Chapter 96: Another Invite

Chapter 96: Another Invite

Nnoitra felt an icy shiver dance down the spine of his soul, prickling his skin in frostbitten excitement. A Hollow so obscenely powerful that his presence felt like the sky itself. He was Nnoitra’s golden ticket, the key to unlock strength beyond his imagination, the promise of heart-pounding, adrenaline-laced battles that stirred his battle-hungry spirit. Or perhaps a grim reaper who would send him straight to hell after, of course, a thrilling battle.

Nnoitra threw his head back and cackled. “A new Vasto Lorde. I’m going to take my time killing you—”

His boast was cut short as a vice-like grip squeezed his heart. Kazuya’s hands shone with a blue light, invoking the punishing effects of Oppression. Nnoitra suffocated and spasmed. Dancing on the edges of his awareness until the world spun, his eyes blurred and his body went numb. His heart, however, refused to cooperate, each beat crashing like a storm against his chest, the only noise in a world gone quiet.

Summoning every shred of willpower, Nnoitra clung onto the bare threads of his consciousness. If he was to die, he'd do so on his feet, drenched in his own blood and that of his enemy. To perish without a fight, without even a chance to draw his swords, was a demise that injected pure despair into his soul.

Weakening, Nnoitra staggered, reaching out in a futile gesture towards his enemy. “D-Don’t... Coward.”

The only answer was a smug smile from his enemy as the luminescence in his hands grew brighter. With that, the last vestiges of his world slipped away into the abyss, and Nnoitra succumbed to unconsciousness.

...

Kazuya brushed his shoulders, scattering the dust. To him, Nnoitra was a Vasto Lorde in name only, his Reiatsu barely scraping past Apacci’s peak Resurrección form.

This disparity made his Oppression technique an absolute beast. He had completely manipulated every aspect of Nnoitra’s body — throttling the blood supply to the heart, thickening his blood, and increasing the weight of his brain fluids. High-level souls that functioned similarly to humans were especially vulnerable to his Aspect of Death.

‘I should be above normal captains.’

He mused and turned his attention to the unconscious Nnoitra. With a stomp, he crushed Nnoitra's head, the soft crunch reverberating in the eerie silence.

Nnoitra shared Cirucci’s existential crisis as far as he recalled. To cope with despair, Cirucci inflicted pain on others. She had fallen into pure despair when her sole pleasure was taken away. Nnoitra was a lecherous and an amped up version of Cirucci, and even bigger sexist than Mila Rose for his constant arrogance towards women.

‘Apacci has another soul to eat. You know what, I’m giving it to Sung-Sun.’

He couldn’t be biased towards Apacci all the time. The snake princess also deserved some free soul for being his supportive lover.

“You already had a Vasto Lorde and a couple of Adjuchas before. Let Sung-Sun grow strong. The poor girl is currently the weakest.”

“Call me wife,” Sung-Sun retorted cheerfully. “Thanks for your gift. I’ll cherish every bite~.”

She opened her mouth and created a strong suction force that fractured Nnoitra’s body into a swirl of particles. Within seconds, Nnoitra was completely gone. Arrancars had a different technique to consume souls that set them apart from animalistic Hollows.

Sung-Sun patted her belly with her oversized sleeve, feeling a little stronger than before. “Yummy.”

Nelliel returned from her cave, her towering form making Kazuya feel uncharacteristically short. She stood there, her spear clenched, studying him. She had envisioned him as some enormous, menacing Hollow based on his Reiatsu. His appearance was worlds apart from her imagination.

“Thank you for saving my friends.”

Kazuya shook his head. “Harribel has taught me that unnecessary bloodshed results in nothing.”

A cough escaped Apacci. She alone had witnessed his ruthless experiments on his enemies. She was the only one who truly knew his evil heart, a secret she shared with none.

Nelliel’s eyes sparkled behind her mask. “You’re correct. Those little things have done nothing wrong. They simply want to survive out here but every Hollow is out for them... it makes me sick.”

Nelliel couldn’t even imagine the number of weaker Hollows suffering because of Menos’ uncontrollable urges to devour Hollows.

Harribel’s face softened as she listened to Nelliel’s grievances. She approached Nelliel, her hand reaching out to stroke her back. “I promise there’ll come a day your friends can roam Hueco Mundo without fearing for their lives.”

Nelliel’s eyes widened at Harribel’s bold statement. She stepped back and shook her head, dismissing Harribel’s dream almost instantly. “Changing the innate, 'gluttonous' instincts of our kind is an impossibility. I’m happy there are people like you in Hueco Mundo who don’t fight without a reason.”

Harribel could sense Nelliel’s skepticism, an entirely justified sentiment considering the current state of Hueco Mundo. “Would you consider joining us?”

The offer caught everyone off-guard.