Chapter 37: The King's Fangs
Main Hallway, Las Noches
Within Las Noches there is a massive hallway, from which one may access almost any other location of the palace via the multitude of side tunnels splitting off from it. This hallway spans from the front entrance of the palace all they way to the throne room, so naturally hordes of powerful Adjuchas are left to patrol it. However, a multitude of such hollows lie as corpses now riddling the halls, courtesy of Grimmjow and his followers. Despite this, two of such followers now lie huddled within a dimly lit hallway branching off from the massive one, as if hiding from something.
Di Roy hisses in frustration, "Damnit! I know it was only a matter of time before Yylfordt and Edrad bit off more than they could chew, but I still can't believe they were defeated this quickly! Even Grimm—"
The bug-like hollow stops himself as he feels a large hand laid firmly on his back, causing him to look up at his companion, whose stature appears not unlike the run of the mill Gillian. The taller hollow stares intensely into Di Roy's eyes for a few moments.
Di Roy sighs before shaking his head, "Yeah, you're right, Nakeem. Grimmjow would never lose… not to anyone… he's survived worse…"
The two hollows stand in silence for a moment before they both look down the hall in response to unfamiliar, mostly feminine, voices echoing off the halls.
The bug-like hollow snickers, "Females… they'll be an easy hunt!"
Di Roy attempts to slither off, but Nakeem holds him in place, preventing him from moving. The smaller hollow glares back at his companion, enraged, but notices the fear evident in his eyes.
Di Roy's eyes widen as Nakeem opens his mouth and utters broken words, "These not… normal females… they dangerous… Adjuchas… Vasto Lorde!"
The bug hollows hisses, shaking his head, "No, that's impossible! Females never survive long enough to become Vasto Lordes—they are always picked off by males who exceed their power! It's the natural order of things…"
Di Roy fails to notice the way Nakeem tenses up as a few shadows are casted over him, so continues his misguided explanation of his worldview, "…besides, even if there were powerful female Adjuchas, there's no way a female could achieve Vasto Lorde!"
Nakeem is visibly shaking, which causes the shorter hollow to tilt his head in confusion, "What—?"
"Those are bold words coming from a coward hiding in the dark.", a cold, deep, yet feminine voice growls.
Di Roy, with widened eyes, spins around to face the newcomers, who he didn't notice approach due to his explanation to Nakeem. The bug-like hollow can't so much as let out a word as not one, not two, but three female Adjuchas glare at him from the opening of the hallway, comprising of a snake, a deer, and a lioness, who was the one who addressed him.
Di Roy backs away slightly, which causes the deer to chuckle, "I think you made him shit himself, Mila Rose!"
The snake adds, "Such a crude way of putting it… although, obviously not as crude as he is."
The lion snarls, "If you know what's good for you, you'll run on back to Barragan before I decide to put you in the ground!"
Mila Rose's body is surrounded by a yellow light, signaling her raising her reiatsu. Di Roy continues to back away, sputtering as it begins to sink in that Nakeem's warning was something he should have heeded.
Nakeem shifts in a curious manner, "You… enemy… Barragan… too?"
The three females look at each other for a moment before Mila Rose questions, "You mean, you two aren't Barragan's minions?"
Nakeem nods quietly in confirmation.
After a moment, Di Roy finally snaps out of his trance, now declaring with pride, "That's right! We're followers of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez—The Uncrowned King! Soon he'll be the new God King!"
There is moment of silence that falls between the group. Di Roy smirks from under his mask, fully believing his declaration. At once, all three of the females laugh. This causes Di Roy and Nakeem to both assume aggressive stances, despite being outnumbered and outmatched.
Suddenly, another, this time masculine, voice calls out from behind the group of female Adjuchas, bringing their laughter to a halt, "What's going on?"
The females move away from the entrance, regarding and making room for a pair of smaller, humanoid beings—Vasto Lordes. Di Roy gawks at the sight, truly not sensing their approach in his interaction with the females. His shock is even more visible when he looks at the female shark Vasto Lorde.
Mila Rose chuckles lightly, "Look like seeing is believing with this one."
Sun-Sun then addresses the owner of the voice, "My Lord Sora, this rabble suggested that this Uncrowned King is stronger than Lord White. It was quite comical…"
Sora nods, placing a hand on the chin of his mask, "Indeed… so I take it you two are followers of The Uncrowned King?"
Di Roy once more breaks out of his momentary shock and snaps at the Vasto Lorde, despite his fear, "Yeah, and what of it?!"
Halibel briefly glances at Di Roy, which causes him to stiffen, but shortly after moves her attention to Nakeem, making her raise a brow, "A Gillian…?"
