"Ooooooh!!!"
A great horde of bizarre Arrancars surged forward. They looked vaguely human, but a closer look revealed the unsettling distortions in their forms. Some had bloated torsos and unnaturally thin limbs, others had bodies with warped proportions, and a few even had extra arms, legs, or tails.
Uryū Ishida raised his hand and fired a Reishi Arrow straight at the Fracción charging at the front.
"It's useless." Szayelaporro tucked a loose strand of pink hair behind his ear. "In this specially designed room, Quincy abilities cannot function."
Sure enough, the Reishi Arrow vanished in midair before it could touch the Fracción, dissolving into nothing.
Uryū Ishida clicked his tongue and stepped forward, closing the distance as he drew his bowstring again. He was trying to strike before the Reishi Arrow could disappear.
"It isn't only the arrows..." Szayelaporro said with a smile. "Those will vanish too."
Under Uryū Ishida's stunned gaze, Ginrei Kojaku shattered and disappeared, dissolving into nothing just like the Reishi Arrow before it.
"Damn it..."
The fastest Fracción had already reached him and stretched out a hand to grab him.
Yasutora Sado arrived in time, smoothly hoisting Uryū Ishida onto his shoulder and dodging the attack.
Several Fracciones chased after them at once. White, blood-patterned armor appeared over Yasutora Sado's left arm, and lightning danced across his fingertips, linking together.
"La Muerte!"
Boom!
The fastest Fracción was struck and sent flying backward even faster than it had charged in.
The terrifying impact slammed into his body and drove him, along with several Fracciones behind him, straight into the wall.
That dreadful force spread through the Fracciones' overlapping flesh, crushing their bodies and leaving a vicious demonic skull imprint on the wall.
Blood sprayed out and filled the dents in the wall, slowly trickling downward, making the already ghastly demonic skull look even more horrific.
"An interesting Fullbring..." Szayelaporro pushed at his mask-like glasses. "Is the medium his skin?"
"S-so strong!" Pesche exclaimed. "Looks like we won't have to do anything."
"We'll leave the rest to them!" Dondochakka and Pesche took advantage of the chaos and hid, avoiding the battle's fallout.
"Medazeppi!" "Verona!" "Medazeppi!" "Verona!" the Fracciones cried out. "They were killed!" "They're dead!"
"So noisy! Shut up!" Szayelaporro drew the Zanpakutō at his waist and cut down one of the Fracciones. "Don't interrupt my thinking, you pack of idiots!"
The Fracciones fell silent at once, not daring to make another sound.
"Put me down..." Uryū Ishida fixed his eyes on the nearby exit. "Sado, break through that way!"
As long as he remained in this room, Uryū Ishida could hardly use his full strength. And with Ichigo Kurosaki and Renji Abarai in trouble, supporting their companions took priority over defeating the enemy.
"Got it!" Yasutora Sado answered. He used Grua Tirar to blast away the Fracciones blocking the path, opened the exit door, and rushed in with Uryū Ishida.
Hearing footsteps chasing them from behind, Uryū Ishida and Yasutora Sado immediately ran up the long staircase, sprinting toward the top.
A door appeared at the end of the stairs. Uryū Ishida was faster and reached it first, stretching out his hand to open it.
The exit should be right behind this door...
"You're back." Szayelaporro smiled kindly. "Welcome, welcome. Was your little walk enjoyable?"
"What is this..." Uryū Ishida frowned. He and Yasutora Sado had been running for quite a while, yet somehow they had returned to the place where they started. "What did you do?"
"Although I don't think it's necessary to explain, since you asked, I'll tell you." Szayelaporro spread his hands. "This palace is like my own body. Every wall is equipped with surveillance devices, and every corridor can be rearranged according to my thoughts. No matter where you go, with just a slight adjustment from me, you'll end up exactly where I want you."
In other words... Uryū Ishida stared at Szayelaporro. They could only leave this place by defeating this Espada.
"Yes, that's exactly the expression I wanted to see. The look of sudden realization after you fully understand how naive and foolish your previous actions were." Szayelaporro nodded in satisfaction. "It means you understood my explanation, so you won't do any more useless, time-wasting things."
Yasutora Sado moved to shield Uryū Ishida behind him. With Uryū Ishida's abilities restricted, they could only rely on Yasutora Sado now.
"Ah... and that's exactly the expression I didn't want to see. That arrogant, foolish look that says you still believe you can overcome this and win." Szayelaporro raised his Zanpakutō toward his mouth. "It means you're still clinging to unrealistic fantasies and have decided to do something stupid. I still have to hurry off and study Muten Natsu later, so I don't have much time to play with you."
"Defeating a few Fracciones gave you the illusion that you could win. Now I have no choice but to step in and make you realize an illusion... is still only an illusion."
With the blade aimed at his mouth, Szayelaporro licked the tip.
"Sip, Fornicarás!"
Szayelaporro bent his arm and thrust the Zanpakutō straight into his mouth, swallowing it into his stomach.
The next moment, Szayelaporro's body swelled violently. His bulging belly burst open with a wet pop, blood splattering as countless pale blue tentacles surged out, piling onto the ground before slowly contracting into his legs and the hem of his clothing.
"Haaaah~~~" Szayelaporro let out a deeply satisfied sound. Four tentacles hung from his back, each lined with red fleshy growths, forming four bizarre, twisted wings. "It really has been a long time since I took this form. Now, let me show you the power of Fornicarás!"
Two of the strange wings flew toward them. To protect Uryū Ishida behind him, Yasutora Sado stepped forward to meet them and drove his fist into the warped wings.
To Yasutora Sado's surprise, he felt almost no recoil.
The soft wings warped under his attack, and Yasutora Sado experienced for himself what it felt like to punch cotton.
Just then, Uryū Ishida cried out in alarm.
Two other wings had slipped underground. While Uryū Ishida was focused on Yasutora Sado's battle, they suddenly emerged and bound him.
Yasutora Sado immediately tried to rescue him, but in that brief moment of distraction, he was captured as well.
Reiatsu surged at his fingertips. Yasutora Sado tried to unleash his power and break free, but he was spat out before he could.
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