"Cazador? You've got the wrong guy, Miss. My name is Kazuya."
Nelliel hesitated, her eyes searching his face. She could sense it—his familiar aura, the unmistakable presence that she hadn't felt in so long. It took her a long moment to discern that he tried to hide his identity from the two Arrancars. She had no clue as to why he would do such a thing, but for him, she was more than willing to play along.
Her moment of contemplation was brutally interrupted as Yammy's massive shadow fell over her. He tried to literally crush her beneath his feet. The ground shook violently as Nelliel darted backward. Dust and debris erupted around Yammy, creating a smokescreen.
A crimson Bala bullet suddenly pierced through the dust cloud. Acting on instinct, Nelliel launched herself above. The attack grazed past her, close enough that she could feel its heat against her skin, before obliterating a distant pillar in a spectacular explosion.
Casting a quick glance toward Kazuya, she saw him watching her. There was a sharpness in his eyes. She needed to keep Yammy focused on her to give Kazuya time to handle his own opponent.
'Kazuya, I have to protect you.'
For that, she had to get him away from both Arrancars.
Another Bala shot through the air, which she easily dodged and retreated another few meters.
"Tú zorra (you whore)," Yammy spat, his face contorting in anger. "You'll pay for ruining Ulquiorra's battle. I'll rip you apart limb from limb and drag your corpse to Las Noches."
Beneath his fury, Nelliel sensed something else: recklessness. Yammy was all brute force and anger, lacking the discipline and strategy that made opponents like Muramasa truly dangerous.
"Feral beasts like you need to be tamed." She glared at Yammy. "If your master in Las Noches won't do it, then I will."
The effect of her taunt was immediate. Yammy's Reiatsu spiked violently, his massive frame swelling and ripping through his Espada shirt. "You're dead meat," Yammy roared. "You'll feel the—"
His threat died unfinished as Nelliel moved. To an observer, it would have appeared as if she simply materialized behind him—no sonído, no fancy movement techniques, just pure speed that exceeded Yammy's ability to track. His right arm, severed cleanly at the shoulder, fell to the sand with a heavy thud. Blood sprayed in an arc, staining the white sand crimson.
Without his Resurrección, he couldn't compete with Nelliel's speed when she had her Resurrección released. Honestly, she could've taken off his head right there, but she wasn't going to taint her hands with the blood of a rabid dog.
For a moment, Yammy stared dumbfounded at the stump where his arm had been. Then the pain registered. "You... you bitch!"
Nelliel placed her lance against his throat. "Get lost, or it'll be your head next."
A moment of silence passed before Yammy's laughter shattered it—a booming, unhinged laughter. "Get lost. She told me to get lost." His shoulders shook. "This is unbelievable. This woman… Who do you think you are? HUH?!"
Rage quaked in his eyes. He thought he could get through Nelliel without releasing his stored up energy. He had greatly underestimated her abilities — a trait he shared with his friend.
Nelliel observed his madness with a detached gaze, withdrawing her lance. "Then allow me to beat you to senses. Only a thoroughly humiliating defeat would put an end to your animalistic behavior."
Yammy's only hand moved to the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "Get pissed off... IRA! (Enraged Beast)."
Yammy's Zanpakutō exploded in an outpouring of red spiritual power, and his figure grew to a monstrous size. His white mask fragments fused with his face, becoming his actual lower jaw. Red markings extended from the side of his face into two long flame tattoos. His lower body underwent a great transformation, growing eight large, elephant-like legs on each side of his body. These legs were connected to his body by white carapace-covered joints, leading to the base of a bony tail club.
He had grown bigger in size than most buildings Nelliel had seen in her short stay in the Living World. She felt smaller than one of his fingers. In fact, the hole in his chest was bigger than her.
His Reiatsu may have grown to rival Ulquiorra and he may tower over her like a living mountain. Yet she stood before him, unchanged, unmoved.
"Is that all?"
Her calm voice was poison to his ears. He opened his mouth and charged his greatest Cero to date.
"I'm gonna blast you, woman!!!"
