Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 97 - The Sword Hanging Overhead

"These are all of Szayelaporro Granz's records. There are none left..."

The woman with the half-skull mask surfaced from the pain, sensing the changes inside her body, staring blankly ahead. Whether it was the transformation happening in her flesh or the feedback from the negacion Thread, both told her the same clear fact.

The master who had created her, who had used her as a tool—Szayelaporro Granz—was dead. It was as if every trace connected to Szayelaporro had been wiped away by some invisible force. No means of resurrection would work. None.

"Then I... what am I supposed to do."

No Las Noches. No master. The woman who had never possessed a self, who had only ever been used as a tool, sank into endless doubt and sorrow.

"Mm." Ichigo nodded and crossed both arms over his chest. "That way, even if someone had a resurrection technique, they wouldn't be able to use it."

"Anyway, I should get going. Any later and who knows what Aizen is going to pull."

As he spoke, Ichigo's left hand drew a casual arc through the air. Space tore open. A massive void yawned wide, an ability that belonged exclusively to Hollows, a passage crossing between dimensions: a Garganta.

"Not bad." He nodded in satisfaction, then ruffled Nelliel's small head. "Alright, I'm off. Come find me if you want to hang out, Nelliel."

"Oh oh!"

"Bye bye."

"Byeeee... Ichigo."

Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck waved a small hand and watched Ichigo step into the Garganta. The passage sealed behind him. Ichigo left Hueco Mundo entirely, as if he had never been there at all. As long as one didn't look at Las Noches, reduced to complete ruin, it was almost possible to believe that.

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

The moment the human looming over them left, Nnoitra Gilga ground out a name through clenched teeth. Those eyes locked onto Nelliel, killing intent naked and undisguised.

"Didn't expect you to get mixed up with Ichigo Kurosaki..." Nnoitra stepped out of Resurrección. Battered and covered in wounds as Nnoitra was, the oppressive weight of that presence was no less than a Soul Reaper captain's. "Did you come here for revenge?! Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!"

"What are you...?" The small figure kept backing away. With Ichigo gone, Nelliel felt not a shred of safety. "What are you even saying..."

"Still playing dumb?! Ichigo Kurosaki is gone! You don't have to keep up that harmless little act anymore!"

"You... what are you saying. Nelliel is just Nelliel. Nelliel isn't pretending anything."

"Is that so. Got hit in the head and lost your memory..." Nnoitra's killing intent didn't diminish, but the thoughts were already churning. "If I cut you down right now... that Ichigo Kurosaki would probably know immediately."

"Let me think, how to..."

"Don't get too full of yourself, Nnoitra."

Nnoitra's gaze snapped still. A savage grin pulled at the corner of that mouth. "So you do still remember... Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!"

"If you think you can kill me, you're welcome to try." Blue light flickered in those wide eyes. A cool, clear voice emerged slowly from Nelliel's lips. "I don't know why Ichigo would spare someone like you."

"I respect Ichigo's decision. But if you continue to cause harm, I will kill you."

Killing intent crashed over them like a wave. An oppressive pressure, far more terrifying than anything from before, froze Nnoitra in place, unable to move so much as a finger. The beast's instinct deep in Nnoitra's chest spoke plainly: go up against that small figure, and Nnoitra might end up sharing the same fate as a former associate. Szayelaporro Granz.

"...Nelliel is done with all of you!" Innocence reclaimed those eyes in an instant. Nelliel shot a wary look at the Espada. "But if any of you dare to cause trouble... Nelliel..."

"Nelliel will go to the World of the Living and find Ichigo! And have him come deal with you!"

With that, Nelliel took off at a run toward two older brothers, glancing back every few steps, afraid the Espada might come from behind.

"To borrow a phrase from the World of the Living, that's exactly what Ichigo Kurosaki is." Coyote Starrk holstered both guns at the waist, calling inwardly for the fracción Lilynette. "The Sword of Damocles, hanging over all our heads."

No one had anything to say to that. The Espada understood it clearly: as long as Ichigo Kurosaki was still alive, Hueco Mundo could never go back to what it once was. The strong would never again be able to do as they pleased.

The all-encompassing power on display when the Espada had surrounded and attacked. The dimension-transcending level shown when Las Noches was obliterated. The unknown ability used to annihilate Szayelaporro Granz. All of it had laid bare a terrifying power that stood above everything.

Even Nnoitra Gilga, regarded as a beast, always chasing the strong, yearning to fight the strong, wanting to die by the hands of the strong, had no desire to fight Ichigo again.

That existence had already left the category of "the strong." It was like a worm in white sand that would never dream of challenging the great sun overhead.

"Hey!" Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez's blunt voice cut through. "Ulquiorra, that so-called Resurrección: Segunda Etapa—how does it work?!"

A faint sideways glance. Ulquiorra Cifer said flatly, "Focus on training yourself to Vasto Lorde first."

"Tch!"

"Only by evolving to Vasto Lorde does one gain enough capacity for Resurrección: Segunda Etapa." Ulquiorra Cifer explained, then looked toward the three ranked higher. "Even having mastered Resurrección: Segunda Etapa, I feel I haven't fully drawn out all of a Vasto Lorde's power."

"The power of a Vasto Lorde doesn't stop there. Even without mastering Resurrección: Segunda Etapa, all of you are capable of far more than this."

"...Hmph!" Baraggan Louisenbairn said with contempt. "A mere number four, daring to lecture us?!"

"Do as you like."

With that, Ulquiorra Cifer beat both wings and left. Ulquiorra wanted to rebuild Las Noches, not out of any attachment to it, but because the hollow inside drove Ulquiorra to search for something.

Up until now, only within Las Noches, as the Fourth Espada, had Ulquiorra Cifer felt as if something existed inside that emptiness. Extremely faint, something even Ulquiorra could not understand. But even so, Ulquiorra followed that faint impulse and moved.

"Ahh." Coyote Starrk said with a weary expression. "Getting stronger, huh... I'm not really fond of getting too strong, to be honest."

"But from what Ichigo Kurosaki was saying, it sounds like other enemies might show up later... so I'll give it a shot. See if I can sharpen my abilities a little."

"Tch! What is all this?!" Baraggan Louisenbairn said, deeply displeased. "One after another... all acting so human! We are Hollows! We are Arrancar!"

"Sure, sure." Nnoitra Gilga dragged that broken body forward, heading toward where, by Nnoitra's senses, the medical Arrancar was waiting. "You just keep dreaming that dream of being Hollow King."

"We are weak. The so-called Espada, beaten easily by a single human. And even with our home destroyed, none of us dare to do a thing."

"I can't stand my own weakness." Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez walked away alone, like a lone wolf. "I'll get stronger. Even stronger."

"Strong enough to fight Ichigo Kurosaki again."

➤ Next: My Name Is—Muramasa