Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 95 - The Mask Donned

Listening to Ichigo's murmur, the Espada fell back once more. In the battle just now, they had come to understand that the Soul Reaper before them possessed a power that transcended dimensions, a power known as Transcendent. They had all witnessed firsthand how overwhelming that power was: with only a partial display, it had erased the most terrifying ability among the Espada, the power of aging.

"Since we're in Hueco Mundo, I might as well use Hollow power."

Black markings surfaced on his forehead, traced across his left eye, and coiled around his chest. Ichigo's left eye was once again dyed in the image of a Hollow.

"I've always thought that move Shinji and the others pull off was really cool. Let's see if I can pull it off today."

Murmuring to himself, Ichigo raised his left hand to his right temple. Spiritual pressure gathered, but not the usual black or gold, and not even blue. It was shot through with red: a dark crimson-black.

"Should be doable..."

As it built, the spiritual pressure radiating off him had long since surpassed all limits. At this moment only the top four Espada could even perceive his spiritual pressure, and in their perception, it was still climbing.

SHHHK,

As though some threshold had been crossed, Ichigo's left hand suddenly slid diagonally down from his temple. The dark crimson-black light flickered. A white substance appeared on his face all at once, and in an instant it solidified into a white mask.

"What is that..."

Coyote Starrk stared blankly at Ichigo. In Starrk's perception, Ichigo's spiritual pressure had reached an utterly terrifying extreme. "A Hollow... mask..."

The white mask covered Ichigo's entire face, leaving only a pair of eyes indistinguishable from a Hollow's. Two pointed horns jutted from the top of his head. Two red streaks cut through the eye holes like lightning. None of them knew why such a mask existed, but every Espada knew with certainty: this was a Hollow mask.

"Oh, oh... so this is what it looks like when you lean deep into Hollow power."

Ichigo touched one of the horns, feeling the savage, oppressive spiritual pressure pouring off him, and gave a small nod. Fairly satisfied with the current state.

"I... Ichigo..."

A small, weak voice reached his ears. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck was staring at him with a face full of fear, cold sweat beading across every feature. Unable to sense spiritual pressure directly, Nelliel still felt that savage, crushing force, enough to make Nelliel tremble.

"It's okay." Ichigo lifted the mask slightly and flashed a warm smile. "I'm still me—Ichigo Kurosaki, a human. You don't need to worry about me getting swallowed up by Hollow power."

"After all, it's just one of many powers inside me. It'd be pretty embarrassing if it ended up turning the tables on me."

"...Oh, oh!" Nelliel's expression shifted instantly, breaking into a full smile. "Got it, Ichigo!"

"Oh, oh!"

"Then watch closely."

Ichigo extended the index finger of his left hand and stood high in the sky, pointing out toward the vast expanse of Las Noches below. At his fingertip, dark crimson-black spiritual pressure began to coalesce.

THUD,

A deep, hollow sound rang out, as though space itself had taken a grievous blow. The spiritual pressure kept gathering. The dark crimson-black light flickered without pause, and before long a small spherical mass took form: a Gran Rey Cero, yet one that far surpassed anything a Hollow could produce.

Tch!

Watching the Gran Rey Cero take shape, Szayelaporro Granz couldn't stop the alarm clicking inside, and even lost enough composure to edge slightly back toward Las Noches.

My instruments... my materials!

To protect the research materials and equipment, Szayelaporro had buried the laboratory deep underground. If it had been the earlier Cero, the lab might have sustained damage but could have been largely preserved.

But this Gran Rey Cero—a Transcendent's full-power Cero, forget the laboratory. Every tangible thing underfoot would likely be destroyed. Szayelaporro's heart was bleeding.

"Say goodbye to Las Noches."

Ichigo glanced at the Espada and said it plainly. The dark crimson-black Gran Rey Cero at his fingertip was fully charged.

Fwwsh,

Truly like a bolt of light, it shot out in an instant. The moment it launched, the small sphere suddenly expanded, swelling large enough to swallow Las Noches whole.

Sssss,

There was no explosion at first. Beneath the dark crimson-black Cero, everything it touched, the white sand swirling through the air, the standing structure of Las Noches, was being erased bit by bit, as though a divine brush were painting it out of existence, wiping Las Noches from Hueco Mundo entirely.

BOOM!

A colossal roar. After swallowing Las Noches completely, the Cero didn't simply dissipate, it detonated. An enormous mushroom cloud surged into the sky, and every Arrancar on the ground was hurled flat by the shockwave.

The towering flames lit up the blank expressions of the Espada. They all stood staring, mouths open, unable to produce a single word.

Say what you will, a Transcendent's power was hard to explain through spiritual pressure alone. But in terms of raw destructive force, they understood it now, completely. The immense Las Noches. Not even ash remained.

The blast radius at the center was several times the size of Las Noches itself. The total area of effect surpassed ten times the footprint Las Noches had occupied.

The Espada were confident that given free rein, they too could reduce Las Noches to ruin. But like this, a single strike that wiped it out of existence entirely, that already pushed past the edge of their imagination. And more to the point, by that human's own words, this was nothing more than a fraction of his full strength.

"Not bad." Ichigo surveyed his work and gave a small nod. "In my current state, using only a Cero, this is the extent of what I can manage."

"Next time there's an opportunity, I'll try Trinity and see what that gets."

"That's... that's incredible..."

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck stared at the towering mushroom cloud that showed no sign of dispersing, eyes unfocused, words coming out slightly slurred. Small body trembling.

"It's alright."

One swipe of his left hand across his face, the white mask dissolved into specks of dark crimson-black spiritual pressure and scattered into the air. His spiritual pressure drew back in, slow and steady, and Ichigo stepped down from the Transcendent state.

"What's going through your head?" He rubbed Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck's small ash-green head. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't let it shake you up too much."

"...Oh..."

Just a blank murmur. Nelliel was still staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on nothing.

Ichigo furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. Then he placed his left hand on Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck's cracked mask. A flash of blue light, and it was gone.

Gradually, awareness returned. Those wide eyes filled with the liveliness of a small child again, and Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck looked up at Ichigo with undisguised admiration. "You're so amazing, Ichigo!"

"Haha..." He scratched his head. Being praised that directly actually made him a little embarrassed. "I guess, but this is nothing—I've got even better than this."

"Oh, oh!"

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