33 Dethroned

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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Grimmjow's manic grin disappeared, replaced by a disbelieving frown at the scene before him. Ichigo's Reiatsu was rising to an unimaginable level without any sign of stopping. When Grimmjow saw the Hollow mask covering Ichigo's face, his eyes widened and his grin returned. Ichigo was an enigma and he was all for fighting him.

"I don't know what the fuck you are, but I am going to kill you," he announced.

Ichigo put the hand that had just materialized his Hollow mask on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. He stared at Grimmjow with his cold golden eyes before letting out a condescending snort. Grimmjow immediately scowled. He had never been treated that way by anyone.

Pointing his longer Zanpakutō at Grimmjow, Ichigo said with a distorted voice, "Sexta Espada, you won't return to Las Noches."

"Ha-Ha-Ha! That's an empty threat!" the Arrancar laughed.

Grimmjow had never been someone who paid attention to details. If he had been one, he would have wondered how Ichigo could tell his rank among the Espada and the name of their hideout. Those details were minor for him. What he cared about was that he got to fight Ichigo.

Buzz!

Using Sonido, the two appeared in front of each other faster than one's eyes could blink. Right off the bat, Grimmjow was on the defending end and he was not happy. Ichigo's strength overpowered him. His arms trembled as he blocked Ichigo's Zanpakutō with his forearm. Fortunately for him, his Hierro managed to hold out.

Crack!

At least, for the moment. Widening his eyes in shock, Grimmjow kicked the ground to retreat. He decided that he needed distance. Folding his arm, he pointed his elbow at Ichigo. Five unevenly cut green crystalline darts came out of his elbow.

"Garra de la Pantera!"

The crystalline darts shot toward Ichigo at a high speed. In response to that, Ichigo let go of the shorter Zanpakutō in his left arm and curled his fingers. In the blink of an eye, a blackish-red Cero appeared in his hand. He shot it toward the incoming projectiles, destroying them in one go. Before his Zanpakutō dropped to the ground, he returned his hold on its hilt.

The smoke screen gave an advantage to Grimmjow. He was given enough time to recompose and prepare a sneak attack. It would have worked if he hadn't screamed bloody murder. He flashed through the smoke with his hands in a stabbing motion. The speed would have caught Ichigo off guard if he hadn't been faster.

Clank!

Sparks flew off as Grimmjow's claw met Zangetsu's blade. Ichigo didn't even budge as he held Grimmjow off. Before Ichigo could swing his free longer Zanpakutō, Grimmjow curled his fingers and shot a big blue Cero at Ichigo's abdomen point-blank.

"Gran Rey Cero!"

Boom!

The Cero hit Ichigo's abdomen, throwing him back. Thick blue Reiryoku covered him as the Cero expanded in size. Grimmjow watched with a manic grin. It was not his strongest attack, but he was sure it would deal damage to Ichigo. After all, Aizen had forbidden him from using inside Las Noches because of his destructiveness.

Awaiting the exciting scene, he was left disgruntled and shocked by what he saw next. When the Reiryoku dissipated, he could see Ichigo was harmless. There was a hole in the clothes that covered his abdomen, but that was it. Even though his abdomen was steaming, there was no burn scar whatsoever.

"That was cute," Ichigo remarked.

"Hah!?" Grimmjow scowled.

Ichigo gave out a deep distorted laugh as his clothes rapidly fixed themselves using his Reiryoku, covering his Blut Vene that was quickly dimming. When the clothes finished fixing themselves; Ichigo let go of his longer Zanpakutō, holding it afloat with Reiryoku, and then cut his right palm with his shorter Zanpakutō.

Grimmjow widened his eyes in shock even before he saw what Ichigo did. He was familiar with the ritual. He had just done it a few moments ago. He watched in disbelief as Ichigo used his blood as a catalyst to make Cero. A dark black Cero covered with a translucent white layer materialized in his hand.

"Thanks for letting me have a taste, Grimmjow. Gran Rey Cero!"

As the Cero shot at him, he made a wise decision to get out of its trajectory using Sonido. The Cero whizzed past his head, nicking his elongated ear. He could barely register the pain as he was too focused on watching over Ichigo. The Cero that Ichigo had fired exploded some distance behind him. It grew three times its size, pushing away all of the air filling the space it encompassed.

Even with the help of his Reiryoku, Grimmjow couldn't prevent his body from swaying. The force that the explosion produced was strong enough to push him despite the distance.

"How…" Grimmjow gaped.

He had always thought Gran Rey Cero was something that he could only do. At least, even if some Arrancar could do it, they wouldn't be able to do it as well as he did. Ichigo shattered that belief. He had learned it in a glance and done it better than he did. He couldn't accept that. Gritting his teeth in anger, he prepared to lunge at Ichigo.

Slash!

His advance was stopped when Zangetsu cut open his chest. His Hierro didn't help him in the slightest. His skin and bones alike were cut effortlessly. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he crossed his arms and frantically retreated. Ichigo quickly caught up to him, swinging Zangetsu at him in a flurry of combos.

