Legacy of the Moon
Arc II: Dawn of Dreams
Chapter 25: Revival of the Espadas III
After some time of this incident, Halibel and Roka reached there. The Tres Espada was shocked and horrified upon looking at the condition of that place. It didn't take her long to realize that infernal demons had already abducted both Nnoitra and Grimmjow. On the other hand, Roka was also scared by the scenario. She was able to sense the traces of immensely powerful demonic energy from the lava oozing serpentine structures and the surroundings.
"What is this, lady Halibel? What happened here?" Roka asked worryingly.
"I will explain you everything but for now we have to leave this place immediately," Halibel answered, and the next moment she opened a Garganta with a gesture of her hand.
"As you say, Lady Halibel…" Roka responded to her and then both of them entered the Garganta without wasting any moment. Halibel was confused about whether she should inform Sesshomaru or not but because of Roka, she decided to leave.
Meanwhile in the Battle of fake Karakura town, World of the Living…
Soon enough Aizen came out of that giant blade-shaped structure of red fire with some bruises on his body but before he could do anything else Ichigo attacked him with his Getsuga Tensho wave and inflicted a significantly deep cut on his left shoulder. Now the substitute Shinigami tried to hit him with the same technique again but after a few attempts he ended up in a weapon deadlock with the latter. The increasing influence of Hogyoku's energy on Aizen's body started to become visible. Violet lines appeared all around his injury on his shoulder in a veiny pattern. Aizen explained it as Hogyoku's attempt to save its master and then he told Ichigo about how he planned his life right from his birth which reminded the substitute Shinigami of every event of his life till date. Now, the moment Ichigo was about to lose complete hope of victory, Isshin interrupted them upon arriving there in his Soul Reaper form, indirectly exposing the truth to Ichigo about his in-born Shinigami powers. Afterward, Ichigo immediately came out of his confusion and stood against Gin while Isshin began to battle against Aizen.
The time was slipping from everyone's hands quickly as the battles between Aizen and Isshin as well as Ichigo and Gin were getting fiercer with each moment. At one point, Isshin noticed that Aizen's speed had gotten slower and he couldn't help but ask him abruptly, "Are you already at your limit, Aizen?" He smiled at Isshin's sharp observation and then answered, "Indeed I am at my limit, Isshin… but my limit as a Soul Reaper."
The violet cross in the middle of Aizen's chest became slightly bigger and Hogyoku began to radiate more violet light all around it. Soon enough his transformation started, the Hollow-mask remnants-like white tentacles emerged from the Hogyoku and slowly began to cover his body. However, everyone was shocked upon witnessing Urahara's attack out of nowhere which halted Aizen's transformation in the middle. "So you have come… Urahara Kisuke," Aizen spoke as he turned around and saw the Shinigami in sandals and a hat along with Yoruichi Shihoin.
The uppermost portion of the Hueco Mundo…
The golden jewel that Orkos gave to Sesshomaru led his way to the Arrancars' death location so far. But now only one Espada had left to revive in the Hueco Mundo while Halibel already knew the locations of everyone who died in the battle of the fake Karakura town. Thus, Sesshomaru had no use for it anymore. He discarded that stone before arriving at the location where Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer died.
The fine particles of his body and spirit energy were still floating in the environment of that area. However, both Orihime and Uryu were already present over there since she was healing the injuries of him which he got from Ulquiorra and Ichigo's sword. Both of them got wildered upon sensing the powerful and fierce spiritual pressure of Sesshomaru and they immediately prepared themselves to fight against him.
"Run, Inoue-san! He is really powerful," Uryu said to Orihime while getting up on his feet.
"No, Ishida-kun, I won't leave you alone in this condition," Orihime insisted to stay.
Sesshomaru completely ignored their reaction after reaching quite close to them and now he got busy sensing the scattered spirit energy particles of Ulquiorra in the surroundings.
"Who are you?" Uryu asked Sesshomaru in a serious tone but instead of replying, he unsheathed his Tensaiga.