The look in Sora's eyes becomes serious, "Are you sure your king has what it takes to beat ours?"
Di Roy is quiet for but a moment before his eyes widen, "YOU'RE WHITE'S HECNHMEN!"
The serpent Vasto Lorde nods proudly, "Correct. Now, could you answer my question?"
Di Roy hisses violently, assuming an aggressive stance, "I'll kill y—"
Nakeem once more holds the bug hollow back, which causes him to growl a bit before exhaling, as if clearing his head somewhat.
Sora waits patiently as Di Roy speaks, "Our King has been becoming stronger and stronger since his first battle with White when they were both Adjuchas, which was nearly a draw. He sees White as his only worthy rival for the throne. Barragan isn't even a concern for him. That's how strong Grimmjow is. So yes, I do think he can defeat White."
Halibel tilts her head, somewhat confused, "He doesn't fear Barragan's respira…?"
"Nothing scares Grimmjow! Nothing!", Di Roy growls.
This causes the shark Vasto Lorde to nod slowly, starting to put together a mental image of who Grimmjow is.
Sora sighs before explaining, "Well, if all your king wants is a fight with White and Barragan, then I don't have a problem with you guys, so long as it stays between White and your king."
The serpent then starts walking further down the hall, followed by the group of female hollows. Nakeem intently watches the group walk off before staring at Di Roy.
The bug-like hollow stares back, "What?"
Nakeem narrows his eyes, "He is there…"
Di Roy snorts, "So what? Let them deal with it! We'll get through while they're fighting."
The other hollow has a look of bloodlust in his eyes, "We show them… fearless… like Grimmjow!"
Di Roy looks to the ground at this as Nakeem continues to have the same look of anticipation in his eyes.
After a moment, the bug-like hollow begins slithering out of the hiding spot, before calling out, "Hold on!"
The group of White's followers glance back at Nakeem and Di Roy in curiosity.
The bug declares, "There are powerful Adjuchas and even some Espadas in that direction… we'll help you take them down!"
White's followers look between each other before Sora looks at them in mild confusion, "Why?"
Di Roy hisses, "Because they are blocking the way to the throne room. We want to make sure nothing comes between our king and Barragan except White himself. Nothing else matters to us."
The group stares at Grimmjow's followers in apprehension. Sora and Halibel share a brief look before the blonde shark gives a short nod.
Sora then addresses the pair of hollows, "Alright, let's work together for now, then."
Near Throne Room, Las Noches
A massive, whale-like Adjucha patrols the main hall of Las Noches, causing the ground to rumble with the intensity of an earthquake with each of its massive arms.
The group hides behind a nearby pillar, as Sora lets out a low whistle, "That guy's almost as big as Yammy was! I can see why you two didn't think you could take him by yourselves!"
Di Roy glares at the serpent Vasto Lorde, "It should be quick work for a Vasto Lorde like you…"
Sora shrugs, "Sure, but then you all wouldn't learn anything… you girls should be more than enough help if you all execute the plan properly!"
The female Adjuchas all nod—Sun-Sun with particular vigor.
Di Roy sighs as he shifts to move out from behind the pillar, "Let's go, Nakeem."
The larger hollow nods before the duo walks out in front of the whale, well within his sights.
The whale bellows, "So you weaklings came back for more, huh?!"
Di Roy hisses, "More? It's you who'll be cowering once we're done with you, fat ass!"
A tick mark forms on the whale's mask before he starts to charge a massive cero in his mouth. Di Roy and Nakeem do not falter, however, as they ready ceros of their own.
Suddenly, before the whale has a chance to release its cero, it is flanked by Mila Rose, Apacci, and Sun-Sun at once. Their movements are too fast for him to react to. Apacci, with a red cero of her own charged at the tip of her horn, launches the red beam at the whale's arms, causing him to lose balance. Mila Rose adds insult to injury by viciously tearing into the beast's hind legs and mid-section, clawing and biting out chunks of his body, that land behind her to make bloody mounds of flesh. Lastly, Sun-Sun quickly wraps her body around the beast's neck, chocking him to such extent that his cero starts to fade, losing concentration. Nakeem and Di Roy finally launch their ceros, which both fly into the whale's mouth. The whale's body expands briefly in the moment following before turning back to normal. The whale Adjucha spits out smoking blood before his eyes lose their pupils and he finally falls face-first on the ground, unconscious.
Mila Rose and Sun-Sun both back away from the whale after this, the latter scolding the former, "Did you really have to makes such a dreadful mess, gorilla-woman?"
