(Soundtrack Choice: Konfrontation)

Ggio Vega was shaking in fury and pain as he gripped his still-burning shoulder and arm. At the same time, he was staring hatefully at the Quincy boy who had a stoic expression on his face, wielding two Kanata in his hands, with the right being chipped and the other glowing white-hot from the friction of the blow it delivered. All the while, the teen barely had a single wound inflicted upon him.

It was humiliating, unforgivable that he, a former member of his majesty's guard and now turn Espada, is being laid low by a greenhorn, a child of all things, and after just defeating a Sternritter and a Director too!

He refused to accept it, and if he had to go full out to squash an insignificant bug that refused to know its place.

So be it.

Ggio then powered himself up, but unlike the other times, he went on full-on one hundred percent of his speed and power. His whole then body transformed and became more bestial, his arms enlarged, his fangs grew, and saber-like blades sprouted from his forearms. In contrast, his spiritual pressure became far darker and heavier.

Then when the Espada made his movement, time seemed to stop all around him. Much to the onlooker's confusion and Shinji, in a moment of pure instinct, immediately turned himself around and blocked a stab from the 9th Espada's left fang with both of his blades even when the latter didn't seem to appear to move at all...yet the force of the blow was so great that it shattered both of Shinji's katana and pushed him back across the ground.

Souken widened his eyes in horror upon seeing the level of speed that the Ggio displayed, while Shinji breathed heavily as he readied himself, while the Espada grinned in delight.

'Desperate now are you, punk!' he chuckled and sneered. 'For this is the full might and glory of the fastest Espada, one who has reached the pinnacle of speed itself, the Godspeed!'

Berenice and Yuzu then winded his eyes in horror. 'The Godspeed...but doesn't that mean...!' He nearly screamed while Sōken's face turned grim.

'Godspeed...' he thought while staring at the Ninth Espada. 'A term referring to those who managed to move at the speed of light itself, in which time seemingly stands still while the forces of gravity and inertia are distorted' he then narrowed his eyes. 'Such a momentous feat was thought only possible for those who became transcendent, yet this Espada, and a low-ranking one at that. Was able to achieve what his superiors likely never could' He then looked worryingly at his student. 'Shinji...'

The boy then looked at the animalistic Ggio Vega for a moment. Then, after taking a deep breath, he reached out both his hands and created a large Noche within them before readying himself in a battle stance, and then remembered the vital words his Master said to him during his training.

A few years ago.

'You hesitated again, you brat!' a bald man called while pointing his sword at his student. 'Do you want to become stronger, or do you want to live your life as a coward!'

Shinji shook his head. 'I want to become stronger, Sensei, but it's just that you are so much strong tha-SMACK!'

The boy was immediately hit in the head before he could even finish his sentence.

'What the hell does it matter if I am stronger or not? That doesn't mean you should hesitate otherwise even people weaker than you can take you out in an instant!' He harshly retorted and then sneered at his lowly student. 'Is that what you want, to die like a coward and fail everyone that depends on you!?'

Shinji looked at the bald man for a moment and then looked away. 'I-I don't, but...how can you not hesitate when facing something stronger than you, more experience than you, and doing everything in its power to kill you how?' the boy quivered as he began to shake his fist. 'How can you face something like that?'

The man looked at the boy for a moment and took a tired breath. 'You face it by gaining courage, Shinji...and you can only gain that unless you have the will to make it so.'

Shinji then gave his master a confused. 'But I trying to be brave bu-'

'No, you are not,' The man spat. 'You are just being cowardly; being brave is about taking action, making a stand, using everything you have to accomplish something regardless of the odds or the outcome...even when it leads to your death' The boy then quivered as the man. 'And you...don't have any of that, all you have is fear, the fear of being killed, fear of killing someone, the fear of failing, the fear of letting someone down...' he then lowed his head down to Shinji '...the fear of not being good enough! All that is doing is dulling your blade, shacking you, preventing you from reaching your goals and if you can't overcome that fear...then continuing this training is pointless.