"What do you want?" Uryu asked once again while summoning his Quincy bow but still, the Daiyokai didn't respond.
Now Tensaiga began to glow with the light blue demonic aura and started to track the spirit energy particles of Ulquiorra while slaying the minions of the Netherworld in the vicinity. Soon enough the surroundings filled with glowing energy particles while at the distance of a few steps away from the Daiyokai, a whirlwind of demonic energy began to pull all those glowing particles inside it. In the next few moments, those energy particles began to combine at the center of that whirlwind and slowly took the shape of a humanoid figure while changing their color to green. The intense light engulfed the entire area with an explosion of green spirit energy and when all the smoke and dust got scattered, both Orihime and Uryu were utterly shocked to witness the scenario because Ulquiorra was standing right in front of them.
"Ulquiorra!" Orihime whispered with great amazement.
"How is this even possible!" Uryu mumbled with a great shock as well.
"I..I was dead… my body got scattered. How am I alive again?" Ulquiorra muttered abruptly while looking towards Orihime before he turned his sight towards Sesshomaru.
"I have revived you back to life," Sesshomaru responded while putting his Tensaiga back in its sheath.
"Why? What business do you have with me?" Ulquiorra asked in a serious tone after a pause since he was busy observing Daiyokai's unique and powerful spiritual pressure.
"Nothing…" Sesshomaru replied while walking away from there towards the lower area of Las Noches with artificial daylight.
"Hey, wait," Ishida spoke loudly in order to draw Sesshomaru's attention.
"I just want to know, on whose side are you?" Uryu asked him but even though he stopped upon his call, he didn't answer.
"I don't know who are you but I just want to thank you for reviving Ulquiorra," Orihime said in an innocent tone while bowing down to Sesshomaru with a smile.
Ulquiorra was both shocked and confused after listening to her words. He was puzzled to think, why she was so glad to have him back despite the way he treated her so far. Suddenly Uryu's phone rang and he was surprised to see that the call was from Urahara's shop. He immediately picked up the call and Ururu was there on the other end.
"Ishida-Kun, how are you doing?" Ururu asked in her soft voice.
"Ururu! We are in grave trouble here… there's som.." Uryu said abruptly but he was interrupted.
"Give it to me… you go and do the cleaning!" Jinta's voice came out of a sudden from the other end.
"Jinta! Don't push her like this," Orihime tried to scold him.
"She just can't talk properly… so, have you come across a silver-haired man yet?" Jinta responded.
"He is already here, who is he?" Uryu asked while staring at Sesshomaru.
"He is an old friend of Mr Urahara. He must have arrived there to revive the Espada 4," Jinta answered.
"Oh! I see… well yes, he has actually revived Ulquiorra and now both of them are standing in front of us," Uryu responded.
"We have someone here who wants to talk to Ulquiorra so give him your phone for a moment," Jinta demanded.
"Hey… Ulquiorra! There's someone on the line for you," Uryu said to him while throwing his phone at him.
Ulquiorra caught the phone but he was still confused with everything that was happening around him. For him, all had changed in the blink of an eye and it was hard for him to accept the current scenario.
"Ulquiorra…?" Halibel's voice echoed on the other end as he slowly placed the phone on his ear.
"Espada 3, Tia Halibel… what is going on?" Ulquiorra asked her abruptly.
"Lord Sesshomaru has revived you from the dead…" Halibel answered but she was interrupted in between.
"Lord… Sesshomaru, you say," the Cuatro Espada murmured in a serious tone.
"Yes," She responded.
"Have you betrayed Lord Aizen and joined his enemies now? I was under the impression that you and I were the most loyal to him," Ulquiorra asked in a cold manner.
Halibel sighed before she answered, "You are not aware of anything Ulquiorra."
"What do you mean?" He responded with slight confusion.
"I regret being a part of Aizen's army and you should as well since he is the one who attacked me in the end when both Stark and Baraggan died in the battle. Regardless of our loyalty and dedication, we were merely objects for him… objects to be used and then to be eliminated once we are no longer useful," she answered in a stern voice.