Mila Rose growls at her friend, "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I'M A LION?!"
Apacci approaches the duo casually, joining the conversation, "Too damn many… but she has a point, it was kinda messy…."
Mila Rose takes a moment to look at her paws, completely soaked in blood, before snorting, "Whatever…"
Di Roy and Nakeem look at the sight in mild confusion before the former calls out, "Hey, aren't you going to finish him off? Or can we?"
The lioness glances back at Di Roy again, once more snorting, "Seems like we're not in a killing mood today… finish him if you want, I don't care."
The bug-like hollow chuckles evilly, "Well, if you insist…"
Di Roy and Nakeem slowly approach the whale with hungry, blood lusted eyes. Before anything else happens; however, a buzz sounds behind them, followed immediately by some kind of yellow disk slicing through each of their backs. The pair fall to the ground immediately, unconscious.
All three female Adjuchas widen their eyes at the sight of four figures now standing before them. The first is a bright pink, butterfly-like Adjucha with flowing, cape like wing appendages and dark purple fur. Next to them is another winged Adjucha, who is much more bird-like in appearance, having mostly red and some yellow feathers, who currently is standing on its two grey taloned legs. The last Adjucha is a much larger, but relatively small compared to the whale, bipedal elephant-like Adjucha with a massive trunk and matching tusks, giving it quite the intimidating appearance. Lastly, at the helm of the group, is a woman with purple eyes and wavy hair of the same color worn in pigtails, wearing a white dress that gives her the appearance of a Gothic Lolita.
The woman smirks confidently as she swings around a string connected to what looks like the hilt of a samurai sword on one end and to the same yellow disk that struck down Nakeem and Di Roy on the other end.
As soon as these figures appear, another two buzzing noises occur before revealing Sora and Halibel, standing protectively in front of the trio of Adjuchas.
This causes the woman's smile to widen before she addresses the trio of Adjuchas accompanying her, "You three can deal with the Adjuchas. I'll take care of the serpent and wounded shark."
Halibel's eyes widen in mild surprise at this, which causes the other woman to clarify, "Oh yeah, I can tell. You might try to hide it well, but my instincts never lie. A Vasto Lorde the like of you should be putting out much more reiatsu, Tier Halibel."
The shark narrows her eyes, "You must be an Espada…"
The woman start's to answer, "That's right—"
"You may be an Espada, but you can't give us commands, woman. We are Lord Barragan's generals—only His Majesty has such a right.", the elephant Adjucha grunts, cutting her off.
The purple haired woman scowls deeply at this, however, doesn't face the elephant.
The elephant Adjucha begins walking over towards the trio of female Adjuchas, who take battle stances, as he finishes, "But this time, you're in luck, because we just so happen to want to avenge Chow by wiping these underhanded weaklings out of existence!"
As the Adjuchas continue moving, the woman bits her lip, muttering to herself, "And you're lucky that Barragan just so happens to be in the other room, or else I'd wipe you out of existence!"
Sora and Halibel give each other a look as the Adjucha trios start to face off, the serpent asking, "Aren't you going to help them? I've got this, you know."
Halibel nods, "I'll intervene if necessary…"
The serpent nods in return before staring at the woman standing across from them intently, his eyes narrowing slightly, "Something's off about her…"
The woman in question smirks once more as she introduces herself, "My name is Cirucci Sanderwicci, a founding member of the Espada!"
Sora steps forward, his body now coated in a pale red light, "And I am Sora Inoue, King White's first companion. Shall we dance?"
Cirucci's smirk widens again before she suddenly throws her disk at Sora, marking the beginning of their battle.
Barragan's Henchmen vs Halibel's Followers
The six Adjuchas all stare each other down, waiting to see who will make the first move.
After a moment, the elephant lets out a pompous grunt, "Don't think you three can defeat us just because you managed to catch Chow off-guard. Female Adjuchas can't defeat male ones in a fair fight. Your deaths will be quick."
Sun-Sun and Apacci both narrow their eyes in bloodlust, but before they can say anything, Mila Rose beats them to it, coldly declaring with dilated eyes, "That guy is my prey… stay out of my way, you two…"
The other two female hollows slowly nod their heads as Mila Rose slowly approaches the elephant, who likewise engages her alone. Meanwhile, the two winged Adjuchas flanking the elephant burst forth towards Apacci and Sun-Sun, who each assume battle stances.
The red feathered bird swoops in at Apacci, bearing his talons to strike her. The deer manages to sidestep the attack before blasting a cero from her horn at the air born Adjucha. The feathered Adjucha easily maneuvers his body to avoid the blast before swinging one of his wings at the deer, which causes sharp red pellets to rain down on the deer, managing to puncture her hide, but failing to deal any real amount of damage, merely earning a grunt of annoyance from the female.
