Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 95 - Black Cero

"Hmph, little brat. What arrogance!" Clearly, Baraggan was not as easygoing as Wayne. The moment Ulquiorra spoke those words, Baraggan felt his dignity had been trampled underfoot. Without a second thought, the Skeleton Emperor raised his Reiatsu, and a black Death Sigh, carrying the stench of decay, surged toward Ulquiorra.

CRACK!

A bolt from the blue struck the forest. A fluorescent green lightning bolt crashed down right in front of Ulquiorra, shattering the Death Sigh that was about to reach his body. It did not allow the decay to touch him in the slightest.

"As I thought — the power of lightning." Under his Hollow Mask, Wayne's eyes narrowed slightly. He turned to Baraggan. "Great Emperor, is that lightning power the Law he uses?"

"Hmph. If it can shatter and purify my Death Sigh with lightning alone, what else could it be but a Law?" Baraggan was unsurprised. "Still, thanks to this little brat, I've remembered. There is indeed a Law that counters my power of Death."

"Lightning?"

"No. Elements." Baraggan continued his assault on Ulquiorra while explaining to Wayne. "The name of that Law is the Law of Elements. It is not lightning alone — it also includes water, fire, earth, and wind. All five elements combined form the Law of Elements. This boy has clearly only mastered lightning. Even so, it is enough to suppress my Death Sigh."

"How so?"

"My Law of Time, due to its incomplete nature, now retains only the powers of aging and decay. And aging requires time. For me, that time is merely an instant. But when facing the Elements — a form of pure energy — time loses its meaning. If decay can reduce earth to sand, one might say it is less countered. But if the earth is already sand, then even time cannot age it further. Water, fire, and wind are even more obvious. And lightning is the element that counters me most of all, because lightning itself is pure energy and its speed is extreme. Its instant is not a step behind my own time. If I did not have Death Sigh protecting my body, a single bolt from that boy might very well injure me."

"Law of Elements?" Wayne murmured, then shifted his gaze toward Harribel.

"That girl hasn't touched the level of Law yet." How could Baraggan not know what Wayne was thinking? Harribel was born with water-based abilities, but during her battle with Wayne the abilities she had displayed were not enough to make him fear her. It was water, yes, but Baraggan could only say to Wayne with regret, "Perhaps her water element ability is a subordinate power beneath the Law. If the opportunity arises, you could let her devour more water-type Hollow Beasts. That way, perhaps one day she might master the Law of the Water Element. Of course, after mastering one Law, if she then devoured Ulquiorra, she might even directly acquire the power of lightning. You must understand — only when all five elemental powers converge within a single Hollow Beast does it become the Law of Elements. Only such a Law can contend with the Laws of the Upper Three."

"It can work like that?" Wayne was greatly disappointed. Although collecting all five elements would mean more targets, the scope was also broadened considerably. In the future, if possible, he would simply have Harribel devour as many water-type Hollow Beasts as she could. As for the power of lightning, even if Harribel devoured Ulquiorra right now, she might not necessarily acquire it. After all, her own ability was insufficient. It was very likely that after killing Ulquiorra, the Law of Lightning would simply be reclaimed by the Hollow World's Ruler, the same way the Law of Life within Wayne's body had been reclaimed.

"Boy, stop spectating and come help. My aging ability alone is not enough to suppress the Law of Lightning. And that boy is also an Arrancar."

"Coming." As the words left his mouth, Wayne's left hand manifested the Sky-Rending Greatsword. He launched himself at Ulquiorra with a Sonído. He was unwilling to make an enemy of Ulquiorra, but he had to subdue him first. Otherwise, given the state of things between Ulquiorra and Baraggan, the two could no longer negotiate through words alone.

Seeing a second enemy enter the fray, Ulquiorra's pitch-black claws pressed together and pulled outward, drawing forth a Lance of Lightning. He parried Wayne's attack directly.

"Why... do you disturb me?" Ulquiorra's voice was hoarse, his tone filled with bewilderment.

"We have no wish to be your enemy. We only hope you will join our side." His first strike failing, Wayne swung his blade in a heavy slash. At the same time he activated the spatial ability in his legs. Shadow Step was about to unfold.

