Cirucci let out a sigh. If it was Kazuya beside her, she'd have used to shield him. But she had prioritized her own safety when Menoly stood by her. Though reasonable, she couldn't help but feel guilty for abandoning Menoly at the crucial moment.
Menoly gasped in terror, eyes wide as she stared at the balloon-like teardrop now dangling grotesquely from Szayelaporro's wing. "W-What did you do?!"
Though she didn't feel any different, instinct screamed at her—something was horribly wrong. The primal instincts of a Hollow, who had survived thousands of life-threatening dangers in Hueco Mundo, were hardly ever wrong.
Szayelaporro's lips curled into a grin as a doll dropped into his hand. It was a crude, almost laughably stupid miniature of Menoly, but its implications were anything but funny. He had aimed for Cirucci's doll but could settle for Menoly; after all, Cirucci's reaction confirmed her attachment. With the right pressure using the doll, even the hardest secrets would spill from Cirucci's mouth.
He whispered, "This… this right here is the beginning of your end."
"You wish!" Cirucci snapped and finally made her move, or else she'd end up falling in a disadvantage.
Before he could finish savoring the moment, a massive disc sliced through the air toward him, its force intending to flatten him just as it had decimated his army earlier. Szayelaporro stepped back just in time and calmly gazed at Cirucci. The bone-deep calmness in his eyes was that of someone who had everything firmly in their grasp.
That look of superiority really pissed Cirucci off.
Szayelaporro casually lifted the doll and flicked its head with his thumb. Menoly shrieked and fell to her knees, clutching her head. The pain in her head seemed to be tearing her apart.
Cirucci's face darkened. "Shit, Kazuya told me about this…"
The creepy doll sparked a memory—fragmented but returning fast. Kazuya had warned her, had laid out exactly what Szayelaporro could do. She had brushed it aside, too caught up in his warmth and whispers to truly listen.
Her back was soaked with sweat. Menoly's torment was her fault, and though shame gnawed at her, she couldn't help cursing Kazuya and his sweet and soothing voice. Otherwise, how could she, one of the fiercest women, become so absentminded that she forgot such a crucial piece of information?
Jaw clenched, Cirucci pointed at Szayelaporro. "You… let go of that doll right now."
Szayelaporro's smirk deepened. "Would you do it if you were in my place? However, I can show her mercy. Stab yourself with this syringe, and I'll let this worthless woman go."
A syringe full of green fluid fell at Cirucci's feet. Whatever it was, coming from Szayelaporro, it couldn't be anything good.
Contrary to her expectations, the fluid had a rather innocent effect on a Hollow's body: sending someone into a brief slumber. Szayelaporro wasn't entirely convinced of Cirucci's immortality, but she seemed to believe it. Better to knock her out and buy time to extract everything he wanted once both women were under control.
Menoly staggered upright, her eyes brimming with hatred. A flicker of nervousness emerged as she caught sight of the doll in Szayelaporro's hands. "Cirucci, don't you dare give in to his threat. I can endure this much—aaaaargh!"
Szayelaporro's flick silenced her again, her scream ripping down the hallway. Even the strongest minds would beg for death under that kind of pain, and Menoly's willpower—though impressive—was only just above average. The agony nearly shattered her mind.
Szayelaporro pushed his finger hard on the doll's head. Instantly, blood sprayed from a diagonal cut tore across Menoly's forehead. She let out a grunt, staggering but somehow clinging to consciousness by sheer stubbornness.
"Will you cooperate, or shall I peel this poor girl piece by piece?"
Cirucci's glare was venomous. If her eyes could be said to have concealed their murderous intent, now they blazed with a naked desire to kill. But she didn't strike. Not yet. Her hands trembled—not with fear, but restraint. She couldn't risk it, not when she didn't fully understand the limits of Szayelaporro's Resurrección. If there was even a chance his ability could cause lasting harm to Menoly's mind, then no amount of Kazuya's healing would save her.
Her heart hammered violently. Back in her Espada days, she'd have abandoned Menoly without a thought, but now she couldn't. They couldn't be said to be close. However, Cirucci had somewhat of a soft spot for Menoly. The timid girl was trying. She was struggling to find a new purpose. And Cirucci came here with Menoly, which made them comrades. The last part mattered.
