Tia Harribel appeared in an instant.
Her blade cleaved through Sombravida's azure-gold sword wave with a single decisive motion, dispersing the energy and shielding Mila Rose behind her.
Golden hair flowed down her back.
Her Hollow mask covered the lower half of her face, exposing sharp, shark-like eyes. The white bone plate that framed her jaw resembled fanged armor. Two elongated bone protrusions extended from her back like rigid fins.
Her body was encased in streamlined white armor — not bulky, not excessive — refined, efficient. The massive blade fused to her right forearm resembled an extension of her skeletal structure rather than a separate weapon.
A steady ocean-like spiritual pressure radiated outward — calm on the surface, violent beneath.
"Leave my territory," Harribel said evenly.
She did not attack immediately.
Sombravida's reiryoku was dense — unnaturally condensed for a Vasto Lorde who did not appear ancient. If he struck again, she might not be able to protect all three of her subordinates.
"Tia Harribel," Sombravida said, studying her carefully.
Seeing her pre-Arrancar form directly was different from the image in his memory. Even as a natural Vasto Lorde, she already retained a largely humanoid frame — minimal mask coverage, preserved hair, refined bone structure.
A natural-born high-class Hollow.
Enviable.
"You know my name," Harribel observed.
"I've heard of you," Sombravida replied. "From Barragan."
The name changed the air.
Harribel's eyes sharpened.
Barragan's subordinates referred to him only as "Your Majesty." For Sombravida to speak his name so casually meant one of two things:
Either he was unrelated—
Or he stood on equal footing.
The pressure radiating from him suggested the latter.
"What do you want?" Harribel asked.
"I came to recruit you."
A flicker of contempt passed through her gaze.
"So that is all."
"Lady Harribel will never kneel to stinking males!" Mila Rose growled from behind.
"That's right!" Apache snapped. "Get out of here!"
"Enough," Harribel ordered sharply.
She knew provoking him further would be fatal.
"We only seek survival," she said to Sombravida. "We do not interfere in the struggles of others. We have endured enough rejection already."
Sombravida understood immediately.
Hueco Mundo was brutal — and female Hollows were fewer in number. Predatory hierarchies often targeted them first. Harribel's existence provided protection.
"I am not Barragan," Sombravida replied. "My closest companion is female."
"Nel."
At his call, Nel descended from the cliff and landed beside him.
A faint pink spiritual pressure flared instinctively before Sombravida placed a hand on her head, calming her.
"We are not here to enslave," Sombravida said. "We are here to build."
Apache scoffed.
"Build? With him? You think she joined willingly?"
That was the final straw.
Sombravida's spiritual pressure surged sharply.
Vasto Lorde–class density compressed the air.
The three Adjuchas collapsed instantly.
Harribel's eyes widened.
He vanished.
Appearing before Apache, Sombravida placed a hand atop her head.
Apache's eyes dulled.
Her form began to dissolve from the head downward.
"Apache!" Mila Rose lunged.
Sun-Sun's tail lashed forward.
Too slow.
Harribel moved to intercept—
But Nel blocked her path.
"I'm sorry," Nel said quietly. "I can't let you interfere."
Harribel raised her blade—
—but hesitated.
Sombravida's power over Apache was unlike physical destruction.
Apache's body faded… then vanished completely.
Silence.
Mila Rose attacked in fury.
Sun-Sun struck from the flank.
Sombravida shifted once.
Mila Rose was driven face-first into the sand.
Sun-Sun was kicked through a spatial rift and removed from the battlefield entirely.
The entire exchange lasted less than ten seconds.
Mid-tier Adjuchas stood no chance before a stabilized Vasto Lorde.
"Release her," Harribel demanded coldly.
"I told you," Sombravida replied evenly, one hand still resting on Mila Rose's head, "I want to talk."
Harribel's gaze did not waver.
"Then talk."
Sombravida lifted his hand from Mila Rose.
She remained pinned beneath him, humiliated but alive.
"Apache is not dead."
He snapped his fingers.
Space rippled.
Apache reappeared exactly where she had vanished.
She collapsed immediately, gasping violently.
"Lady Harribel—! I thought—"
"It's alright," Harribel said, kneeling to steady her.
Her mind was racing.
That was not regeneration.
Not illusion.
Not spatial displacement alone.
It was forced removal of consciousness.
Suppression without death.
Sombravida dismounted Mila Rose and stepped forward.
"Now. Can we speak?"
Harribel rose slowly.
"What do you truly want?"
"I invite you to join my faction."
Silence.
Apache opened her mouth to argue—
Sombravida's gaze alone froze her.
Harribel spoke instead.
"Why me?"
"Because your current path leads to extinction."
Her eyes hardened.
"We unite those we can. Together, we survive."
"In Hueco Mundo?" Sombravida asked calmly. "Against Vasto Lordes? Against ancient anomalies? Against Shinigami? Against Quincy?"
Harribel did not flinch.
"If one cannot win alone, one wins together."
"…Foolish."
The word was not mocking.
It was heavy.
"In this world, unity without overwhelming strength is slaughter waiting to happen."
Barragan saw her as a nuisance.
Sombravida now understood why.
Her ideal was noble—
But Hueco Mundo did not reward nobility.
Sombravida's thoughts shifted unwillingly to another name.
Aizen.
Even in her future Arrancar state — empowered by the Hōgyoku — Harribel had been cut down effortlessly.
If even that version of her fell in a single stroke…
What could Sombravida, at his current level, accomplish?
The surge of confidence he had felt after advancing to Vasto Lorde wavered.
His spiritual pressure was dense.
His abilities were evolving.
But against true transcendent monsters—
It was insufficient.
Sombravida's jaw tightened slightly.
Not enough.
He needed to continue becoming stronger.
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