Far away.
Miko glanced around and saw that Midoriko and the others had already engaged their opponents. She blinked and pointed at herself.
"What about us?"
Hearing that, Kikyo turned her gaze toward Grimmjow, Starrk, and the others.
Grimmjow: "?~"
Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?
But...
That ominous feeling came quickly and disappeared just as fast.
Kikyo shook her head. "With your current strength, it's still too much of a stretch to face an opponent on the level of the Espada."
Although Miko's ability specifically targets them...
The gap in strength is still too risky.
But…
Aside from the Ten Espada, there are plenty of other threats worth using to level up.
Kikyo sensed the hidden auras scattered throughout Las Noches, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Ingvild Leviathan's AOE attack did clean out a portion of them.
The ones that remain are likely the more troublesome ones.
These must be the subordinate officers Nelliel mentioned, right?
Their level seems just right for a power-up.
Just as she was about to say something—
Boom!
The once-calm sea surface erupted again as a dark purple vortex shot up into the sky.
A battered figure emerged, stepping onto the whirlpool—it was Barragan Luisenbarn.
"That old guy's still alive?" Grimmjow's eyes widened in shock.
Barragan's condition was clearly bad.
His once-regal skeletal form was riddled with cracks, most of the bones in his right arm were gone, and the flames in his eye sockets burned far dimmer than before.
But his aura was even more violent than before. The aging flames had turned a sinister pitch black.
"Seawater…" Barragan's voice echoed like it came from the depths of hell. "Is that really enough to bury the King of Hueco Mundo?!"
In the sea, Ingvild Leviathan was so overwhelmed by the aura that she nearly lost her grip on Leviathan's shadow.
She frantically clung to the edge of the shadow, her face pale.
"Uncle Skeleton is so scary…"
The Leviathan phantom sighed helplessly, then gently supported its master with a massive hand.
"Focus on maintaining your magic output. Don't get distracted."
"O-Okay!" Ingvild nodded rapidly, desperately trying to stabilize her magic.
The color of the seawater deepened, and faint silhouettes of deep-sea creatures could be seen swimming beneath the surface.
Barragan panted heavily, the flames in his eyes flickering wildly.
He glanced at Ingvild, then locked his gaze onto Katerea Leviathan.
"You…"
"…have successfully pissed me off."
Katerea raised an eyebrow, her red lips curling into a mocking smirk.
"Oh? So what?"
She didn't even bother descending from the sky. With a casual wave of her hand, a deep blue magic circle lit up beneath Barragan's feet.
Countless blades of water surged from every direction, aiming to shred him on the spot.
Barragan roared, forming a shield from his aging flames.
The blades clashed against the flames with a hissing sound, sending up clouds of white mist.
But this time, his aging flames clearly lacked the power to hold back the assault. Several blades pierced through, carving deep gashes into his skeletal frame.
"Damn it!" The fire in Barragan's eyes flickered violently.
He had burned through far too much spiritual pressure just to survive until now!
He looked up sharply, the chains around him rattling.
"Death Sigh!"
A wave of dark purple mist burst from his mouth, corroding everything in its path—even the seawater turned pitch black wherever it passed.
The mist spread rapidly, closing in on Ingvild Leviathan—
"Watch out!" Nelliel's figure flashed forward. Her spear swung wide, cleaving a gap through the mist with a beam of emerald light.
Katerea snorted coldly and spread her fingers.
"Deep Sea Prison!"
Boom!
Five towering columns of water surged from the sea, forming a colossal cage around Barragan.
Inside the cage, countless high-pressure water blades spun wildly, producing an ear-splitting screech.
Barragan's aging flames were being steadily suppressed, the cracks on his bones growing deeper.
Seeing this, he stopped resisting and shouted,
"Starrk!!"
Before Barragan could even finish, Coyote Starrk had already acted.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, summoning countless blue light bullets around him.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The bullets rained down on Katerea.
Each one was infused with devastating spiritual pressure, enough to obliterate a standard Hollow.
Katerea crossed her arms in front of her chest, and a multi-layered dark blue magic array unfolded.
"Wrath of the Sea Dragon!"
ROAR!!!
A massive sea dragon made entirely of magic erupted from the array, its bloody maw open wide as it devoured all the incoming light bullets and surged toward Starrk with crushing force.
His pupils shrank. He narrowly dodged to the side.
The sea dragon brushed past his shoulder, and the sheer pressure tore half of his sleeve off.
"Starrk!" Lilynette shouted.
"I'm fine." Starrk looked at his arm, the usual laziness vanishing from his expression.
But...
He looked over at Barragan, who had been successfully freed, and let out a sigh of relief.
Mission accomplished.
All he needed was to disrupt Katerea Leviathan long enough to stop her from targeting Barragan.
The sea prison dissolved, and Barragan was swept far from the sea.
He panted heavily, his voice low.
"I owe you one."
Starrk turned his gaze seriously toward Katerea.
Taking a deep breath, his spiritual pressure surged explosively.
"Go hunt them down!"
Buzz—
An overwhelming wave of spiritual pressure erupted. Starrk's form changed instantly.
His white uniform morphed into a grey fur-lined coat. Twin pistols appeared in his hands, and his formerly lazy aura was replaced by a piercing sharpness.
On the other side, Tier Harribel drew her Zanpakutō.
"Conquer him, Queen Shark!"
Golden Reiatsu shot skyward. Her attire shifted into an armored swimsuit-like outfit, and her blade transformed into a massive, shark-fin-shaped weapon.
"Two on two?" Katerea licked her lips, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Perfect."
Midoriko still wore a gentle smile, even offering a friendly warning.
"Be careful~"
"My ability restrains you a little."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and made a tiny gesture—index and thumb forming a circle like the cosmos at her fingertip.
Well…
Just a little bit.
(To be continued.)
***
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