A black mass of Reiatsu condensed between his jaws. Cero Oscuras was a Cero technique that only a few Hollows could use because of its vast Reiatsu requirement. Yammy, in his enraged state, had enough Reiatsu to bring Cero Oscuras' power to another level.
The black Cero surged at her. All Nelliel had to do was open her mouth and inhale sharply, and the incoming torrent of spiritual energy was drawn into her. Cero Double allowed her to absorb any Cero attack as long as she could handle the Reiatsu contained within.
"What?!" Yammy's anger disappeared, replaced by pure disbelief. "You... you ate my Cero?!"
Nelliel patted her belly with an almost playful smile. Then her expression hardened from all the intermingling energies inside her. Unable to contain it any longer, she opened her mouth wide. A gigantic pink beam shot out — the counter Cero carried both Yammy and her own Reiatsu.
Yammy was too stunned to dodge, not that his giant form could dodge an attack as fast as Cero. He howled as the beam engulfed him, the force pushing him back and scorching his tanned skin. Smoke rose from the charred sections of his body.
"You'll pay for that!" he roared, thrashing wildly. His massive fists swung with reckless abandon. But his movements were slow, telegraphed—easy for Nelliel to anticipate.
"Stop running and fight me!"
Nelliel paid his demands no heed, her attention shifting briefly to where Kazuya battled Ulquiorra. He effortlessly handled the Espada who had crushed his Shinigami friend. The display of strength put her mind at ease.
'How do I deal with this violent man?'
From what she had observed so far, Yammy's main source of strength and most glaring weakness was his rage—each injury, each dodge, only served to fuel his anger and, by extension, his power. It would also be near-impossible to instantly kill someone of Yammy's size, not that she felt keen on killing Yammy.
Her only choice was to beat Yammy to a near-death state.
'Do I really have no other choice?'
She let out a resigned sigh in the middle of dodging Yammy's reckless attacks. She leaped onto his outstretched arm. Driving her lance in his wrist, she dragged it along to his shoulder. Her weapon was like a needle in Yammy's body but it served its purpose in slitting open a wound.
Blood rained down, and Yammy screamed in fury.
"Arghhh! You insect!"
His massive hand swung down to crush her like a mosquito, but she had already moved away from his shoulder. The blow connected to his own shoulder, adding humiliation to injury. Nelliel reappeared at his thigh and pierced his flesh with her lance. The wounds her lance inflicted weren't deep but they annoyed the hell out of Yammy.
He was neither quick enough to stop her, nor was he quick enough to stop her from charging her strongest attack.
"Lanzador Verde!" Nelliel cried out and threw her lance with all her might. The weapon spun rapidly, becoming a blur of green light as it sliced through the air.
Yammy reached out to intercept the lance, but it pierced through his palm before burying itself deep in Yammy's abdomen. The impact sent shock waves across his massive frame, nearly toppling him despite his multiple legs.
Yet still, the rage in his eyes burned undiminished. He wouldn't accept defeat until either of them died.
Nelliel was ready to charge another attack when Ulquiorra, the other Arrancar, arrived in Yammy's face.
"Yammy, that's enough. We're leaving."
"Huh? I'm not going anywhere without killing that bitch."
Ulquiorra's gaze hardened. "Our mission is complete. Any further action is unnecessary."
"Screw you—"
Ulquiorra took no further arguments and punched Yammy straight in the face. Despite his eight legs, the giant Arrancar toppled backward, creating tremors that rippled for miles across the desert.
A red light swallowed Yammy as he canceled his release. His wounds remained, however, blood still seeping from dozens of cuts. "Tch… fine."
Ulquiorra turned toward Kazuya. "The next time we meet, I'll show you the true meaning of despair. Until then, grow stronger... if you can."
Kazuya waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. You won't leave alive next time either."
Ulquiorra's intense gaze moved away from Kazuya. "Yammy, come."
As the two Arrancars disappeared into the distance, Nelliel canceled her Resurrección, her form shimming briefly as she returned to her more comfortable form. Her eyes found Kazuya's, silently awaiting his command.
He scanned their surroundings carefully, spiritual pressure enveloping the area to detect any hidden observers. Only when he was certain they were truly alone did he speak.
"Follow me."
***
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