shockwaves engulfing the entire region.
Mantikor realized in despair that his resistance meant nothing.
The black beam devoured everything in its path. Wherever it passed, all things were erased into nothingness.
The Cero struck him directly.
In an instant, Las Noches behind him was pierced clean through. Walls and pillars vanished into oblivion as the deafening blast tore through the palace.
Several seconds passed before the raging black spiritual pressure finally dissipated into spirit particles.
What remained was a wasteland.
Ruins stretched across the empty ground. At the center of the impact, the surface had melted and vitrified into glass.
Amid the drifting smoke stood a charred giant figure.
Mantikor.
There was almost nothing left of him.
His enormous wings were completely shattered and hung limply at his sides. The countless gaping mouths on his body were sealed shut, black viscous liquid seeping from their seams like blood. His scorched skin was cracked as though burned by the sun itself.
His massive scorpion tail lay broken among the rubble.
His eyes were vacant as he stared at Shimo from afar.
After a long silence, he opened the zipper-like mask covering his mouth. Black smoke rose from within.
Shimo slowly lowered his hand. His expression remained calm, though a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
This had been his first time using Cero. Because he lacked experience, he had poured nearly all his spiritual pressure into it.
The destructive power had been terrifying.
And yet Mantikor had survived.
"That means… I should fire another Cero."
Shimo frowned thoughtfully.
Mantikor suddenly smiled, baring rows of jagged teeth. It was a bitter, hollow smile.
"No need… I'm already dead."
His voice was weak and hoarse, like that of a dying old man.
"In the end, I failed Lord Aizen's mission… Kyoraku Shimo… I will wait for you in the despair of death."
As his words faded, his massive body began to crumble into sand.
A cold wind swept across Hueco Mundo, brushing over his charred form.
The next moment, Mantikor dissolved into countless spirit particles and vanished.
Shimo watched the drifting particles in silence, then chuckled softly.
"Death… perhaps."
Their battle had destroyed more than half of Las Noches. His Cero had pierced the palace completely, turning entire sections into ruins. The palace's spiritual-pressure suppression had been completely broken.
Immediately, he sensed the strange presence from earlier.
Turning around, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Even someone like Mantikor whose brain was nothing but muscle—could use such a strategy. Looks like he never expected to defeat me in the first place."
The source of the strange presence came from behind him—from the section of the palace that remained intact.
Following his senses, he walked toward it.
With no enemies left in Las Noches, his pace slowed slightly.
When he reached the side hall, the strange feeling grew stronger.
Shimo sighed softly and stepped inside.
Standing before him was a familiar figure.
Dark skin. Messy purple hair. A long white uniform. A Zanpakutō with a brownish-orange hilt at his waist.
"I'm glad we can meet again,"
Kaname Tōsen said with a faint, mocking smile.
"Kyoraku Shimo."
--------------------------------///
Advance Chapters on Patreon!
p(a)treon(.)com/HudaLin
-Remove the parenthesis to access patreon normally
Thanks for the Support!