Chapter 104: The Defeated Sal Apollo's Retreat

"..."

Szayelaporro frowned tightly as he watched Chojiro. While his Faiyasaroz could indeed be destroyed by a certain threshold of physical force, he had not expected this man before him to wield such power with such ease—and it appeared he was not even exerting his full strength.

"What? Is it over already?"

Chojiro twisted his neck, feeling unfulfilled. It was a rare opportunity to fight outside of Yamamoto Genryusai's jurisdiction; although he still could not unleash his full power, the sensation was entirely different.

"Ha... somewhat unexpected."

The near-maniacal, perverse scientist actually admitted his surprise this time. From being chased around in a sorry state by his spirit-bugs, to effortlessly obliterating two of his Faiyasaroz with sheer brute force, the gap in ability was something Szayelaporro, who prioritized reason and scientific logic above all, could not fathom.

"Is that so..."

"!"

A cold voice sounded from directly behind him, making the hair on Szayelaporro's arms stand on end. Without him even noticing, the Shinigami in the white haori, who had been standing before him only a moment ago, was now right behind him. The man's breathing was as close and sharp as a blade pressed against his throat.

"At least make it more interesting for me."

"Swish!"

Before he could even process the thought, Szayelaporro reflexively used Sonido to escape from Chojiro's proximity. He no longer possessed his previous arrogance; he looked utterly disheveled.

"With speed like that, do you think you can escape?"

"!!!"

Before Szayelaporro could even steady his footing, Chojiro's voice haunted his ears once again.

"Bang!"

Giving him no chance to speak, Chojiro landed a direct punch into his abdomen. Given the force that had disintegrated the Faiyasaroz earlier, there was little doubt that Szayelaporro’s body would have suffered a far more gruesome fate.

"!"

But as the fist connected, Chojiro’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Pop..."

Ripples spread from the point of impact on Szayelaporro’s stomach, giving Chojiro the sensation of striking a sponge; it had no effect at all.

"Thud!"

Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Szayelaporro surged forward, repelling the white-clad figure away.

"Don't you dare look down on me!!"

Szayelaporro roared. A viscous white substance emerged from his body, squirming continuously until it dripped off like two massive water droplets, hovering in mid-air.

Seeing this, Chojiro remained indifferent. Nothing that came out of this perverse creature was surprising.

"Gah... kah..."

The two droplets began to rotate in the air, eventually intertwining to form a single, massive, spinning orb.

"Roar!!!"

A deafening bellow erupted from the rotating mass. The droplet slowly contracted, forming a white-skinned figure roughly the size of an average human. Its limbs and face were indistinguishable from a human's, save for a small bone-like mask fragment extending from behind his right ear to his jaw.

It was clearly an Arrancar, and if Chojiro’s intuition was correct, it was an artificial Arrancar similar to Wonderweiss.

"I admit, you have far exceeded my expectations. If we were fighting head-on, I might have died countless times by now, but..."

Szayelaporro clutched his stomach, his face drenched in cold sweat; it was evident that summoning this entity had cost him a great deal of energy.

"If you have the skill, then defeat this imperfect form, Shinigami!"

"..."

Chojiro pursed his lips, watching the artificial Arrancar without rushing in. Since it was only deployed after the troublesome Faiyasaroz, it was likely an equally formidable obstacle.

"..."

The artificial Arrancar did not attack immediately after opening its eyes. It stared at the Shinigami with golden eyes, then slowly raised its hand.

"!"

Chojiro froze, for the moment the creature lifted its hand, the white figure vanished from his sight.

"Snap!"

A slender arm pierced directly through Chojiro's body. The fingers, stained with a trace of blood, twitched slightly—a truly horrific sight.

"Tsk..."

Chojiro gritted his teeth. His body, which should have been gravely wounded, suddenly vanished. The only thing pierced by the arm was the white haori he had been wearing.

Chojiro reappeared behind the artificial Arrancar, his fist—the same one that had dismantled the Faiyasaroz—descending toward its head.

"Thud."

Without even turning around, the artificial Arrancar swung its hand to catch Chojiro's fist, then, to Chojiro's surprise, flung him away.

"Hum!"

Possessing not only monstrous strength and speed, the artificial Arrancar raised its hand toward the airborne Chojiro and fired a Cero.

"Hah!"

Chojiro raised his own hand, firing a Red Fire Cannon (Shakkaho) to intercept and neutralize the Cero.

"Shhh!"

The white figure broke through the fireball, charging straight at Chojiro like a cannonball.

"Good grief..."

Chojiro sighed softly, stopping his backward momentum, and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Iai—"

This was the only sword technique Retsu had ever taught him, one he usually used only when he did not wish to release his Zanpakuto.

"Lonely Ghost Wasteland."

Black and white figures crossed paths, accompanied by a flash of brilliant steel.

They stood back-to-back. The artificial Arrancar ceased all movement, and Chojiro sheathed his blade as if it had never been drawn.

"Pshhh!"

The silence lasted only a heartbeat. The artificial Arrancar’s body suddenly split down the middle, just like the giant Faiyasaroz before it, cleaved clean in two by Chojiro’s strike!

"Hahahaha! Beautifully done! Shinigami!"

Hovering in the air, Szayelaporro suddenly burst into laughter, his smug expression grating on the nerves.

"Do you know what that creature's blood is? It is the perfect bait to lure Menos Grande! You actually cut him down! I truly thank you! My data has been collected, so I leave the rest to you, Vice-Captain."

A massive Garganta opened behind him. It appeared that Szayelaporro had been preparing his escape while Chojiro was occupied. Menos Grande were not all under his command; if he were accidentally surrounded by them, he would gain nothing, so retreat was the logical choice.

"It won't be that easy..."

Chojiro was indifferent to Szayelaporro's schemes; in fact, he had intentionally let the creature go. It would be better for Ishida Uryu and Abarai to deal with him later. If he killed him now, those two might be slaughtered if they encountered a stronger Espada later on.

However, even if he let him leave, Chojiro would not make it easy.

A massive fireball hurtled toward Szayelaporro. Although the Arrancar closed the Garganta at lightning speed, a large portion of the fireball still entered the void, and given Szayelaporro's weakened state, it would be more than enough to make him suffer.

From the pitch-black, unknown dimension, a roar of pure resentment echoed out:

"You bastard!! You'll pay for this!!!"