"Hmm… he betrayed us like this… Aizen…" Ulquiorra mumbled slowly as he was both shocked and angry upon listening to Halibel's words.
It didn't take her long to figure out how Cuatro Espada was feeling when he uttered Aizen's name without the title of Lord.
However, he returned to his senses almost immediately and asked her, "Why did your Lord resurrect me then?"
"That's what he had to do in order to fix my lost memories," she answered him in a low voice.
"I see… when did you meet him?" He asked curiously.
"I met him around 50 years ago when he first time visited the Hueco Mundo," She replied.
"50 years ago… it's before we were born," Orihime whispered shockingly.
"Yes and this is why we don't know about him," Uryu murmured as well.
"So, did you join his army when you met him years back or have you joined it now?" Ulquiorra asked her once again with immense curiosity.
"No, it's not like I have joined his army," She answered.
"I don't understand… if you are not his subject then why do you refer to him as 'Lord' and why did he revive me and probably others for you?" He asked with slight confusion.
Ulquiorra's question silenced her as she was feeling extremely uneasy to answer it. However, Orihime decided to answer it on her behalf. She stood from her place and said, "It is obvious Ulquiorra, you don't have to ask this to a lady. He simply cares about her so much that's why he is doing this."
Orihime's answer shocked Ulquiorra and it made both Sesshomaru and Halibel more uneasy than they already were.
Uryu whispered to Orihime, "Inoue-san, I think you are making the situation even more awkward."
Now Orihime smiled in a silly manner and then she said to Ulquiorra, "I am sorry… for spoiling the moment for her. If Halibel-san wants to describe her feelings for him then we should wait for her answer."
Now it startled Halibel and she immediately responded while blushing slightly, "No, it's alright… I think I have already explained all the important things."
"Yes, I think you have enough information now," Sesshomaru said to Ulquiorra while backing up Halibel's words.
"So, what do you think now Ulquiorra? Do you still want to fight us?" Uryu asked him while pushing his spectacles up with his finger.
"Aizen used to be my Lord, I fought for him and died in the process, I have completed my duty I had towards him and now I think I should live to complete the duties my conscience is recommending to me," he answered while looking towards Orihime.
For some time both Orihime and Ulquiorra stared at each other and eventually, she said in a low voice, "Please, stay here until I am healing Ishida-kun."
He didn't reply to her but it seemed that he wasn't planning to go anywhere either. On the other hand, Sesshomaru had left for the daylight portion of the Hueco Mundo to intervene in the battle.
Orihime resumed the healing of Uryu Ishida and now she was eager to have a word with Ulquiorra. She slowly walked towards the Cuatro Espada and stood close to him while Uryu was watching them suspiciously.
"Why did you ask me to stay here?" Ulquiorra asked her in a serious tone.
"I..I thought you would protect me if someone attacks me while I am healing Ishida-kun," she replied with slight hesitation while staring back into his eyes.
"How did you…" Ulquiorra spoke but couldn't complete his line due to an interruption by her.
"I am glad to see you again… Ulquiorra," she spoke in a slow voice while interrupting him.
"Hmm…" he responded upon getting speechless by her words.
Daylight portion, where Yammy was fighting against Byakuya and Kenpachi…
Yammy was battling against both Byakuya and Kenpachi in an even more powerful form than his Resurreccion. His size and strength had increased upon getting angrier. His damaged mask was restored, and all previous injuries were healed. The black piston-like protrusions on his back became more like extensions of his vertebrae, and he gained two massive horns on his back. He gained multiple horns on his head, with some covering his lower jaw, and crack-like markings frame his eyes. His arms were positioned in a knuckle-walk position, and his legs were hairy, ending in short, stubby toes, giving the Cero Espada an ape-like appearance. His tail became more hairy and ape-like, losing its large club. His extra sets of legs were lost as well.