Sun-Sun vs Butterfly Adjucha
Meanwhile, the snake and butterfly Adjuchas keep their distance from each other, staring each other down for a moment.
Suddenly, the winged, bug-like hollow huffs before speaking in a relatively masculine, deep voice, "Ugh! How am I, Charlotte Chuhlhourne, otherwise known as the most beautiful and fabulous hollow in all of Hueco Mundo, expected to fight such underhanded and cowardly hollows like yourselves while still remaining immaculate? But alas, I must press on, if for no other reason than to avenge poor Chow."
The snake across from the fairy-esk hollow scoffs as she glares at her opponent, "It is unfortunate how foolishly ignorant you are. You don't compare to me whatsoever in both beauty and elegance; how can you even claim to be anywhere near the level of the actual most beautiful hollow—My Lady, Halibel…?"
Charlotte returns the scoff, "Oh please, a rugged-looking tomboy like that Tier Halibel doesn't even qualify as beautiful—everyone knows a predatory shark like her doesn't have such an ability."
Sun-Sun goes quiet, which prompts the butterfly to continue, "See? Even you know I'm right!"
The snake hisses darkly, "You…"
Charlotte tilts their head toward the female expectantly, "Yes…~? I didn't catch that—"
"…YOU BRUTISH IMBECILE!", the snake hisses so harsh that even Apacci and Mila Rose look over from their battles.
Mila Rose chuckles, "Oh, you've done it now, fool…"
Apacci joins in the chuckling after dodging another of the bird's sweeps, "Ah yeah, she's definitely pissed!"
Charlotte staggers in surprise, "W-WHAT?! YOU CAN'T CALL ME THA—"
The snake hisses even more intensely, causing Charlotte to cover their ears in pain.
Sun-Sun continues, with great passion, "YOU DON'T EVEN BEGIN TO COMPARE TO LADY HALIBEL'S RADIANCE AND KINDNESS, YOU DREADFUL LOUT! YOU MAY POISE YOURSELF TO APPEAR ELEGANT, BUT DEEP DOWN YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF BARRAGAN'S PIGS!"
Charlotte is too shocked to respond.
Sun-Sun coughs politely before staring at the winged hollow darkly, "…I shall educate you on proper class, you poor, ignorant soul..."
Charlotte is silent before chuckling, "Is that right? Well, I'd never lose to someone so blunt and inelegant as yourself. Now behold; my super sexy cero!"
The winged hollow raises one of its insect-like appendages before immediately firing a bright hot pink cero at Sun-Sun. The attack comes quickly, making the snake widen her eyes slightly, before she coils her body, allowing the cero to pass by her safely. She then whips her tail at the butterfly, who gracefully dodges the attack by spinning their body in a simultaneous zig zag and 360-degree motion, as if dancing through the air. Charlotte continues this dance, impressively dodging Sun-Sun's further quick and calculated attacks. Sun-Sun whips her tail at the butterfly once more, however, the Adjucha is not only able to both dodge the strike, but also grab the snake's tail with their insect-like arms. Charlotte then uses the momentum of the spinning dance to throw the snake harshly into the side of the wall.
Charlotte laughs proudly, now boasting, "It is you who pretends to be elegant, you foolish snake! Even if you somehow manage to win this battle, you will never win the war of beauty and grace!"
The snake slithers slowly away from the wall before shifting herself upright, now holding a relatively refined posture.
Sun-Sun then lightly hisses, "My beauty and elegance has yet to be rated… but it certainly won't be decided by the likes of you. Only My Lord-Husband can decide that!"
Sora, while clashing with Cirucci a distance away, suddenly twitches uncomfortably after Sun-Sun makes her declaration, although is forced from his thoughts as he dodges the incoming disk blade.
Charlotte meanwhile becomes silent upon hearing the declaration before bowing their head towards the ground slightly, "I see… I must apologize then…"
The snake shifts back, somewhat confused by the display, as the winged Adjucha continues, "…I had pegged you as a loveless fool, but it seems that you understand true beauty. Seeking only the approval of your one, true love… that is worthy of recognition. May I have your name, snake?"
Sun-Sun replies with only a hint of contempt, a far cry from her earlier exchanges with the winged bug, "I am Cyan Sun-Sun."
The butterfly nods before regarding the snake with an intense glare, causing her to tense slightly, "Very well, Cyan Sun-Sun, I will treat you with respect by taking this battle seriously. I shall make sure your beautiful devotion to you husband is forever remembered in the halls of this palace, as those who survive will speak of this battle for eons to come."