Szayelaporro's smile faded into impatience. With a scowl, he grabbed the doll in both hands, making a show of preparing to break it.
Cirucci's breath hitched, her muscles tense—about to scream, about to throw caution aside—when a weak, ragged voice reached her.
"Cirucci… don't worry about me!" Menoly nearly roared as she stumbled back to her feet. "Go kill him!"
Cirucci's eyes locked on Menoly, and for a beat, everything else faded. Menoly's face showed unparalleled determination. Even death couldn't shake her resolve. Her current mindset seemed no different from 'I'm terrified of death, but I'm even more afraid of becoming a burden to this new family. I'd rather die than have my comrades make a mistake because of me.'
Menoly had clearly resigned herself to death.
At that moment, her image in Cirucci's heart, and even Kazuya's—who was far away yet fully aware of this scene—underwent a massive change. They couldn't not respect someone with such determination.
Szayelaporro, who was holding two halves of the doll, stared with visible amazement. The very meaning behind splitting the doll should've scared the piss out of someone like Menoly. After all, it wasn't long ago Loly bullied her to the point of almost beating her to death. Contrary to his expectations, she hadn't so much as flinched. The reality was that Menoly had grown from her timidity. The current Menoly was dimensions apart from the cowardly and bullied girl who had left Las Noches.
Even Szayelaporro's high intelligence couldn't have anticipated Menoly disregarding everything.
"Are you perhaps a masochist to ignore that torture?" The question hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't get the chance to voice it. His instincts screamed danger. His attention shifted to Cirucci. She eyed him like prey, like a wolf eying a plump rabbit.
"Fuck!" he almost cursed out loud.
Cirucci finally made up her mind. Faced with this fierce and tenacious Menoly, she could no longer overthink, no longer hesitate. Szayelaporro had to be stopped from abusing Menoly through the doll.
She had to fight fearlessly!
"Rip, Golondrina!"
Her slender frame was suddenly flooded with overwhelming power as she released her Resurrección. Protruding from her back were enormous wings fashioned from a succession of crescent-shaped blades that resembled black steel. Where her mask once was, a beak-shaped headdress now crowned her, its sleek feathers flowing down her torso and legs. From her rear also protruded a lengthy tail with prehensile tips. Around her shoulders, massive armor resembling the disc of Golondrina's sealed condition took shape. She also developed long, slender arms adorned with enormous claws.
As her enormous claws extended, she flashed a mad glare and lunged at Szayelaporro. She aimed to seize and crush Szayelaporro in a single, brutal grip.
But he was quick to escape with a burst of Sonído, leaving an afterimage for her claws to rip.
"Go, cut him down!"
Szayelaporro watched in surprise as the wings on her back vibrated before shooting out one by one. Their target was naturally him. Those blades were sharp enough to cut him to pieces.
"So annoying," he whispered, his figure flashing far away, a series of afterimages flashing in his wake.
The blades cut down his afterimages before launching towards him. Cirucci's control over them was impeccable; after all, they were a part of her body. This time, it wasn't just those in hot pursuit. Cirucci, too, used Sonído to catch up to him and struck him with her wings while also utilizing her claws to keep him from escaping.
Szayelaporro was beyond frustrated. This was not how it was supposed to go when he successfully separated Lisa from Cirucci and Menoly by spreading traces of Kaname Tōsen's Reiatsu to draw her away. Cirucci wasn't supposed to be this strong, she wasn't supposed to win against the clone army. Even in the worst-case scenario, she was supposed to be exhausted by those clones, leaving him to pick up the bones.
But the events didn't unfold according to his calculations.
Even after that, she was supposed to give into his threat to save her friend's life. In a different scenario, Menoly's death was supposed to weaken Cirucci's will and make her an easy target for him.
But this… this damned immortality from who knows where threw a wrench in his plans again!
How could he, who saw every Hollow as a fool, not feel upset in this situation?
Loud noises filled the hallways as the two exchanged blows, or rather, one side fiercely attacked and the other defended like his life depended on it.
