Chapter 574

"Since you're asking so sincerely, alright."

Yoru spoke with her usual tsundere pride, leaping down from the wall. By the time she landed, she had already returned to her human form.

"Shinigami..."

Szayelaporro stared at Yoru, his heart growing heavier.

Just one Hui was enough to make his scalp go numb, he couldn't even think of a way to escape.

And now, another powerful Shinigami had appeared. His chances of survival felt even slimmer.

Still, it wasn't entirely hopeless.

"From here on out, I'll be your opponent."

Yoru gazed seriously at Szayelaporro, excitement welling up inside her.

Ever since her last transformation, she hadn't had a chance to truly go all out.

 Even when she was ready to fight Baraggan earlier, the battle had ended too quickly as he was cut down in a single strike by Hui, before she could even enjoy herself.

"Fine. Let's see what you've got, then."

Szayelaporro spoke calmly, but he had already silently released his bugs, letting them latch onto Yoru's body.

It was his usual tactic, gather data on his opponent first, and then develop a tailored strategy based on that information.

Whoosh!

A sonic boom sliced through the air. Before Szayelaporro could even react, his body was sent flying.

Boom!!!

He slammed into the wall with a deafening crash. If Hui hadn't reinforced the wall with a special sealing technique, it would've shattered from the force alone, again.

'So fast!'

The thought barely formed in Szayelaporro's mind before Yoru reappeared in front of him, launching another flurry of attacks.

Her speed was terrifying, his eyes couldn't track her movements at all, and his body couldn't keep up.

All he could do was instinctively guard himself as her strikes landed like a relentless barrage, treating him like a sandbag.

After a few hits, Yoru abruptly stopped.

She stared at Szayelaporro as he raised his arms in a pitiful attempt to defend himself. Her expression was one of complete boredom.

He was just too slow. His strength felt negligible. After those few exchanges, she'd already lost interest in him.

In that moment, Yoru finally understood how Hui felt.

If your opponent couldn't push you to go all out, then fighting them was utterly meaningless.

Overpowering someone could be fun, but if it was like beating up a bot in a training sim, it was just plain dull.

"He's far too weak. I can't even feel my own strength against him."

Yoru turned to Hui as she spoke, her words igniting a flicker of fury in Szayelaporro's heart.

But he didn't act on it, because based on the data collected by his spiritual bugs, this Shinigami's stats were utterly monstrous.

Especially her speed, he had no confidence in beating her.

'Maybe I should capture him and use him as bait to lure his allies?'

Yoru mused aloud, and her eyes lit up with a glint of inspiration.

"Judging by his strength, he should be someone of status among Aizen Sosuke's subordinates," Yoru said with a gleam in her eye. "I imagine that if we capture him, it might draw stronger Arrancar out to rescue him. Then we can have a real fight!"

"You really think anyone would come save him like this?"

Hui spoke lazily, completely indifferent. He knew better than anyone how despicable Szayelaporro was.

 Among the Espada, aside from Coyote Starrk, there was likely no one who cared whether Szayelaporro lived or died.

Yoru blinked, confused.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

She couldn't understand why Hui was so sure no one would bother rescuing Szayelaporro.

Only then did Hui realize—not everyone could read minds or know someone's past and future the way he could.

Yoru had no idea what kind of person Szayelaporro really was.

"Because he's a…"

Hui gave her a brief rundown of Szayelaporro's deeds.

As Yoru nodded in understanding, Szayelaporro himself grew increasingly shocked.

'How does this human know so much about me…?'

It made no sense.

"…And that's about it," Hui finished. "So tell me, with someone like that, do you think anyone would want to come save him? More likely, most are probably hoping he dies."

Yoru was left speechless.

"…So he's basically a complete waste of space? Not even worth using?"

She sounded a little unwilling to accept it, but deep down, she sighed.

Because the truth was exactly that, this so-called Szayelaporro really had zero value.

Szayelaporro: "…"

These two, one human, one Shinigami, were being way too mean. They were calling him useless right to his face!

"Lalalala~"

A soft, cheerful humming floated over from not far outside Hui's villa.

Szayelaporro turned toward the sound. It was a young mother walking her child home from school.

They were neighbors living in the same villa district. While the homes were spaced far apart, the road out front still had people passing by from time to time.

And this mother and daughter walking by… made Szayelaporro's eyes gleam with sudden inspiration.

'A chance! A perfect opportunity to escape!'

"Sip—Fornicarás!"

He chanted the release phrase in his mind and swallowed his sword.

With a sudden explosion, Szayelaporro's entire body expanded and transformed into his Resurrección form.

His lower body turned into tentacles, which quickly solidified into legs and the hem of a robe. Four wings sprouted from his back, and ornate markings appeared around his eyes.

It was visually stunning, like a dancer on a grand stage.

But beneath that flamboyant appearance hid an utterly twisted, malicious soul.

Upon completing his release, Szayelaporro suddenly sprayed a massive jet of black ink from his back, aiming it directly at Yoru and Hui.

This ink was a prerequisite for his abilities. Whether it was cloning or puppeteering, he could only use his powers on those splashed by the ink.

But both Yoru and Hui moved at speeds far beyond Szayelaporro's expectations.

The ink didn't even come close to hitting either of them, let alone the third Shinigami present.

Still, Szayelaporro never intended for it to hit them in the first place.

After collecting data through his spiritual bugs, he already knew Yoru's speed was monstrous.

As for Hui, someone who could kill Baraggan and earn the respect of even this speed-demon Shinigami, his strength and speed were surely on another level as well.

So, the ink attack had merely been a distraction, meant to draw their attention.

Szayelaporro's real target…

…was that mother and daughter outside.

He intended to use their bodies to escape.\

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