Sun-Sun instinctually begins to charge a cero in her mouth as the butterfly's wings appear to light up a bright hot pink. The butterfly focuses their appendages in front of them, gathering an immense amount of energy for a bright pink cero attack.
"Here it comes, my ultimate technique…", Charlotte continues, "Beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne's Final Holy Wonderful Pretty Super Magnum Sexy Sexy Glamorous Cero!"
Sun-Sun doesn't have time to react to the name of the ridiculous attack, as she puts everything that she has into generating a cero of her own to counter. As the attacks collide, an explosion ensues which causes the halls to rumble.
Mila Rose vs Elephant Adjucha
Meanwhile, Mila Rose cannot react to the colliding ceros, as her battle with the elephant hollow forces her back with a mighty swing of his trunk, causing the floor to crack under the stress of the blow. The lion attempts to pounce back into the fray, but the elephant now has a cero charged at the tip of his trunk, which he swings at the female. Mila Rose hastily redirects the momentum in her legs to throw herself backwards as the attack scorches the ground in its wake. The elephant then begins to stomp violently, causing the ground to shake so much that the lion starts to lose her balance.
Taking advantage of the opening, the elephant throws his trunk back at Mila Rose, once more holding a cero on the tip. The lion refuses to let it be that easy, however, as she charges ceros on both of her front legs, further reinforcing them on top of her naturally strong hierro. The female quickly lunges at the attack, successfully parrying the trunk to the side, which causes the cero on it to explode against a nearby wall. The lioness isn't finished, however, as she quickly lands on the ground before leaping at the elephant with speed that he simply cannot follow. Mila Rose strikes at the elephant with her cero-covered claws before landing on the ground behind him. Following this, blood spurts from the elephant's face as his right tusk falls to the ground, cut from his body. This causes the elephant to roar in pain before, with very little delay, whipping his trunk back at the lioness, who, not expecting such an immediate follow up, can't react in time. The trunk violently whips around the female's neck before hoisting her in the air and then slamming her into the ground.
Mila Rose whelps in pain, which causes the elephant to let out a low chuckle before continuing to slam her into the ground again and again. After three more times of this, the elephant decides to bring the female closer to his face.
The elephant snorts angrily, "You're stronger than most females, I'll give you that… however, that's where your differences stop. You'll die like the rest!"
The elephant briefly raises the female in the air before hastily bringing her towards his left tusk, intending to pierce her body. Mila Rose roars as she uses musters the strength to raise her hind legs and slam them against the hollow's stomach. The elephant spits up blood as he struggles to bring the female any closer to his tusk, which lightly punctures the lion's abdomen, just enough to draw blood.
The male soon snorts, "This won't be enough…!"
Just as the elephant says this, Mila Rose removes her right hind leg before quickly reinforcing it with a cero and promptly slam it into the male's chest once more. The elephant vomits up more blood as he staggers, the pupils fading from his eyes. The force of his trunk lightens enough for Mila Rose to break out of the chokehold before biting down hard on the trunk. The lion sends her opponent one last vicious look before tilting her head and using all of the remaining force she can muster to flip the elephant's body over her head and slamming him, right on his head, on the ground behind her in a 180-degree motion, instantly knocking him out. Mila Rose heaves violently before letting out a cry of victory.
Apacci vs Bird Adjucha
"Oi, come down here and fight like a man!", Apacci calls to the bird Adjucha, who evades another one of Apacci's ceros with evident ease.
The feathered hollow cackles, "As if I'd give up my aerial advantage! It's not my fault evolution favors me!"
Apacci tsks, muttering to herself, "Pain in the ass…"
The bird continues to swoop in, striking at the deer again and again, drawing blood as the strike grazes her hide. Apacci continues to try, and fail, to blast the bird with her crimson red ceros. The bird is simply far too agile in the air, easily dodging the deer's attacks and returning them with a rain of sharp pellets.
The bird gets cocky, "Were those aimed at me? I thought you were aiming for Nirgge over there! And you thought you could defeat me, Abirama Redder, General in command of the God King's aerial troops?! That's funny!"
The Adjucha, known as Abirama, laughs somewhat obnoxiously as he once more dodges another of Apacci's ceros. The bird continues to taunt her again and again, as their back and forth continues with the bird quickly swooping in and slashing at the deer, while easily dodging all of her blows.
This only serves to piss the deer off.
So naturally, Apacci screams, "FUCK IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS BULLSHIT!"
