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Hueco Mundo
Nelliel looked up at the sky, her big round eyes wide with alarm.
She instinctively grabbed onto Midoriko's leg and whispered with a trembling voice, "Midoriko-nee… It's the bad guys!"
Midoriko raised an eyebrow at that, and her eyes narrowed slightly in realization.
No wonder that guy had been giving off a seriously unpleasant vibe from the start.
...
Pesche Guatiche pulled his face out of the sand, still a little dizzy and disoriented.
Clearly, Midoriko's slap earlier hadn't been just for show—it rattled him good.
He shook his head hard, trying to snap out of it, and looked up.
What greeted him was a familiar figure with dirty blonde hair.
Damn it! It was him.
Nnoitra's loyal underling who'd been hunting down Lady Nel ever since she went missing.
As soon as Pesche recognized him, his pupils shrank, and he blurted out in shock, "Tesra Lindocruz!"
His whole body tensed up. He stared the guy down, voice filled with alarm.
"How the hell did you find us?!"
Tesra gave him a lazy side-glance with his single eye, then chuckled softly ."Find you? C'mon now… You brought me here."
Pesche's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "That's impossible!"
If Tesra had been tailing him, he definitely would've sensed his Reiatsu.
But—this wasn't the time to panic over that.
If Tesra made it back and reported to Nnoitra?
Pesche shivered at the thought of that bloodthirsty freak getting his hands on Lady Nel again.
Absolutely not. He'd die before letting that happen.
Determined, Pesche turned to Nel. "Lady Nel! I'll hold him off—go find Dondochakka!"
Without waiting for an answer, he launched himself straight at Tesra!
Boom!
Tesra casually caught Pesche's punch. His expression didn't change, as if Pesche wasn't even worth taking seriously. His gaze remained fixed on Nel.
"A child? No wonder Lord Nnoitra couldn't find you…"
His single eye glinted.
"Well, guess it's my turn to shine."
"Over my dead body!" Pesche roared. "You're not taking Lady Nel anywhere!"
Right after yelling, he did what he always did—started with a Cero!
Tesra scoffed.
"You couldn't beat me before, and now that you've been away from Las Noches for so long, the gap between us has only grown wider."
Buzz—
A brilliant purple light flared in Tesra's chest.
It was bigger, brighter, and way more powerful than Pesche's!
In an instant, their Ceros collided mid-air.
BOOM!!
The shockwave roared across the sands.
Tesra's purple Cero steadily overpowered Pesche's, forcing it back inch by inch.
Pesche clenched his teeth. He refused to back down.
He poured every ounce of Reiatsu he had into the beam, desperately trying to hold the line.
Because behind him—was Lady Nel.
Nel stared at Pesche's back, eyes trembling.
Suddenly, she groaned and swayed slightly, as if her mind had been struck.
Flashes of memories flickered in her mind—too fast and too vague to catch clearly.
Midoriko noticed and gently rubbed Nel's head. Then her gaze shifted to Pesche, a little surprised.
"Huh… didn't expect that. He's… pretty loyal, isn't he?"
But then she muttered under her breath,
"Still, no need to go down in a blaze of glory."
She could tell from one glance—Pesche was ready to throw his life away for Nel.
"Leave this to me."
Kikyo stepped forward, drawing her bow and aiming straight at Tesra.
A holy glow surged along the arrow.
"Sacred Arrow!"
She called out softly, and in the blink of an eye, the arrow streaked through the air toward Tesra.
Shrrrkk—
It sliced through the sky, its force even more intense than the Ceros.
The divine energy surged forward, weaving through Pesche's beam and closing in fast.
WHOOM—
In a flash of radiant white light, Tesra's purple Cero was completely overpowered and erased.
His once-calm expression froze. His eye widened in alarm.
Ssssshh
A searing heat struck his face.
And then—SHUNK!
The arrow pierced straight through his chest.
"GRAAAHHH!!"
His body convulsed violently as purifying power exploded through him.
He twitched and trembled uncontrollably… And then he collapsed backward onto the sand, his eyes glazed over, drool trailing from the corner of his mouth.
Silence.
Kikyo lowered her bow, expression calm. "Didn't seem all that strong."
He was, after all, the first humanoid Hollow they'd run into besides Nel.
She had expected… more.
But really, he wasn't much different from the others.
Midoriko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Probably around a high-class devil's strength."
Down by her leg, Nel blinked in confusion, staring at the fallen enemy.
The bad guy… was defeated?
By Kikyo-nee?
Whoa! So strong!
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Kikyo, full of admiration.
"..."
Up above… Pesche scratched his head.
Wait—what just happened?
He'd been ready to sacrifice himself to buy time for Lady Nel.
But now? Did he… not have to die?
That human woman—what the hell did she just do?
One arrow. Just one.
Pesche stared at Kikyo in fear, thinking back to how he had fought with her and her friends earlier.
Damn…
That was a meeting with death if there ever was one.
He shivered uncontrollably.
Thankfully, Lady Nel seemed to be on pretty good terms with them?
He looked nervous and unsure.
Meanwhile, Yotsuya Miko poked Tesra's body with a dry tree branch.
"…He's still breathing. Should we turn him into a soul orb?"
A high-class devil like that would probably boost her stats pretty well.
She turned to Kikyo with an eager expression.
Kikyo smiled faintly. "Go ahead."
Miko happily extended her hand.
"Soul Devour."
Buzz—
A vortex of energy formed in her palm.
A second later, Tesra's body began to twist unnaturally.
The pain jolted him back to consciousness.
"GYAAAHHH—!"
He screamed, body writhing in agony.
"W-what are you doing?!"
His voice shook. He tried to resist, but that sacred arrow from Kikyo had drained him completely.
There was nothing he could do.
Miko's expression stayed blank, focused entirely on the devouring process.
She'd done this a few times by now.
At first it was weird… but she'd gotten used to it.
Now? It was just routine.
Tesra's cries eventually faded.
Soon, a small purple soul orb sat quietly in Miko's palm.
She took a deep breath and swallowed it.
"Haaah…"
After a moment, a flash of golden light flickered in her eyes.
Ever since they came to Hueco Mundo, there'd been fresh, tasty souls everywhere.
It'd only been a few days, but her growth must've been insane.
Maybe it was time to ask Lynn for a stat update?
Not far away, Pesche watched the whole thing—watched Tesra get turned into a literal orb—and then eaten.
What the hell?
...
Midoriko did a quick scan of the area, found no other threats, then turned to face Pesche.
He froze under her gaze, body tightening with anxiety.
"Alright," Midoriko said casually. "Start talking. About Nel."
.
.
.