Shinji stared at his master for a few moments, then lowered his head in shame. '...Then how do I gain the will to make that courage a reality?'

The bald then narrowed his eyes at his student. 'That...is something you are going to figure for yourself, for only you can build up that courage and no one else' He then pointed his blade at Shinji. 'So, do you still want to push forward...or do you want to end your training here and now?'

After a few long moments, the boy stared at the shinigami and thought about his cowardice, hesitation, and doubt. He took a deep breath, pushed down such feelings deep within him, and then looked at his Master with resolve.

'I will...Ikkau Sensai!'

Shinji took another deep breath and began to read his power again while he began to make another charge at him. 'Gather up your will to make your courage...' his eyes then glowed white. 'And push forward!'

(Song Choice: Blinded by The Light)

The Sternritter struck his sword forward, and Ggio, quickly raise both arms in time to block the slash, even as it tore and burned across his arms and pushed the Espada across the ground. But he was unfazed by the injury and continued his assault, zipping across the battlefield to either evade or at least break through The Quincy's swords and sherd his body to pieces. Yet despite all of his strength, agility, and literal god-like speed. Ggio could not overcome his opponent, who reformed his blades the very instant the Arrancar broke them apart and countered with a slash that nearly fried him several times over.

His frustration and desperation now reaching their peak. Ggio Vega then proceed to pull both of his saber's fangs from his arms and then connected the two with a dark red bolt of spiritual energy, transforming them into a pair of bladed nunchakus.

'Clashing Fangs of the Crimson Beast!' he announced boldly and then rapidly swung his blades at Shinji, and launched hundreds of billions of blows within less than a tenth of a second. Tearing apart the ground and the remaining walls and buildings within the courtyard and when he was finished, he saw to his frustration that his foe was still standing.

But to his glee only barely.

Shinji, despite being fast enough to block all those blows, wasn't however fast enough to keep reforming his blade at the same time and as such several of them managed to land a couple of cuts along on his body, with the use of blunt vein being the only thing keeping the teen's blood from bleeding out...and even then, only for so long.

'It's over!' Ggio screamed out loud in mad anticipation as he readied his final attack. 'It doesn't matter if you block it, doesn't matter if you try to dodge, or even counter it with your attack' his Clashing Fangs of the Crimson Beast then straighten themselves out into a single-bladed weapon. 'Nor does it matter if you are as fast as me, for I'm still stronger than you, FAR STRONGER!' he screamed out before laughing in hysteria. 'And in the end, it is that strength granted from my heart and my loyalty to his Majesty that I will win!

Shinji then stared at his raging opponent and looked at him with pity. For knew that behind his words and bravado he was scared, scared of losing and scared of failing his king, and instead of facing that fear head-on and controlling it...he hides it behind desperation and the hope that he had finally pushed his enemy beyond their breaking point.

When in reality it was anything but.

Then with another deep and quick breath, he hardened his resolve, right before Ggio's Bladed Nunchakus came inches from slicing down his head...but the attack never came.

Or rather the second attack had already landed first.

'Space Drive...Level Two' Shinji uttered and then dissipates his blade and collapsed to his knees.

For the Ninth Espada Ggio Vega, the fastest of all of his peers...had his entire left side completely disintegrated. The only thing left behind was a white-hot steaming vapor that floated up into the air and behind him, a sourced trail that stretched on for hundreds of miles. Having burnt through the walls of the courtyard, all the districts beyond it, and even up high along the Senkai barrier of the Silver City. Much to the awe of Souken, Yuzu, and Beraniess and all those who managed to witness the near godlike display of power.

The other half of Ggio Vega's body then fell to the ground still with his eyes wide open, yet the life within them had already been purged. While Shinji looked on at his opponent with pity and yet without regret.

'You may have been stronger than me and even moved at the speed of light...but that arrogance in your strength left yourself open and your pride in your speed made you ignorant of those who could be faster' he then bowed his head to his fallen enemy. 'But even so...thank you for the fight of a lifetime, Ninth Espada Ggio Vega'