The female charges an intense, blood-red cero at the tip of her horn, before sending it sailing into the ceiling, causing it to start caving in almost instantly. The bird hollow squawks in surprise, attempting to dodge the surplus of rubble coming down around him, but inevitably is hit in one of his wings, sending him crashing down to the ground.
Apacci quickly leaps on top of the hollow, preventing him from flying off, as she states arrogantly, "Not so strong down here on the ground, are you, punk?"
Abirama's eyes widen at something behind the deer as he screams, "YOU IDIOT—YOU'LL KILL US ALL!"
Apacci looks behind her to see the large amount of debris about to bury the hallway, prompting her to let out a quick, genuine, "Oh shit—"
The deer is cut off as both her and the bird are trapped under the debris.
At the same moment, Sun-Sun, heaving, looks away from her battle with Charlotte to find the ceiling caving in above them as well. She freezes as a large amount of debris is about to crush her, but the butterfly rushes at her in the last moment, tackling her and preventing them both from being crushed by that chunk of rubble. It is for naught, however, as further debris encloses them both shortly after.
Mila Rose, who cannot move after her battle, is unable to avoid being likewise trapped by the rubble alongside her unconscious opponent, named Nirgge.
Sora vs Cirucci
Sora and Halibel watch in horror as the ceiling suddenly comes down around their allies. Once the rubble stops falling, a mound of it is left, blocking their path to their allies and the throne room.
Halibel closes her eyes as she focuses on the mound, "… I can still feel their reiatsu… they're still alive… but barely… we'll have to carefully search through the debris after this fight to avoid harming them further."
Sora looks back at the mound of rubble with an urgent look in his eyes, which prompts Halibel to regard him with a calm look in her own, green ones, "Be at ease. They are still alive. Just focus on ending your fight as soon as you can so we can dig them out."
The serpent Vasto Lorde nods slowly before glaring at the woman smirking at him in a smug manner. Power radiates off of the Vasto Lorde's body, which causes the air to visibly glow red and flow turbulently around him.
The purple haired women stops swinging her blade around, her gaze becoming serious as well, "So it seems the time for games is at an end… well, can't say this was an undesirable outcome."
Sora doesn't respond to the woman's words.
Cirucci continues, her gaze intense, "Time to see what you're made of serpent… Rip Off, Golondrina!"
The air around the woman whirls violently, hiding her metamorphosis. Once the air settles, her new form is revealed as being rather moth-like in appearance. Her appearance changes quite a bit, now having sprouted large, bladed wings from her back, which flap back and forth as if natural limbs. Her mask has become like a beak, which is worn like a helmet on her head, leading to a large, white, feathery mane protruding from it, covering most of her body. Finally, she has long, white arms which sprout out of her shoulder from large disks that resemble her Zanpakuto in its sealed state.
Cirucci laughs quite a bit, "Well, serpent, think you can take me now?"
Sora answers her question by balling his right hand into a fist as multi-colored acid seeps from his forearm and onto the floor, melting the floor as it lands.
The woman sneers before the crescent blades occupying her left wing are launched off and sent flying at Sora. The serpent throws his arm in an upward arc, sending acid at the incoming blades, which only slightly melt them. The blades slam on the ground where Sora is standing, causing Cirucci to frown.
However, she hears a buzz from behind her, causing her to stare back at Sora's form in mild shock, "He broke through my pesquisa?!"
Sora then throws an acid covered punch at the woman, who barely manages to evade the punch that strikes the air a mere hair-length away from her stomach. The moth Arrancar scowls before her left wing moves slightly and the blades from behind her move past her, raining back down on Sora. The serpent's right-hand transforms into the bladed, dagger-like form that he's used to put down many hollows in the past before quickly parrying some of the incoming blades. Cirucci tsks at the sight, before sending the blades on her right wing flying down on the serpent as well. Sora's eyes widen slightly as nearly twenty blades fly at him all at once, all easily as fast as a jet. The woman laughs as she watches her blades converge on the Vasto Lorde, believing that her attack was successful.
She was wrong.
The blades are all suddenly parried at once as Sora's arms move at speeds invisible to the naked eye. Cirucci's eyes widen as she sees the serpent bearing not just one dagger fist, but two. She is not able to observe for long, though, as the serpent disappears with a distorted buzz before immediately reappearing in front of her and slamming a knee into her stomach. This causes the woman to spit up blood as she staggers backward. She snarls at Sora who glares at her with a seemingly uncaring look in his eyes. The woman's wings move slightly again, but before anything can come of it, Sora's body moves at insane speeds, falling nearly to the ground before he performs a sweeping kick that causes the woman to fall flat on her back.