BOOM!

Sensing the surge in Wayne's Reiatsu, Ulquiorra instinctively pulled back his lance. His feet executed Sonído and he instantly withdrew from Wayne's attack range. With the Law of Lightning behind him, Ulquiorra's Sonído was not much slower than Wayne's.

"Incredible speed." Shadow Step hit empty air. Wayne raised his hand and opened a spatial rift, drawing in the Death Sigh that had also just missed, then opened another rift behind Ulquiorra.

The close-range ambush caught Ulquiorra off guard. His arm was instantly tainted by the Death Sigh.

"Ngh?!" Ulquiorra's green pupils contracted, but he concentrated his Reiatsu on his corroded right arm. He tempered it with lightning, and the Death Sigh was instantly dispersed, though his claw had already been reduced to stark white bone by that instant of corrosion.

"As I thought, that black aura cannot be touched?" Ulquiorra raised his hand and examined his bony claw. A slight circulation of Reiatsu later, the black claw grew back.

"As expected, extraordinary high-speed regeneration." Wayne took a step back and extended his hand forward. A colorless Cero began to gather at his fingertips. At the same time, a spatial ripple appeared before him. Using concealment, Wayne hid both the Cero and the spatial rift within it.

Seeing Wayne raise his hand, Baraggan understood he was preparing a sneak attack. His task now was to divert Ulquiorra's attention.

The power of Death spread out once more.

"Death Citadel!" As the Death Sigh was unleashed, a crushing wave of it surged toward Ulquiorra. Seeing himself about to be engulfed by the black aura, Ulquiorra dodged with Sonído while dispersing it with lightning.

It had to be said, after achieving self-Arrancarification, Ulquiorra's Reiatsu and overall physical capabilities surpassed Wayne's by a notch. To defeat him, a sneak attack was perhaps the most effective killing move Wayne had available.

Charge complete, Wayne waited for his moment and sent the Cero into Ulquiorra's position.

With a muffled boom, the colorless Cero fired. The spatial rift instantly unfolded. The formless Reiatsu smashed Ulquiorra from the sky to the ground. At the same time, the Death Sigh buried him in blackness.

BOOM!

The assault did not stop. A massive pillar of lightning descended from the heavens, blanketing the entire battlefield in blue-white light. From the pillar's center, tens of thousands of lightning bolts erupted, continuously dispersing the Death Sigh. Not only that, the lightning spread toward Wayne and the others, forcing Wayne to use his spatial and void abilities to pseudo-Hollowfy himself and evade. Fortunately, the lightning could not yet cleave through space. If Ulquiorra advanced one step further, perhaps even space itself would be shattered.

On the other side, Baraggan raised his Death Sigh as a shield against the lightning. Harribel, standing not far behind Wayne, was not so fortunate.

Both were elemental powers, but Harribel's water element had not yet reached the domain of Law. She erected a water curtain in front of herself to block the damage, yet the lightning still pierced through her defense and struck her solidly. Fortunately, the main force of the attack was not directed her way, so she only felt numb for an instant before regaining her senses. She then unleashed battle waves one after another to resist the lightning's onslaught.

"Tia, fall back!" Wayne sensed Harribel struggling behind him and ordered her to leave the battle zone.

"My lord..." Harribel was unwilling. Both of them were entry-level Vasto Lorde, yet Wayne could trade blows with Ulquiorra while she could barely endure even the splash damage. It stung her pride.

"Fall back!" Wayne roared. He widened the spatial rift in front of him to absorb some of the lightning strikes for her. Harribel seized the opening to disengage.

Then she cut her left hand and smeared her blood onto her Imperial Shark Greatsword. A Cero powerful enough to distort space shot straight toward Ulquiorra. She followed it out of the battle zone with Sonído.

BOOM! The King Hollow's Flash still made its mark. Its power was enough to disperse the lightning's aftershocks. At the same time, Ulquiorra burst free from the Death Sigh's entanglement.

