The most crucial piece of his skull had been blown clean off — it was obvious Baraggan was not as composed as he appeared.
Enraged, he unleashed Respira toward Hachigen Ushōda, the now-incapacitated Soi Fon, and Ōmaeda!
Soi Fon barely managed to flee while carrying Ōmaeda, and Respira corroded the entire rooftop they'd just been standing on.
But Hachigen stood unmoving, staring down the black miasma of death — refusing to dodge or flinch.
This time, he summoned a yellow space-based barrier before him!
Though it couldn't fully stop Baraggan's power, it slowed him down.
Baraggan, seeing the strange Kidō in front of him, raised his massive axe and swung it down!
With one blow, the spatial barrier was cleaved in two.
Clearly, physical force could also break these space-based Kidō.
Unfortunately, Hachigen had spent most of his spiritual power during the last coordinated assault — even defending or dodging now was extremely difficult.
With no other choice, he donned his mask.
Before they'd come here, Hirako Shinji had warned all Visoreds — don't reveal your true strength before Aizen or the Soul Reapers.
Specifically, they couldn't reveal the ability Ichigo gave them — the fusion of Hollow and Zanpakutō power.
Because if Central 46 learned that the Visoreds had achieved full integration between Hollow and Soul Reaper powers… they'd never be accepted again.
So even now, Hachigen didn't use his final trump card.
The mask granted him a power boost, but against Baraggan, it wasn't enough.
Baraggan laughed wildly. If both of Soi Fon's Jakuho Raikoben had exploded point-blank, maybe he'd have died.
But now, she was out of strength.
Hachigen, cornered, began constructing a triple-layered barrier…
But even that was pierced by Respira!
The black fog began to erode the very edge of his mask.
Soi Fon stood helplessly below, shouting, "Old man! Watch out!"
But it was too late.
Hachigen's right hand had already been touched by death. It began to rot and wither rapidly.
Baraggan laughed. "A mere Soul Reaper! You can't withstand my Respira! All things succumb to aging!"
But Hachigen, instead of retreating, hid his dying right hand behind his back.
He stopped running.
Baraggan believed he'd won — and raised his axe to strike the final blow.
But suddenly, a white light burst from the center of Baraggan's chest!
Hachigen's plan had succeeded.
"You said it yourself," he began calmly, "your aging affects everything. No one escapes death."
"Then why," he continued, "do you seem immune?"
Baraggan's eyes widened.
Hachigen's tone remained calm. "So I made a bold guess: even you can be affected by your own power. You must've set up some sort of barrier on your surface to shield yourself."
"But what happens… when your own aging energy appears inside your body?"
Baraggan froze — realizing what that white light was.
Hachigen slowly revealed his empty right arm.
It had already been severed — removed via spatial Kidō — and implanted into Baraggan's torso.
Only Hachigen's mastery of space-based Kidō made this possible.
Baraggan stared at his body in shock. His insides had already begun to decay from his own Respira!
With a thunderous crack, Hachigen's severed arm and Baraggan's body were both consumed by the unstoppable power of decay.
And yet, in his final moments, Baraggan didn't lash out at the man who defeated him.
Instead, he hurled his axe… toward another.
Toward… Aizen Sōsuke!
"I'll kill you myself!" Baraggan roared. "You'll regret ever giving me this power!"
"I am the king! I am God! I will never die! I will forever seek the chance to destroy you, Aizen Sōsuke!"
His greatest hatred wasn't for Hachigen — but for Aizen.
Once the king of Hueco Mundo…
Now reduced to Aizen's subordinate.
If this was the end, then he would take Aizen down with him!
But as the giant axe soared through the air, Aizen merely turned his head — and the axe shattered into dust.
Then, Aizen looked back.
With just that glance, Baraggan's life force was severed.
In his final moments, Baraggan's memories flashed before him.
He remembered sitting on his throne of bones in the desert of Hueco Mundo — once revered as the sole king of that world.
He didn't even build a castle — the very sky of Hueco Mundo was his roof, the entire land his palace.
That day, as he reclined lazily and ordered his followers to entertain him with bloodshed, the guards were suddenly slain.
And in walked Aizen, Tōsen, and Gin.
Aizen, ever the harmless-looking man, smiled gently as he stepped forward.
Baraggan's troops — the Adjuchas — charged.
But Tōsen cut one down with a single stroke.
Intrigued, Baraggan halted his forces and decided to face them himself.
Aizen gazed up at him and smiled. "King of Hueco Mundo… do you want to see your true potential?"
He unsheathed Kyōka Suigetsu.
Baraggan frowned. "You want me to look at a sword? You think that will kill me?"
Overconfident, Baraggan did nothing.
Aizen continued, "Are you satisfied with your current power? Don't you want to evolve? Serve me, and I'll give you greater strength."
Truly the king of MLM sales pitches.
Baraggan sneered and waved off Aizen's words.
"You're just a fool. Kill them all!"
But Aizen continued, unfazed. "Isn't it ironic? King of Hueco Mundo… you wield a scythe like a Soul Reaper, even though you're a Hollow."
That got under Baraggan's skin.
He charged in fury, his giant axe cleaving through the invaders in a single sweep.
Or so he thought.
In the blink of an eye, his crown was sliced clean off — by Aizen himself, unscathed and standing before him.
From the very moment Baraggan looked at Aizen's sword… he had fallen under complete hypnosis.
He had never harmed Aizen at all.
This… was the power of Kyōka Suigetsu.
As Aizen dispelled the illusion, Baraggan realized — his entire army was already dead.
And from that day forward, the King of Hueco Mundo became nothing more than Espada No.2 under Aizen's rule.
Even in death, he couldn't let go of that humiliation.
But that was all it would ever be — a memory.
Baraggan disintegrated into ash, carried off by the wind.
"You called yourself a king," Hachigen said softly, "but in the end, you were just another soul afraid of death — desperate to escape time's decay."
As Baraggan's shattered crown fell into the ruins below, even those still fighting paused.
Baraggan — the first of the top three Espada — had fallen.
On another battlefield, with Kyōraku and Ukitake sidelined by injury…
Visoreds Love Aikawa and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi faced off against the Primera Espada — Stark.
From the start, Love released his Zanpakutō — Tenkenmaru!
It transformed into a massive spiked club, like a cactus-styled morning star.
Not only did it pack immense offensive power, it also had formidable defense — even Stark's Ceros couldn't break through.
But Stark's mind had wavered after Baraggan's death.
He no longer wanted to fight.
Unfortunately for him, Love didn't plan on giving him time to mope.
With a swing of Tenkenmaru, he sent Stark crashing into the ruins below.
Within the rubble, Stark and the gun-formed Lilynette began to argue.
"Stark! What are you doing?! You're the Primera Espada — you should be fighting this war seriously! If you don't want to see anyone die, then fight to stop it!"
Her logic was flawless.
But Stark's laid-back personality couldn't muster the will. To him, it wasn't worth the trouble. He'd rather just… go take a nap.
Realizing she couldn't rely on him, Lilynette took control and began firing wildly from within the wreckage.
But her shots were erratic — unable to hit Love or Rose.
The two Visoreds simply stood nearby, watching the scene in confusion.
They couldn't understand — how could a top-ranked Espada be so… unmotivated?
Even worse, her stray Cero cleared the smoke, revealing Love's location.
(End of Chapter)
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