At some point, his irritation allowed him to catch Zangetsu between his palms. The Zanpakutō cut through the gap between his thumbs, but it was worth it for it stopped Ichigo's unstoppable attack. Opening his mouth, he channeled Reiryoku into his vocal cords and screamed, sending a sonic wave out of his mouth.

Ichigo merely tilted his head to the side. Grimmjow could somehow tell he was quirking an eyebrow in wonder.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The noncommittal exclamation coming out of Ichigo's mouth caused Grimmjow to immediately let go of Zangetsu. He utilized Sonido to his best, but the technique still got him. Another cut manifested in his chest. The amount of blood loss and the pain he endured made him kneel and gasp for breath. He spent a huge chunk of his Reiatsu to heal his injuries.

"This is boring."

"What the fuck did you say!?"

"It's boring. I can barely show off."

Gritting his teeth in unbridled fury, he snarled, "You are bored, huh? Then, why don't I show you some real shit!?"

"Finally. Show me your Desgarrón!" Ichigo exclaimed in glee.

Grimmjow screamed wrathfully, finally asking why Ichigo knew so much about the Espada. He curled his fingers, producing small ethereal blue blades. Scratching the air, he caused the small blades to elongate and expand slightly. With a roar, he dashed at Ichigo. For the first time, he wasn't excited about his fight. He only wanted to kill Ichigo.

…

"Hikotsu Taihō!"

Renji watched as the cannon beam his Bankai produced pierced through the Arrancar he had been fighting for the last ten minutes, Yylfordt Granz. The startled Arrancar could only watch as the beam pierced through his stomach, killing him in an instant.

"Damn it! I was lucky. I wouldn't have been able to kill him if he had been serious from the very beginning," Renji cursed bitterly as he watched Yylfordt drop to the ground lifelessly.

"Captain!" he heard Rangiku exclaim.

Turning to the side, Renji saw Tōshirō keel over. A huge amount of his blood spilled to the ground. It was quite a wonder why he didn't die yet. A bitter smile flashed across his face. Yylfordt had explained their status as Fracción, the Arrancar who served the Espada. They were leagues below the Espada, but they still could beat them badly.

That reminded him of the fact that Ichigo was facing an Espada. He briefly wondered how Ichigo was faring when a heavy Reiatsu fell on their shoulders.

"Kurosaki-san!"

"Shit! Rangiku-san, take Captain Hitsugaya to Inoue-san! I will help Ichigo."

Renji immediately took off. He wasn't sure if he would help much given his bloody state, but he would be damned if he didn't even attempt to save his friend. Halfway there, he encountered Retsu who had a frown marring her face. Her expression slightly unsettled him, but he ignored it for the moment. He needed to get to Ichigo as soon as possible.

When the two arrived at the scene, they found Ichigo impaled in his stomach. Grimmjow was grinning madly before him with his arm outstretched. The Sixth Espada was covered in blood from head to toe. He had lost his left arm and a chunk of his stomach. The onlookers could easily he just had an extremely hard fight.

"Amazing. Even a cornered rat can bite like a tiger."

Ichigo's distorted voice caused Renji and Retsu to look at his Hollow-mask-covered face. Retsu was surprised but not shocked. She knew about the Visored, unlike Renji. The red-haired Shinigami took in Ichigo's appearance quite dramatically. He couldn't believe what he saw.

"Kill me," Grimmjow stated, accepting his fate.

"Of course."

Ichigo raised the longer Zangetsu and swung it down. However, he immediately changed its trajectory to block an incoming attack.

"Cero Oscuras!"

Ichigo crossed Zangetsu to block the Cero that was comparable to his Cero-powered Getsuga Tensho. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it made him let go of Grimmjow. When the Cero dispersed, Grimmjow was already hefted on the shoulder by another Espada. The said Espada immediately retreated into the Garganta he had opened the moment his eyes met with Ichigo's.

"You are an interesting man, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Nice to see you again too, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra, the Fourth Espada didn't say anything. He merely looked at Ichigo curiously. The Garganta closed and Ichigo turned to the two Shinigami who had been watching him silently for the last minute. His Hollow disintegrated into Reishi and his oppressive Reiatsu immediately settled down.

"Did Urahara Kisuke do that to you?" Retsu asked chillingly.

"I was born with it," Ichigo shrugged nonchalantly.

Retsu wanted to ask what he meant but remembered that he had a gaping stomach. She rushed to his side and then checked on his injury, only to find it gone.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Adan Smith

Venerable Immortal Andne

Venerable Immortal B0mbaCl0ckBob

Venerable Immortal Colorblind

Venerable Immortal Haider Alkefaji

Venerable Immortal Jack Wright

Venerable Immortal Rollo

Venerable Immortal Star Dragon Bahamut

Venerable Immortal TOKA?

Venerable Immortal Wilfrid Calixte Killian