How could Szayelaporro possibly match Cirucci now? Her base power had been massively boosted by Kazuya, and that enhancement exponentially amplified her Resurrección state. Moreover, Cirucci wasted no effort in defending, fully trusting Kazuya to treat her wounds later. Any wound wasn't worth mentioning to her man, who could even heal her broken Zanpakutō.
Under such fierce attacks, it only took a moment for Szayelaporro to be suppressed and another minute to receive severe cuts on his pristine figure.
Swish! A single lapse in concentration—and an arm was severed, spiraling upward before crashing to the ceiling.
A cruel smile surfaced on her face. For a moment, she was filled with the intent to torture the crazy scientist to death. She could vividly remember her fear and despair during her stay as Barragan's Espada. Every day was under the shadow of this demon, as though he would suddenly show up and drag her into his lab, turning her into one of his abomination experiments.
To make him suffer right for his sin would be the right move for vengeance.
However, she pushed down her unholy desires and continued to rain down heavy-hitting attacks on him without saying a word. She was fully focused on making sure Szayelaporro got no chance to turn the situation around.
'He must die here.'
Feeling the looming sense of death, Szayelaporro's composure finally shattered. Throwing caution aside, he blasted away with Sonído, putting as much distance as he could between them. Clutching Menoly's doll in his remaining hand, his eyes blazed with desperation as he roared, "Damn you! Stop this before I crush your friend's brain."
In his maddened state, he failed to notice the golden threads weaving together to form a claw above him.
Cirucci smiled deviously. "You can try."
Szayelaporro tossed the doll on the floor. The colorful pieces, each labeled with different organs, spilled out. He raised his foot high, looking like he wanted to stomp every organ one by one to inflict agony on Menoly so deep that it would scar her for life.
Of course, he wasn't going to kill Menoly. He just had to threaten the two more severely until they gave up on killing him.
Since new enemies had showed up, he had to keep his final trump card hidden.
A golden light suddenly erupted beneath his feet. In an instant, every colorful piece vanished—including the lower half of Menoly's doll.
Szayelaporro froze, eyes wide in disbelief, his breath caught in his throat. He looked around frantically, his brilliant mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened. His sharp senses hadn't sensed a thing.
"What… What was that?"
"The beginning of your end," Cirucci replied cheekily. "Alright, it's time to wrap it up. Those kittens must be missing me."
No matter how skilled as Izumi was, nothing could replace the warmth and care of a mother—that's exactly what Cirucci was to her three kittens.
Of course, Szayelaporro didn't stick around to wait for his death. Channeling his Reiryoku, he fled as far as possible, flashing through the hallways.
But death was faster.
Several minutes later, Cirucci and Menoly stood, panting lightly, gazing down at what remained. Before them was a pulpy, unrecognizable heap of flesh and blood. Even someone who had studied every inch of Szayelaporro's body would have been hard-pressed to find any trace of him now.
"He is dead…" Cirucci whispered, her gaze fixed on the carnage. It might seem like she went overboard. However, it was all to make sure Szayelaporro didn't attempt something. For someone with his intelligence, he'd definitely have a large number of backup plans.
Calm washed over her expression, but inside her heart churned with a swirl of emotions: relief… and a powerful, liberating sense of freedom. Her shoulders felt light as feather as though she had been freed from a long burden… The burden of her past.
Suddenly, her Reiatsu erupted against her will, sending a tremor through the entire Las Noches.
Menoly nearly fell to her knees in the face of this Reiatsu. "C-Cirucci?!"
…
Franceska Mila Rose yanked her hand from the chest of a writhing Hollow, letting its lifeless body slump to the floor. Narrowing her eyes, she looked in the direction of this vast and oppressive Reiatsu.
Then a heartfelt smile touched her lips.
"Apacci will lose her nuts over this," she muttered, almost laughing. "It's reasonable according to her age. Compared to her, we two are just kids."
Across Las Noches, the same scene repeated itself: Kazuya's Hollow group froze in place, eyes wide, hearts pounding. A mixture of shock, happiness—and yes, a twinge of envy and bitterness—crossed their faces as they felt the overwhelming presence.
No, this was something far rarer—something every Hollow knew on an instinctive, primal level.
This was the presence of a new Vasto Lorde.
...
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