Terrifying Reiatsu spread with Ulquiorra's voice, making the surrounding air tremble.
Faced with such a terrifying form... the smile on Kenpachi Zaraki's face grew even brighter.
"Good..." His tongue ran greedily over his teeth, like a beast eyeing the prey it wanted most. The excitement in Kenpachi Zaraki's eyes was almost solid. "That means your true strength should be more than fourth, right?"
"As for that..." Ulquiorra lowered his body. "Experience it with your own body, if you can survive."
A black shadow rushed at him. Kenpachi Zaraki swung his blade, but everything before his eyes suddenly stretched into a blur of chaotic lines. A tremendous force struck his head, sending his entire body flying and smashing through a massive round tower.
Sharp blade pressure split the falling stones apart. Kenpachi Zaraki's eyes moved, searching for Ulquiorra, but the Zanpakutō in his hand suddenly sank as if weighed down.
Ulquiorra had grabbed the jagged Zanpakutō. He pulled Kenpachi Zaraki toward him and thrust his claws at the center of Kenpachi's collarbone.
Kenpachi Zaraki grabbed his wrist, leaned back slightly, then snapped his head forward and smashed it into Ulquiorra.
A sharp whistle cut through the air. Ulquiorra's long tail lashed out from behind him, the tip striking Kenpachi Zaraki in the chest and sending him flying again.
"Because you cling to meaningless battle, you suffer like this now." Ulquiorra spread his wings and chased after Kenpachi Zaraki as he crashed through the tower. "Only before a true difference in strength can one understand one's own powerlessness."
Sharp blade pressure cut through the rubble and closed in. Ulquiorra beat his wings and shattered it. "Attacks of this level are already useless. Just like every battle you have fought until now, they are meaningless."
He brought his hands together, and ghostly green light surged between his palms.
As he drew his hands apart, a Reishi spear formed, ghostly green flames flickering at its tip.
"Lanza del Relámpago." Ulquiorra gripped the spear shaft and aimed at Kenpachi Zaraki in the ruins. "But for you, its name is Despair."
The ghostly green Lanza del Relámpago became a thin streak of light, crossing the vast distance in an instant.
Watching its path, Ulquiorra's gaze remained calm. "Did it miss?"
Because he had almost no chances to enter Segunda Etapa, Ulquiorra was still somewhat unfamiliar with his current power, and controlling it was not easy.
But that did not matter...
Even if he missed, he could try again.
The Lanza del Relámpago he had thrown had not yet disappeared, but a new one had already formed in his hand.
Ulquiorra was adjusting his aim when he saw Kenpachi Zaraki take the initiative and run toward the Lanza del Relámpago. "Hm?"
Boom!
Ghostly green light shot into the sky as the Lanza del Relámpago exploded. The shockwave swept out wildly, spreading in every direction.
The aftershock alone shattered several tall towers.
At the center of the explosion, Kenpachi Zaraki's Shihakushō and Captain's Haori had both been destroyed, revealing a body crisscrossed with old scars and fresh wounds.
Yachiru Kusajishi looked at Kenpachi Zaraki standing in front of her. "Ken-chan..."
"So it was to protect her?" Ulquiorra appeared at Kenpachi Zaraki's side, close enough to clearly see the charred, torn flesh around his wounds. "However... that action is still meaningless. Even if you save her now, you cannot change her outcome."
In Ulquiorra's view, if Kenpachi Zaraki had not charged toward the Lanza del Relámpago, the little girl would have died in its explosion.
But even if Kenpachi Zaraki had protected Yachiru Kusajishi from that explosion, he would still die in the attacks that followed, unable to protect her any longer.
The result was the same.
Ghostly green light illuminated half of Kenpachi Zaraki's body as Ulquiorra raised the Lanza del Relámpago in his hand. "I did not intend to use it at close range."
"A little closer..." Kenpachi Zaraki tightened his grip on the hilt. The movement was slight, but the wounds on his body split open, and the blood that seeped out dyed his charred arm red. "You can see it more clearly, right?"
Even if he could see it clearly, so what?
Ulquiorra's arm blurred in an instant. The Lanza del Relámpago stabbed toward Kenpachi Zaraki's head.
At closer range, he could indeed see more clearly, but it was also harder to dodge.
And unlike a Lanza del Relámpago used for long-range attacks, the one held in Ulquiorra's hand was being fed with his Reiatsu continuously. Its destructive power was ten times greater than before.
"Mm!" Yachiru Kusajishi nodded hard, breaking into a huge smile. "That's right~"
What?!
Ulquiorra's gaze shifted for an instant.
Why could this little girl still smile in a situation like this?
Had Kenpachi Zaraki just been speaking to her?
Could it be that, in this child's eyes, Kenpachi Zaraki still had the strength to keep fighting?
The slender arm wrapped in black fur clutched the Lanza del Relámpago and spun through the air, separating from Ulquiorra's body.
The Lanza del Relámpago's power went out of control and exploded, destroying Ulquiorra's severed arm. Ghostly green flames shrouded Kenpachi Zaraki as he completed his swing.
"You're thinking about boring stuff again," Kenpachi Zaraki clicked his tongue. "Didn't I tell you not to let your guard down?"
Let his guard down? Ulquiorra controlled his arm and regenerated it. The new arm once again gripped the Lanza del Relámpago.
Yes. He had been distracted just now. As long as he focused, Kenpachi Zaraki would inevitably fall into despair...
Clang!
The descending Zanpakutō collided with the Lanza del Relámpago. With the clear ring of metal, even the sparks that flew turned ghostly green.
"See?" Kenpachi Zaraki kicked Ulquiorra away. "You're overthinking things again."
Ulquiorra's long tail wrapped around Kenpachi Zaraki's ankle. Using Kenpachi's own strength, Ulquiorra pulled with his tail and threw Kenpachi off balance, then beat his wings, stopped his backward flight, and closed in on him instead.
The Lanza del Relámpago pierced through Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulder. Ulquiorra's gaze fell on Kenpachi Zaraki's face, searching for the despair that should have been there.
Instead, he met Kenpachi Zaraki's feverishly excited eyes.
This Shinigami still did not know despair... Ulquiorra loosened his fingers. In the next instant, the Lanza del Relámpago would explode and tear Kenpachi Zaraki's body apart.
This was the proper way to use Lanza del Relámpago. Kenpachi Zaraki would be reduced to scattered flesh before his eyes.
The muscles in the leg caught by Ulquiorra's tail bulged. Kenpachi Zaraki stepped forward, moving his body ahead and forcing the Lanza del Relámpago through him.
The exploding Lanza del Relámpago unleashed terrifying power, but it was held back by his overpowering Reiatsu. It failed to tear Kenpachi Zaraki apart. Instead, it became a boost, driving him closer to Ulquiorra.