Chapter 43: Arrival at Las Noches |
'Good...'
Stark followed Yeruashi's pointing finger, gazing up at the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo, before sinking onto one knee before him.
Lilynette, standing beside him, let her jaw drop in shock. "Hey, what the hell are you doing, Stark..."
Smack!
Stark suddenly swung his arm and rapped Lilynette on the head, forcing her into a bow as well.
Yeruashi lowered his hand and smiled at the sight. Turning around, he said calmly, "Let's go."
Stark was sharp.
Arrancars who managed to tear off their masks on their own were not only far rarer than Vasto Lorde in the wastes of Hueco Mundo, but they also possessed immense intellect and wisdom.
A brief contact was all it took for Stark to vaguely guess Yeruashi's true identity; consequently, he didn't even entertain the thought of resistance.
Lilynette, knocked off her feet by Stark's blow, ground her teeth in irritation and shouted indignantly, only to be sharply interrupted. "That's enough, Lilynette."
She quieted down immediately upon seeing Stark's grave expression and hearing the sternness in his voice. "...But why?"
Stark spoke in a hushed tone, his eyes fixed on Yeruashi's retreating back. "He must be... the true king of this world."
"Come, Lilynette."
With those words, Stark stepped forward to follow Yeruashi.
Lilith walked slightly behind Yeruashi, Nelliel followed some distance behind her, while Stark and Lilynette brought up the rear together.
Led by Yeruashi, the group of five made their way across the desolate landscape of Hueco Mundo.
Nelliel, having overheard the exchange between Stark and Lilynette, glanced at Stark out of the corner of her eye. Slowing her pace to match his, she whispered, "I wouldn't advise going against the Master. Your hunch is correct."
Even though Stark had earned Yeruashi's recognition and clearly didn't belong to the mindless, brutal breed of Hollows, Nelliel felt compelled to offer a warning so he wouldn't end up like that newly-formed Vasto Lorde from earlier.
"I understand. My thanks."
Stark nodded to Nelliel.
Yeruashi turned his head and spoke casually, noticing the two whispering. "Why so nervous? Right now, I am simply intending to reclaim property that belongs to me and evict the rat that dared to occupy it. Generally speaking... I am a very kind and peaceful person."
"Reclaim your property..."
Stark repeated thoughtfully, looking into the distance. "Do you mean... Las Noches?"
Yeruashi shook his head. "Not quite."
Stark asked, puzzled, "But aren't we heading straight toward Las Noches?"
"You could say that."
Yeruashi replied calmly, a pale gold light shimmering in his pupils as he looked ahead. "On the way to Las Noches, you will gain another companion."
Deciding to pick up the pace, Yeruashi took another step, and his figure instantly blurred, reappearing far across the horizon.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lilith continued to follow Yeruashi with effortless grace, while Stark and Nelliel struggled slightly to keep up.
With their speed increased, Yeruashi and the others crossed a vast distance in a short time, soon finding themselves in a region of rolling terrain.
The ground was the same grey desert as before, but it was now broken up by a variety of hills and jagged rock formations.
Yeruashi walked out into an open clearing and stopped. Looking toward one of the many towering grey cliffs, he said plainly, "Ulquiorra Cifer... from this moment on, you will serve me."
Silence followed.
After a moment, a human-like figure emerged from behind the rock. He stared intensely at Yeruashi's figure standing in the center of the clearing before asking calmly, "How do you know my name?"
Yeruashi smiled at Ulquiorra. "I simply took a look into the future."
Ulquiorra Cifer!
The Cuatro Espada under Aizen's future command, and the second known Hollow to have removed his mask independently, just like Stark.
Ulquiorra's rank in the Espada could have been even higher if he hadn't hidden his true strength.
After all, he was the only Arrancar to ever achieve a second stage of his Resurreccion—the Segunda Etapa.