The serpent quickly mounts her, pinning the woman's arms to the ground with his legs and spiked tail, as he raises his fist to deal a finishing blow. Cirucci slams her eyes shut, anticipating a death blow. However, the blow never comes, which causes her to open her eyes and look at the serpent in confusion.
The serpent isn't staring at her though, rather the female behind him holding his arm back.
Sora raises a brow under his mask, "What is it?"
Halibel shifts her gaze on Cirucci, her eyes narrowing, "I've felt hostility from you ever since you showed up, but not killing intent. Even the blows you landed on those two other hollows were not fatal…"
Cirucci scoffs and looks away, "I should've expected White's allies to have me all figured out…"
By this point, Sora drops all hostilities, looking between the two females with confusion in his eyes.
Halibel continues to regard the Espada seriously, "Explain yourself."
Underground Tunnel, Las Noches
Ichigo and Ggio continue running down their path, eventually stopping at a large, dark open room with pillars reaching the wall lining it in a uniform manner. Ggio regards the room warily, his body instinctually tensing up.
Ichigo notices this, "What is it?"
The tiger's eyes narrow as he looks off distantly, "This area is right next to Barragan's quarters…"
The dragon is quiet for a moment, scanning the surroundings briefly before closing his eyes, "I see…"
Ggio shakes his head suddenly, "We should keep moving, My King."
Ichigo is silent as he opens his eyes, staring in front of himself with narrowed eyes. Ggio looks off in the direction Ichigo is staring before his eyes widen and then promptly narrow as he lets out a growl. Footsteps can be heard echoing off the walls as an unknown entity approaches them, covered by the shadows. After but another moment, the form of a large, four-legged crab Adjucha with two massive, pincer-like claws comes out of the darkness, growling at the pair.
Ichigo's arms quickly shift to their bladed form, but before he can attack the Adjucha, Ggio calls out, "Wait, Your Majesty."
The dragon tilts his head back to regard Ggio, a questioning look in his eyes.
Ggio bows before the teenage hollow, explaining, "Szayelaporro's lab is straight down the hall from here—you shouldn't waste your time and energy on an Adjucha like him. Allow me to face him in combat."
Ichigo glances at the crab Adjucha, who seems to have his sights set not on him, but on Ggio himself, before turning back to look at the tiger, "Alright… but don't die, you hear me?"
Ggio nods as he calls out, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Without further delay, Ichigo continues running down the hallway, passing the crab who doesn't so much as bother looking at him, before fading into the darkness.
Ggio rises to his feet and glares at the crab who begins speaking with disdain in his voice, "You have nerve coming back here after betraying King Barragan, Ggio! You shouldn't have let White leave your side, because now nothing will prevent me from killing you!"
Ggio bares his fanged arms in an aggressive manner as the crab begins his approach, his claws snapping in anticipation.
The crab growls lowly, "You know, I've always been waiting on an excuse to put you down, Ggio… Lord Barragan always favored you over the rest of us—and even so, you betrayed him."
Ggio snaps at the crab, "Barragan has become fearful and weak compared to the Great God King of old, who I swore my allegiance to centuries ago! You of all people should see that too, Findorr!"
The crab, named Findorr, does not respond to this with words, instead starts to charge a purple cero within both of his claws.
The tiger growls, his body now shrouded with red energy, "But I agree… the time for words have passed, my old friend. It's time for a fight to the death to decide the strongest General—the strongest of the King's Fangs!"
Findorr responds enthusiastically to this, "Exacta!"
Immediately thereafter, the two Adjuchas rush towards the other before slamming their fanged arms and claws against each other in the middle of the room. The air around them blows fiercely against the pillars as their red and purple reiatsu clashes, each attempting to establish dominance.
After a few moments, the two break off the exchange, but both of them are NOT the types to back down, so Ggio sends his fanged arm at Findorr, in an effort to pierce through his body. Findorr sees this coming, so is fairly easily able to grab the fanged appendage in his right pincer. Ggio attempts to pull his arm out, but Findorr's vice grip is too strong. The crab capitalizes on this by charging a cero in his claw, hoping to blow the appendage off and give himself the advantage moving forward. Ggio notices this immediately and moves his other fanged arm to cut Findorr's arm off. However, as the trend of both knowing the other's attacks continues, Findorr knows Ggio's intention and grabs his arm with his other pincer, although he failed to notice that the tiger had prepared a cero of his own in his mouth. In the next moment, both Adjucha generals release their attacks, coating the room in intense red and purple light for a few moments. After the attacks end, both Adjuchas are breathing heavily and bleeding profusely. Ggio's left arm has been nearly completely destroyed, while Findorr's left two legs and a portion of his chest area has been blown off.
