"Ichigo! I'm so glad I finally found you!"
Nelliel beamed as she clung tightly to Ichigo. Though she had loosened her grip slightly, her entire body still hung off him.
But unlike her previous childlike form, this mature onee-san version of Nelliel was… a bit too much for Ichigo to handle.
"Nelliel, you're too close… way too close."
Ichigo said helplessly, not daring to push her away too forcefully.
Their open intimacy stirred a range of emotions from those watching.
Orihime blushed furiously, her face turning crimson. But Nnoitra?
He was on the verge of exploding.
"You bastard! You're completely ignoring me!!"
He shouted, veins bulging in his forehead.
But neither Ichigo nor Nelliel even spared him a glance.
Nelliel—an Arrancar of Vasto Lorde-class.
If this were the original timeline, with her temporarily restored spiritual pressure, then maybe Nnoitra had a chance with a swift victory.
But now?
This Nelliel had fully recovered.
Not just recovered—her strength had been boosted by Ichigo's reiatsu and the power of the King's Seal.
To put it bluntly?
She could probably kill Nnoitra with a single glance.
A mere Adjuchas-class like him?
He didn't even qualify to be looked at.
Of course, this version of Nelliel had also regained all of her memories.
And while she was gentle by nature, she hadn't forgotten what Nnoitra and Szayelaporro had done to her former subordinates.
"Ichigo, leave him to me."
Nelliel said, her gaze locking onto Nnoitra for the first time with a rare killing intent.
There was no need to talk to someone like Nnoitra.
She was just going to end him.
"Nelliel… are you sure?"
Ichigo asked. It wasn't that he didn't trust her—it was just that she hadn't really shown her power since transforming.
That surge of reiatsu earlier had also been mixed with his own.
"Don't worry, Ichigo. I'm strong."
She gave him a wink and let go, picking up a green zanpakutō from the ground.
Ichigo's eyes drifted to her back, noticing the number etched into her flesh—
The number: 3.
Nnoitra hadn't been lying.
Nelliel had once been one of the Espada—the third Espada.
Without hesitation, she raised her blade and charged toward Nnoitra.
Nnoitra froze.
That familiar silhouette…
He knew her too well.
He had once ambushed her in the past, furious that a woman held a higher position than him on the battlefield.
Who knew—this Espada was nothing more than an insecure macho freak.
But as well as he knew Nelliel, she knew him even better.
With a single sonído, she appeared in front of him and slashed with her blade.
Nnoitra tried to block—he really did—but the strike landed clean on his chest.
He couldn't even resist.
The sheer speed and power of her strike…
It was on a level he simply couldn't match.
The fear of being overwhelmed by Nelliel came rushing back in an instant.
"Impossible! I've grown so much stronger while you were powerless! How can you still be stronger than me?!"
Nnoitra screamed, swinging his giant scythe-like weapon wildly in desperation.
But to Nelliel?
This was child's play.
She casually dodged his attacks and spun into a reverse kick, slamming her heel into Nnoitra's gut.
Boom!
He went flying, crashing into the desert and lying motionless—questioning his entire life.
But just when he thought the next strike would follow, Nelliel instead turned away from him…
And leapt right back into Ichigo's arms.
Ichigo blinked in surprise.
He honestly hadn't expected the little hollow girl he rescued to possess this kind of overwhelming strength.
Right now, Nelliel might be the second most powerful woman Ichigo knew—only behind Unohana.
Neither Rukia, nor Senna, nor even Yoruichi or Soi Fon could compare.
Orihime, seeing this sudden hug, couldn't help but cry out:
"Miss Nelliel! P-Please let go of Ichigo…"
But Nelliel showed no sign of letting go.
In fact, it was clear—she only acted this way with Ichigo.
Especially considering how cold and composed she had been while fighting just seconds ago.
"You bastard! Take this!!"
Nnoitra, furious at seeing Nelliel still flirting mid-battle, fired a golden Cero straight at them from his mouth.
Nelliel glanced at the blast, not even moving her arm from around Ichigo.
She blocked it with a single hand.
Then opened her mouth wide—
—and devoured the Cero.
In the next instant, she spat it back out with greater speed and power!
He had forgotten.
It had been so long, he'd completely forgotten this move:
"Cero Doble."
The ability to absorb an opponent's Cero and return it stronger than before.
A nightmare for any Hollow.
For a race that relied heavily on Ceros as their trump card, this was practically a hard counter.
The attack slammed into Nnoitra.