Yeruashi knew well that Ulquiorra's personality differed from Stark's. Following his words, the pale gold glow in his eyes intensified.
Flash!
Just as Ulquiorra opened his mouth to speak, the world around him shifted violently.
The grey, desolate Hueco Mundo vanished, replaced by a boundless void peppered with countless glittering stars.
In the center of this void hovered a figure radiating an incomprehensible spiritual power.
Slowly, before this figure who floated with outstretched arms, two massive dimensions began to take shape.
Then, Ulquiorra noticed another figure, shining like a brilliant sun in the heavens, unleashing an immense power that poured in a torrential stream toward the two forming worlds.
That figure was Yeruashi.
Crack!
The vision lasted only a few moments longer before the scene cracked and shattered like a broken mirror.
Though it was merely a vividly realistic illusion of the creation of the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo by the Hollow King and the Soul King, Ulquiorra still felt an insurmountable weight pressing down on his entire body.
As the illusion dissolved, he staggered, took an uncertain step forward, and fell to his knees.
His breathing was ragged and heavy, and beads of cold sweat rolled down his cheeks.
"Haa... haa..."
Lilith watched the scene with complete indifference, while Nelliel couldn't help but steal a glance at Yeruashi. Stark, meanwhile, observed Ulquiorra's state with keen interest.
It took Ulquiorra half a minute to even begin to recover. He slowly raised his head to look at Yeruashi standing before him.
Instead of standing up, he bowed low on one knee.
Yeruashi nodded with satisfaction, then raised his hand and pointed a finger toward Ulquiorra.
A small mass of white liquid shot from Yeruashi's fingertip, striking Ulquiorra squarely in the forehead.
"I grant you my power of evolution."
Crack! Snap! Crack!
Ulquiorra's body involuntarily rose into the air as snapping sounds echoed from his bones. Then, accompanied by a loud cry and a spray of blood, the flesh on his back began to writhe and tear until wide, black bat-like wings erupted and unfurled. Throughout the process, Ulquiorra's surging Reiatsu grew relentlessly, first covering and then completely eclipsing the surrounding world like a rising sun!
Yeruashi muttered to himself as he watched the transformation, "Even stronger than I expected."
Although Ulquiorra had managed to remove his mask on his own, he had still been noticeably weaker than Stark and the evolution-empowered Nelliel.
However, after obtaining the power of evolution, he had undergone an exceptionally deep metamorphosis.
Comparing the intensity and volume of the Reiatsu between Nelliel, Stark, and Ulquiorra, the latter now held a slight lead.
After a time, Ulquiorra's Reiatsu stabilized.
He beat his black wings once and landed before Yeruashi, bowing respectfully amidst the swirling clouds of grey sand. "Thank you for this gift."
"Use that power wisely."
Yeruashi nodded and looked away from Ulquiorra, strolling toward a nearby hill.
In Hueco Mundo, there were countless Gillians and many Adjuchas; even the vaunted Vasto Lorde were not exactly a rarity.
But Yeruashi wasn't particularly interested in seeking out even Vasto Lorde, let alone lower-level Hollows, because they were all quite mediocre compared to Ulquiorra and Stark.
Ulquiorra had been located relatively close to Las Noches, so from the peaks of these hills, a massive grey fortress was visible, looming over the endless desert.
The central domain of Hueco Mundo.
Las Noches!
Yeruashi stood calmly atop a grey hill, gazing at Las Noches in the distance.
Lilith stood at his side, while Stark, Nelliel, and Ulquiorra stood in a line behind them.
"Let's go."
Yeruashi raised his head and slowly scanned the sky above Las Noches before stepping forward.
Lilith moved at the same time, and Stark and the others quickly followed suit.
A short while later.
Yeruashi's figure appeared in the grey desert directly before the gates of Las Noches.
The Hollow King, who had created Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society alongside the Soul King, had returned to this world after a million years. And right now, he was about to step into his own... Hollow King Palace!