He was proving to be utterly overwhelming in the battle due to his raw spiritual power and colossal size. Both Byakuya and Kenpachi were barely able to keep up with the gigantic Espada. Suddenly all three of them felt the powerful spiritual pressure of Sesshomaru as he arrived there.
"Sesshomaru!" Byakuya whispered with surprise.
"Haha, long time no see… demon," Kenpachi said while grinning towards the Daiyokai.
"This insect seems powerful," Yammy muttered while observing Sesshomaru.
Now he flew higher and stood in the mid-air, right in front of Yammy's face.
"Aizen has betrayed the Espadas," Sesshomaru said to Yammy.
"So, what?" Yammy responded.
"Stop this battle, right now…" the Daiyokai replied in an extremely serious tone.
"As you say, insect!" Yammy responded before opening his gigantic mouth in order to summon a powerful Cero.
"Bakusaiga!" Sesshomaru muttered while unsheathing his sword as he shot a huge orb of demonic energy with a quick swing of his blade. That orb of demonic energy hit the destructive energy of Cero that was summoned by Yammy and caused a fiery explosion inside his mouth. However, Sesshomaru was surprised to witness that the explosion had hardly slowed Yammy down as he was once again summoning a powerful Cero after coughing out the smoke and flames.
"Hah! It seems that he is too powerful even for you," Kenpachi taunted Sesshomaru.
"Ever since he has transformed the second time, his power has been exceeding our anticipation," Byakuya spoke as well.
"Enough of your mumbling you weaklings, now DIE!" Yammy roared furiously and the next moment, he shot an immensely powerful Cero beam of colossal size towards Sesshomaru.
"Azure Dragon Wave!" the Daiyokai muttered upon unleashing one of his signature moves. The multiple intense beams of demonic energy hit Yammy's huge Cero beam and stopped its advance in the middle while slowly pushing it backward. However, neither Sesshomaru's energy beam was able to completely destroy Yammy's Cero nor the Espada was able to deflect Azure Dragon Wave despite his best efforts.
"That demon is just going to snatch my prey," Kenpachi muttered while swiftly rushing towards Yammy's head.
Upon reaching close to the neck of the gigantic Espada, Kenpachi unleashed a ferocious amount of spiritual pressure to back his upcoming sword swing. Suddenly the land started to vibrate with the tremors but none except Byakuya noticed it. Now before Kenpachi's sword-swing could touch Yammy's neck, an unbelievably powerful arc of purplish energy and black smoky aura collided with his Zanpakuto with deadly speed. In the blink of an eye, Zaraki hit the ground very hard after getting pushed by that arc of energy. That purple energy caused a devastating explosion on the ground which made the spiky-haired Shinigami fall into the depths of the Menos Forest.
On the other hand, before Sesshomaru could understand anything the energy flow at the clashing point of Azure Dragon Wave and Yammy's Cero got disturbed and turned into an explosion that strangely engulfed both of them in its range. Sesshomaru barely managed to regain his posture before he landed on the ground after receiving some minor burns from that explosion of destructive energy.
"I don't think Zaraki is coming back anytime soon, it seems we will have to get serious in order to put an end to him," Byakuya said to Sesshomaru while standing beside him.
"No, it's not him… I sensed another presence right before that explosion," Sesshomaru said while staring at the smoke cloud near Yammy's face.
"Hmm… and I was under the impression that I mistakenly sensed an extra presence," Byakuya asked with suspicion.
Soon Byakuya and Sesshomaru received the answer when the smoke cloud in the sky dispersed in the air, revealing a tall and masculine bizarre being that seemed to be like a fearsome demonic warrior. His spiritual pressure was terrifying and the changing scenario was making it even more disturbing because the serpentine structures had started to come out of the ground with lava oozing out of them. It was none other but the Infernal Serpent Demon Dodomeki and he was all prepared to take on all the three of them. On the other hand, Sesshomaru, Byakuya, and Yammy also prepared themselves to face this new threat.
To be continued…
Trivia:
According to the concepts of my fanfiction, Yammy's second transformation is actually his Segunda Etapa but he will realize it later in the story.