His right arm, which he had used to block it, was wrecked instantly.
His back and mask-like covering were also damaged heavily.
"Cough… cough!!"
Nnoitra coughed blood and glared coldly.
"To think a Vasto Lorde would fall for a shinigami. You even help him attack your own kind!"
But Nelliel just smiled proudly.
"So what? Meeting Ichigo is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me. I'm going to stay with him forever!"
This blatant confession left Orihime stunned.
Wait a minute... wasn't Ichigo here to save me?
Why is Nelliel stealing the spotlight all of a sudden?
This wasn't the script she expected.
Nnoitra, meanwhile, was completely speechless.
There was no point arguing with a love-struck Hollow.
"Ichigo, you've always protected me," Nelliel whispered.
"Now, it's my turn to protect you."
Letting go of his arm, she stepped forward—her gaze sharp.
She held her sword across her chest.
"Sing, Antelope Knight!"
Her zanpakutō began to glow—
Nnoitra panicked.
He knew all too well what was coming.
If Nelliel entered Resurrección form, he'd be finished!
He rushed toward her in a frenzy, hoping to interrupt the transformation.
Too late.
He didn't expect her to go Resurrección while already dominating him.
That wasn't logical!
But Nelliel wasn't playing by logic.
In a flash of green light—
She changed.
Her figure transformed into a centaur-like being clad in ornate armor.
Her sword morphed into a massive lance.
The sheer reiatsu she released shook all of Las Noches.
Even the blue sky-dome looked like it might crack.
This was why Espada ranked 4 and above were forbidden from releasing their blades inside Las Noches.
Fortunately, Aizen stepped in, using the Hōgyoku to forcibly stabilize the crumbling sky.
Orihime stared, stunned.
"That… is that really Nelliel? The cute little girl from before?"
"Lance of Verdant Light!"
Nelliel hurled the spear with incredible force.
Nnoitra couldn't dodge.
He tried blocking with his weapon—
It shattered.
The lance pierced his chest and pinned him to a massive stone slab.
"Gah…!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth—
All it took was one hit.
Nelliel sonído'd in front of him, spear raised to his forehead.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to let you off that easily."
Her cold tone shocked him.
The old Nelliel would never speak so cruelly.
But now, her reiatsu was fused with Ichigo's.
Her personality had shifted just a little.
"Ichigo healed me—and in doing so, awakened something deeper inside."
She tightened her grip on her spear.
"Nnoitra, you're lucky… you'll be the first to witness my second Resurrección."
Green spiritual pressure surged around her.
Her centaur lower half dissolved into green light—
Reforming as fully armored legs.
Her new form shone with crystal-like emerald armor.
She looked less like a Hollow and more like a divine knight.
Even the horns on her head curved down around her neck like the Golden Cloth of Aries.
Her weapon shrunk into a more elegant spear—
But its power had only intensified.
Everything glimmered like refined jade.
Let's be honest. In Bleach, strength is determined by looks.
And right now, Nelliel looked divine.
Nnoitra was horrified.
He could no longer sense her reiatsu.
She felt like she didn't even exist.
But clearly—she was right in front of him.
"No way! You can't release again after a Resurrección! That's impossible!!"
(Ulquiorra: cough Definitely possible.)
But Nelliel didn't waste time arguing.
"Since you've seen my true form...
You can die now, by my version 0.3."
She raised her spear and brought it down—
But in that instant, her form flickered and—
Poof!
She turned back into her child form.
"Eh? What just happened?"
She landed in the sand, confused.
Ichigo sighed, slapped his forehead, and shunpo'd forward to catch her.
At the same time, he casually kicked the rising Nnoitra back down.
"Lord Nnoitra!!"
His ever-useless underling, Tesla, came running out from where he'd been hiding.
Ichigo's kick had nearly knocked Nnoitra's soul out of his body.
Tesla, who had planned to ambush Ichigo once things settled, panicked and rushed to his master's side.
"Ichigo… what's going on? Why did I suddenly revert?"
Nelliel asked, blinking.
Ichigo explained patiently,
"You're not used to that form yet. Your reiatsu isn't stable enough, so it collapsed."
Nelliel giggled and snuggled up against him again.
"You'll pay for hurting Lord Nnoitra!!"
Tesla roared, drawing his blade.
"Release! Fang-Armored Warrior!"
His decent face mutated—
Upper body transforming into a wild boar-like beast, charging toward Ichigo!
(End of Chapter)
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