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The impact of his attack was certain. Of that, Ulquiorra had no doubts. However the desperate defense of Gustave Meridon showed more speed than the weakling should have possessed in his ragged body, and the severe wounds he received from his shattered Diamond Shield were still less than the total annihilation that the Cuatro Espada anticipated. His impassive stare remained leveled evenly at the man, even as he injected himself with the strange serum that changed his body.

The flames that shot forth from Gustave's body were impressive. Pouring out from his wounds and bulging in the veins within, a lesser man might have been intimidated by the spectacle, but that simply wasn't Ulquiorra's style. Impressive spiritual pressure it may be, but it would still pale in comparison to his own. No amount of research or experimentation could duplicate the raw intensity, power, and pure hatred of an Arrancar created from the kings of hollows, the Vasto Lorde. Only time would tell if this man was even a threat to pierce his Iron Skin, let alone best him in combat.

"Very well," spat the servant of Ghaleon in his usual monotonous tone, "I'll give you this credit. Though you are trash, you have at least managed to hold my interest for longer than a few moments. However, you and I both know that you are exceeding the limit of power your body can currently handle. You haven't had the proper time to adjust to the increased spiritual pressure. Therefore, if you don't kill me quick...you will still die.'

'And even with your current power, you still can't kill me," Ulquiorra taunted as his energy coursed through him. He was only now starting to tap into the real depths of his power. Cero blasts, iron skin...they were mere child's play to the Cuatro Espada. This one, however, seemed to require a little more than simple finesse. This one would require a little more power as well. His green eyes locked clearly onto the body of his rejuvenated opponent. No fear...no pain...not even a hint of concern. That was the way of Ulquiorra Schiffer, and nothing about this man could shake that perfect confidence.

"Soon, you will understand the undeniable truth...and see that all your efforts have been ultimately futile," the Espada explained, extending his hands at his sides while black and red power began to flow through each. "I am to you as the rocks of the eternal shore. Come, crash against me and be broken."

As Gustave's hand struck the ground and the wave of power emanated outward, the arrancar wasted no time in using his Sonido to elevate far out of range for both that and the diamond attacks. As he moved, however, he noticed the calling of weapons to the mythrill warrior and decided to take action at that moment. Lowering one of his two hands towards his opponent, a massive Cero blast was unleashed with the intention of either separating Gustave from his weapons, or obliterating him entirely.

Upon unleashing the destructive wave, his free hand surged with power once more and the Cuatro Espada disappeared into the sky above.

The diamond shot roughly past where Ulquiorra had been hovering only moments earlier, but the arrancar was long gone by the time that happened, his Sonido giving him the skill to move great distances in an extremely short period of time. At first, the Espada had been intended on moving down and around his opponent in a flash, but Gustave's rise into the air made his movement that much swifter...that much easier. Reappearing almost instantly at the side of his opponent, Ulquiorra's gaze did not turn to the man hovering immediately at his side, instead remaining focused on the ground below him.

"Why don't you understand that you cannot win?" Ulquiorra muttered dryly, flicking away a small dribble of blood from his left hand. It was only then, in a slightly delayed reaction, that a sizable gash in the side of his newly-energized opponent began to leak a crimson substance down his side, though it was not nearly deep enough to kill him. Though that was, perhaps, but the arrancar's design.

"You cannot hold out forever," he taunted, body tense, prepared to deliver a finishing counter should Gustave interrupt his little speech. He did hate to be interrupted, after all. "And when you do finally slip, I will take your life." The Cuatro Espada finished talking down to the mythril warrior a moment later, then disappeared into his Sonido movement once more.

Again the speed of the mythril warrior surprised the Cuatro Espada, and as he found himself in the grip of the enraged, would-be hero he knew if he were a lesser fighter he would have been finished by this man's desperate attempt to kill him. But he was no lesser warrior. He was the Fourth Espada in the Armies of the Magic Emperor Ghaleon, Ulquiorra Schiffer. And in the blink of an eye, Gustav Meridon would become painfully aware of what that truly meant.

It felt at first as if a dam had burst, the sudden rush of power that emanated from the melancholic-looking arrancar. A rush so overwhelming that Gustav himself must have shuddered in the midst of his rage. Then, as if the water had engulfed them, so too did his aura of power swallow his opponent, crushing down upon him as if he were a child under the sea. The full strength of one of Ghaleon's Espada surrounded him...a frightening testament that could be sensed the world throughout. Then, in two deft movements, the battle's end came and went.

The first was a perfectly smooth slice that severed the arm of his assailant at the tender flesh of his bicep, the instrument of his dismemberment Ulquiorra's energy-laced, iron hand. The second came as he drew his crackling, negatively powered free hand to the torso of the weakling who had pestered him for far too long, and unleashed the hellish Gran Rey Cero Blast on the Espada's prone enemy. Engulfed by the terrible negative ray, nothing that hung below his stomach would remain, giving what was left of his enemy no choice but to fall in a crumpled heap to the bed of diamonds below.

And as fast as the dam had emptied it had been retracted, buried behind the carefully constructed barrier that was Ulquiorra's soul. It had literally come and gone in a few blinks of an eye, but for a moment it had been unleashed...the true power of the Cuatro Espada...and all who felt it must now know how truly hopeless the fight against the Empire must be.

For if Ulquiorra were but one of the Emperor's Demonic 10, then the whole of them combined would most certainly mean the end of the world.

As quick and without warning as the arrancar's attacks, Dr. Gheis appeared on the scene, already holding the large Kyle over one shoulder with one hand and watching the death of the warrior. He had not come here to save Gustav, no, no, he'd come here to collect data of his own. With the spectacle that unfolded as the body neared the ground, Gheis couldn't help but exclaim, "Remarkable, simply remarkable! I had no idea that serum would not only induce the mire of a soul in a soulless individual, but also endow them with the power of a Shinigami and even produce phantom images of past acquaintances, if indeed that's what that being was, endowed with their own mysterious powers, fascinating, my genius has impressed even me once again!" Now looking upwards, toward Ulquiorra, he shouts, "And you, Mr. Arrancar, I find you fascinating as well! Tell me, how is it you came about such a durable dermis?! It is truly remarkable how you could stand up to such ferocity and not receive even a scratch! I simply MUST meet with your creator sometime and speak with them of their technique, surely they must be a being of incredible genius!" For being a Captain of the Seireitei, the Good Doctor didn't seem to be at all imposing, nor did he seem to bare hostile intent towards his supposed foes. Indeed, he enjoyed the spectacle, even though he thought the finish was a little sloppy. The sudden appearance, without any warning to either of the Espada present, no hint of any spiritual pressure, or of an intent to kill would probably come as a shock to the arrancar, to think someone could move so quickly and go unnoticed for as long as he'd been there, which even that was a mystery, truly the Good Doctor was a many of many inexplicable talents. Now he simply awaited his fellow captain to appear, so that he could return them all home as quickly as possible, he had much to study.

A whirl of wind rustled through the trees, and in a moment the figure of Byakuya was present at the edge of the town. "So you are the leader of those who have defiled these lands? Well your Arrancar is defeated, and now you will be as well. Accept your fate at my hands, and know that it is not ignoble for you to die in this way..." The captain of the 6th spoke slowly, unamused with this assault on the free peoples. As far as he was concerned, the Espada was nothing but trash...