Findorr coughs up blood from his mask before staggering somewhat, supporting himself with his left claw. Ggio heaves, struggling to keep himself upright as well. This was the natural outcome of two beings so close in power clashing—a battle where the first blood drawn would mark the beginning of the end. With that said, there is only one conclusion to be made for this battle between predators.
The tiger manages to calm his breathing somewhat before declaring, "This next strike… will decide the strongest…"
The crab huffs, managing a response, "Exacta…"
The tiger and crab each charge at each other with whatever strength each of them has left to bare, each striking with their respective fanged arm and claw. In this moment, Ggio's fanged arm breaks through Findorr's clawed arm, before further piercing into his midsection. However, the tiger fails to notice that Findorr decided to abandon his stability and has swung his left claw at him as well. This results in Ggio's abdomen being crumpled under the vice grip of Findorr's claw. Each vomit blood unto the other. They both stumble and are about to lose their bearings. Findorr gazes into Ggio's eyes, recalling a conversation they had long ago.
Hundreds of Years Ago, Hueco Mundo
A large, muscular bipedal tiger Adjucha stands on a sand dune, looking up at the moon almost melancholically.
Behind him is a mountain of Adjucha corpses, which both he and the group behind him had seemingly killed. The group consists of Adjuchas of various appearances: a red, feathered bird, a large bipedal elephant, a massive whale who stands on four legs, a sparkly butterfly, and finally a white crab with massive pincers.
The crab is currently feasting on the mountain of corpses of Adjuchas, while the others seem to be walking away, out of earshot.
The crab finishes his own meal, swallowing what he was chewing on, before hissing at the tiger, "What are you doing Ggio? Get over here and finishing eating so we can go back!"
Ggio growls at the crab, "Shut it, Findorr! I'll eat when I'm damn-well ready!"
Despite his outburst, the tiger still immediately walks over and begins feasting on the bodies of the Adjuchas.
Findorr looks at him for a moment before asking something, "Say, why did you decide to join Lord Barragan anyway? Surely an Adjucha of your caliber could become a Vasto Lorde if you tried."
Ggio chews for a moment before swallowing and wiping the blood off his mouth with his arm before answering, "There's something about Lord Barragan that is different than other Vasto Lordes—and I don't just mean his power or his appearance…"
Findorr tilts his head, "Really? Then what could possibly motivate you to follow him? I'll admit, his personality seems pretty standard as far as hollows go…"
The tiger snarls, "Fool… Lord Barragan seeks to unite all of Hueco Mundo under his banner—he seeks peace and security! Perhaps one day we no longer will need to feast as mere animals as we do now. He has the ambition and drive necessary to make real change, on top of his immense power. That is why I fight for him!"
Ggio then promptly continues to feast upon the corpses, leaving Findorr to ponder his ally's words.
Present, Outside Barragan's Quarter, Las Noches
Findorr heaves once more, keeping himself from falling as he glares intensely into Ggio's eyes, "This… White… does he intend… to make peace? To unite… our kind?"
Ggio's eyes widen slightly before his gaze becomes serious, "Yes."
The crab's gaze becomes softer, "Exacta… that's what we… need…"
Findorr then finally falls to the floor in a pool of his and Ggio's blood, now unconscious. Ggio breathes heavily as he stares down at his former ally before his vision goes fuzzy and he begins to fall. However, before he can hit the ground, his body is caught by something, or rather someone.
A feminine voice speaks out somewhat awkwardly, as it is emotionless yet attempts to be supportive and caring, "I-it's alright. I'll make sure you both survive…"
Ggio cannot hear the individual's words, however, as his consciousness has mostly left him at this point. The last thing he sees are white, spider-like appendages, connected to some kind of golden thread.
Laboratory, Las Noches
Ichigo finally makes it to the dark laboratory, looking curiously at the figure standing in front of various monitors.
The scientist extends his arms in a welcoming manner, "White! We meet at last!"
The dragon glares at the Arrancar, "You must be the one they call Szayelaporro."
The pink haired Espada nods, wearing a smirk, "Indeed. And we have much to discuss…"
Author's Note:
Something, something I'm a workaholic even when I'm on breaks! I really wanted to get this chapter done sooner than later, as a lot of it ended up changing from what I have in my notes. The next few chapters have already been thoroughly planned.
Anyhow, about the chapter itself, I really wanted to give the Tres Bestia and Barragan's men spotlight and time to shine! Barragan's men especially are swept under the rug in canon and have basically no backstory to shine light on the nature of their relationship with the old King and each other.