One concealed Cero, one Death Citadel, and Harribel's King Hollow's Flash. Three attacks stacked together, yet Ulquiorra could still rise and move, without even sustaining heavy injury.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Ulquiorra's body was revealed in the air. His right arm had completely vanished, and only half of his right leg remained, injuries from Baraggan's Death Sigh corroding the flesh. At his waist was a massive burn hole, likely from Wayne's sneak attack. His back bore a wide expanse of burn damage caused by Harribel's King Hollow's Flash. Unfortunately, it had not penetrated his spine.

Yet injuries that already looked fatal were restored to their original state in the mere blink of an eye.

"Do you... truly wish to die?" Ulquiorra's voice was quiet, but it brimmed with killing intent. His dark green Reiatsu was climbing toward its peak. Two against one, and he felt no threat. In his perception, this was simply the limit of what these two could do.

"Ulquiorra, can we call a ceasefire?" Wayne was completely unruffled. He landed beside Baraggan with a Sonído. "Let's just talk this over."

"An enemy is an enemy. More words are useless." Ulquiorra ignored him and raised his hand. A Cero of unusual energy began to gather at his fingertips.

"Black Cero?" Watching the black concentrate at Ulquiorra's fingertips, a trace of surprise crossed Baraggan's eyes.

"Oh? The Great Emperor knows it?" Wayne asked, setting up a spatial barrier in front of himself as he spoke.

"Boy, don't block it, dodge!" Baraggan's skeletal hand shoved Wayne aside. He himself flew backward with Sonído.

BOOM!

The massive impact blasted Wayne away. The power of the Black Cero far exceeded his expectations. Even the spatial barrier he had just erected was shattered to pieces.

"This is..." Though injured, Wayne recovered with high-speed regeneration. He was shaken, however, by the nature of Ulquiorra's attack.

"That attack power almost surpasses the King Hollow's Flash. Great Emperor, what exactly is the Black Cero?"

"A special type of Cero. Only a small number of Hollow Beasts can learn it." The Skeleton Emperor had escaped the attack with Sonído but was still scorched by the Black Cero's heat, though his injuries were far lighter than Wayne's. That was without accounting for Wayne's high-speed regeneration, of course.

"The power of the Black Cero is not higher than the King Hollow's Flash. But the Black Cero has one or two special traits. First, it can suppress the power of Laws to a certain degree. Second, it is a prerequisite for the ultimate Cero mastered by us Hollow Beasts, the Cero of Annihilation."

"Holy shit." Wayne felt his repertoire of strange knowledge had just grown again.

"Great Emperor, don't keep me in suspense. How many levels of Cero are there, exactly?" Wayne returned to Baraggan's side, quietly watching Ulquiorra looking down on them from above.

"Five types in total: the ordinary Cero, the Cero imbued with a Hollow Beast's own ability traits, the King Hollow's Flash, the Black Cero, and the Cero of Annihilation." Baraggan propped up his Death Sigh and chased Ulquiorra as he explained.

"You certainly already know the first three. The Black Cero, though, is a Cero that exists outside the norm for Hollow Beasts. Its power is on par with the King Hollow's Flash, yet it possesses the ability to destroy Laws. Very few Hollow Beasts master it. But among the Ancient Hollow Beasts, almost all of them mastered the Black Cero. It was their sharpest weapon against the Nine Great King Hollows, one that could directly destroy the King Hollows' Law powers."

"What?" Wayne was astonished.

"The war between the Nine Great King Hollows and the Ancient Hollow Beasts has existed since time immemorial. A large part of the reason they could stand against each other as equals was that the Ancient Hollow Beasts mastered this Black Cero. It can disperse a portion of a King Hollow's Law power, which is why the King Hollows could never wipe out the Ancient Hollow Beasts in one fell swoop. As for the Cero of Annihilation, it is the most powerful Cero technique among us Hollow Beasts. It is said that a single Cero of Annihilation can pierce through the entirety of Hueco Mundo. Of course, even as a King Hollow, I have never mastered it. Perhaps only that person can."

"The Cero of Annihilation." Wayne murmured to himself. "A Cero that can pierce through all of Hueco Mundo. As expected, only the Hollow World's Ruler could master that." A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. An unprecedented hunger began to take root inside him.

He was going to learn the Black Cero. And then, find a way to learn the Cero of Annihilation.

➤ Next: The Deal