The moment they fully stepped into the space, their dull, vacant gazes immediately locked onto Tokimoku standing in place.
"Shinigami…"
"Shinigami…"
"SHINIGAMI!!!"
The whispers gradually turned into roaring cries that echoed through the vast chamber.
In the next instant, all three drew their Zanpakutō.
"Sever them – Gochū!"
"Trample him – Gigante Elefante!"
"Crush him – Galkas!"
As the three Arrancar released their Resurrección simultaneously, violent waves of spiritual pressure surged through the chamber.
It felt like being tossed upon a stormy sea as the crushing force bore down on Tokimoku from all sides.
Unfortunately for them, their target was far beyond what they could possibly handle.
This level of pressure… meant absolutely nothing to him.
After completing their release chants, the three Arrancar transformed:
An insectoid humanoid with blade-like arms.
A massive elephant-like warrior with a long trunk.
A boar-like brute with enormous tusks.
Seeing their true forms, Shimo immediately recognized them.
"Shawlong Koufang – Grimmjow's Fracción.
Nirgge Parduoc – Barragan's Fracción.
D-Roy Rinker – Nnoitra's Fracción."
His eyes narrowed as he examined them.
"It seems the Espada you served… were all killed by me."
The moment those words left his mouth, the three Arrancar were visibly stimulated.
Their spiritual pressure surged violently.
Their bodies began swelling like balloons being inflated — but the expansion carried nothing but brute strength.
Creak—!
Under the impact of their pressure, cracks even began forming in the surrounding stone pillars.
The suffocating force seemed intent on crushing Shimo into the ground.
But just as they prepared to attack—
BOOM.
A spiritual pressure many times greater descended upon the chamber.
CRASH!!
In an instant, an overwhelming force slammed into the three Arrancar.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three explosive impacts rang out as the trio were smashed face-first into the floor without resistance.
BOOM!
An even heavier pressure followed, pressing down on them again.
Spider-web cracks spread across the ground beneath their bodies.
The intense pain brought faint clarity back to their eyes.
Shimo, however, had no intention of listening to their last words.
Their heartbeats slowed under the crushing pressure—each beat heavy, sluggish… as if their remaining life was being drained away.
They wanted to resist.
But even the thought of resistance had become a luxury.
"It seems you're unaware of your own condition," Shimo said calmly.
"Since the Espada you followed are already dead… as loyal subordinates, I'll send you to join them."
Tap.
He took a small step forward.
That single step made the three Arrancar feel the distance between life and death shrink to nothing.
Crack.
A shattering sound echoed.
In the next moment, their massive bodies dissolved into spirit particles and dispersed into the air.
Shimo didn't spare them another glance. He simply walked past the chamber and continued deeper into Las Noches.
After several minutes of travel, he realized the sheer scale and complexity of Las Noches far exceeded his expectations.
If he relied solely on navigation, it might take forever to reach the core.
"…Forget it."
He shook his head and sighed.
"Sometimes, extreme methods are necessary."
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion echoed through Las Noches.
Shimo withdrew his smoking fingertip and nodded in satisfaction at the massive hole before him.
"There was never a road to begin with. People walk it into existence."
With that mutter, he stepped through the breach.
Yet as he continued forward, he began to notice something strange.
Las Noches should have been filled with Hollows and Arrancar.
But aside from the three Fracción earlier, he hadn't encountered a single one since.
"…Did something happen?"
His eyes flickered.
"Or is this part of Aizen's plan?"
Speculation wasn't enough to stop him.
The closer he got to the center, the stronger the eerie feeling became.
Curiosity won out. He would see the core for himself—no matter what trap awaited.
After several more minutes of blasting through walls, he finally reached the inner corridor of Las Noches.
The moment he stepped inside, a familiar spiritual pressure appeared.
"Kehahaha!"
"Kyoraku Shimo!"
"Didn't expect to see me alive again, did you?!"
Shimo frowned and looked north.
From the dark corridor came a nauseating, squirming sound that made one's scalp crawl.
Moments later, an unbelievably disgusting head crawled into view.
"We, Aaroniero Arruruerie — have come for revenge!"
"I will tear your head apart piece by piece… and devour it whole!"
Shimo raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Not because Aaroniero appeared again — but because the sheer ugliness of the creature exceeded what he could tolerate.
Its facial features were twisted and clustered together with no discernible arrangement.
Behind the head stretched an enormous body.
This fragment of his soul seemed even stronger than the original body Shimo had encountered before.
If nothing unexpected had occurred, the disappearance of the Arrancar and Hollows in Las Noches likely had everything to do with him.
"To be this ugly… you're truly one of a kind."
Shimo frowned in disgust.
"Hah! What do you know?!"
Aaroniero's layered voices echoed arrogantly.
"This is perfection!"
Shimo raised his hand, blue light gathering in his palm.
"Unfortunately, I'm not a perfectionist."
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
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