Chapter 558 - 558 Pray, Santa Teresa!

"Do you know, Arrancar? I was once just an ordinary Shinigami. I couldn't use Shikai or Bankai. Through hard training, I raised my Reiatsu to Captain-class. My rich combat experience made up for my lack of Bankai, so my strength wasn't inferior to ordinary Captain-class. But..."

"That was it. No matter how hard I trained, my strength improved painfully slowly. Normally, that would have been fine. I was prepared to fight alone until I died. But then..."

"I met Captain and decided to follow him. But with just ordinary Captain-class strength, I couldn't keep up with Captain. So, more than anyone, I yearned to achieve Zanpakuto release. Through unremitting efforts, although I still haven't mastered Bankai, I did successfully achieve Shikai not long ago!"

Ashido said in a deep voice.

"I see. I've heard you Shinigami have something called Shikai and Bankai. I didn't see you use it earlier and thought you couldn't. If you can use Shikai, then bring it out! Even if your sword still can't hurt me, it should at least make the fight more entertaining."

Nnoitra pointed his huge sickle at Ashido.

"Then open your eyes and watch carefully!"

Ashido said.

Having said that, Ashido held his Zanpakuto horizontally in front of him with his right hand and whispered, "Sever, Raikiri!"

Shiing—

A faint blue light rippled across Ashido's Zanpakuto like water waves. Then, with a swish, Ashido, sword and all, vanished instantly!

"What! Where'd he go!"

Nnoitra exclaimed.

Swish!

The moment Nnoitra exclaimed, Ashido suddenly appeared before him. A sword flash, fast as lightning, struck towards him.

Nnoitra couldn't dodge in time. Or rather, even if he could, he wouldn't. He believed Ashido couldn't possibly cut his Hierro.

However...

Schlick—!!!

Blood bloomed. A huge, bone-deep wound appeared on his chest, from left shoulder to right waist, looking very gruesome.

"Wh-what!"

Nnoitra's eyes showed disbelief.

"Hmph, what's this? I can cut you after all. I told you, guys like you who keep shouting 'your sword can't hurt me' usually end up dying horribly!"

Ashido snorted coldly.

"You bastard... why can you suddenly cut my Hierro?"

Nnoitra asked.

"My Zanpakuto is named [Raikiri]. When released, it becomes extremely sharp. Not only does it increase my speed and strength, but it also greatly enhances my cutting ability. It can cut through almost anything!" (T/N: Raikiri means Lightning Cutter.)

Ashido explained expressionlessly.

Having said that, Ashido swung his sword again, preparing to finish Nnoitra.

Seeing this, Nnoitra no longer dared to rely on his Hierro's hardness to take Ashido's attacks. He suddenly stuck out his tongue.

A golden Cero formed at the tip of his tongue.

Humm—

The golden Cero shot towards Ashido like lightning.

Ashido immediately withdrew his sword, holding it horizontally to block Nnoitra's Cero.

Bang!

The golden Cero struck Ashido's Zanpakuto with a dull thud. The powerful impact pushed Ashido backward, his feet carving a long trench in the sandy ground.

"Haah!"

Ashido suddenly shouted, pressing his left hand on his Zanpakuto as well. With both hands, he pushed forward suddenly!

Swish—

Under Ashido's force, Nnoitra's golden Cero was instantly redirected, shooting towards a distant spot.

Boom—!!!

The golden Cero struck the ground in the distance, causing a huge explosion and blasting a crater tens of meters wide.

Swish!

After dealing with Nnoitra's Cero, Ashido's figure flickered like lightning and vanished. In an instant, he appeared before Nnoitra again, swinging his sword.

Nnoitra hurriedly twisted his body to dodge.

Scrape—!

Although Nnoitra tried his best, he still couldn't completely dodge Ashido's attack. A long gash appeared on his face, blood gushing out.

Swish!

Nnoitra flickered, quickly using Sonído to put distance between them, not daring to let Ashido close in again.

'Dammit! I can barely see his movements, but my body can't keep up!!'

Nnoitra fumed inwardly.

After releasing his Shikai, Ashido's attack and speed both greatly increased. Although Nnoitra could barely see his movements when concentrating, his body couldn't react in time.

"Damn Shinigami! Driving me to this point... unforgivable!!"

Nnoitra shouted at Ashido.

"Heh, that's funny. Earlier, you complained my strength was too weak to give you a good fight. Now that I've hurt you, I'm 'unforgivable'."

Ashido said, somewhat amused.

"Shut up!!!"

Nnoitra said, embarrassed and angry.

"Hmph, talking to you is useless. I'll just kill you quickly and conserve my strength for later enemies."

Ashido stopped wasting words. He gripped his Zanpakuto, adopting an attacking stance, ready to press his advantage and finish Nnoitra.

"Kill me? Are you joking! I cannot die!!"

Nnoitra roared.

Having said that, Nnoitra suddenly raised his huge sickle weapon high and shouted, "Pray, Santa Teresa!!"

Boom!!!

Golden Reiatsu light erupted from Nnoitra's body, forming a powerful cyclone that swept across the surroundings. Sand and dust were whipped up by the wind, rampaging through heaven and earth like a fierce sandstorm.

The grand spectacle was far more spectacular than Ashido's Shikai release. Framed by the majestic scenery, Nnoitra's peak Captain-class power was displayed vividly.

"This seems somewhat troublesome."

Ashido, who had thought victory was in hand, frowned again.

Although he hadn't yet fought a released Nnoitra, just seeing the spectacle of the release told him Nnoitra wouldn't be so easy to handle.

Whoosh—

The wind died down, the sandstorm ceased. Nnoitra, hidden by the dust, reappeared.

'What! His arms have doubled! And his wounds have healed!'

Ashido's heart tightened.

Nnoitra now had a new crescent-shaped horn on his head, cross-shaped yellow facial markings, and a tooth-like mask over his Hollow hole. More astonishingly, he had four arms on his shoulders, each wielding a double-bladed sickle. Even his previous injuries had all healed.

Nnoitra curled his lips into a fierce smile. "Yo! What do you think, Shinigami? Seeing my Resurrección for the first time, any thoughts?"