The moment Vladimir’s attack almost hit Harribel…

“Bakudō #81. Dankū.”

A translucent barrier suddenly was suddenly erected in front of Harribel.

Bang!!

Vladimir’s attack hit the barrier and immediately caused an explosion. The impact of the explosion was quite a spectacle as the dust around them rose high that it hindered everyone’s line of sight.

“This is……”

Harribel was surprised as the barrier in front of her could block Vladimir’s terrifying attack even though it seemed so fragile. 

“Harribel?”

Muyang asked with a hint of doubt.

It couldn’t be helped as the female Hollow in front of him resembled the Harribel that he knew, yet the Harribel with he knew should be really strong. After all, she was the 3rd Espada who held the aspect of death “sacrifice.”

“Thank you for saving me!”

Even though Harribel was too startled to say anything at first, she immediately regained her composure and thanked the man that saved her.

The man was quite good-looking, but he had no mask on his face, and there was no hole anywhere on his body. Once she noticed Muyang’s distinct difference with Hollow, she realized that Muyang was not a Hollow, but what made her so surprised was when she noticed Muyang was wearing black clothes and a sword hanging on his waist, meaning he was a Shinigami!

Harribel was startled once again, but only for a moment. Even though she didn’t know why a Shinigami saved her, it was an undeniable fact.

Muyang just had a hard time processing everything when he saw Harribel was this weak and even thanked him for saving her.

“I didn’t expect another insect would sneak in and challenge me. What’s with today and you ignorant insects?” A voice said from the sky.

“You know what infuriates me the most, Harribel? You actually refused my invitation, yet here you are, begging help from a lowly Shinigami.”

Muyang sure couldn’t let that one slide. Vladimir’s condescending tone and remarks ruined his mood, and what did he mean by a lowly Shinigami?

Muyang shifted his gaze towards the Hollow in the air. He had 3 pairs of jet-black wings, pale white skin, and the purple and black patterns on his mask that was partially damaged, revealing a little bit of his face and a small hole in his forehead.

“Who are you?”

Muyang just couldn’t help but ask as this Hollow managed to overpower Harribel, yet he has never seen him in the manga in his previous life. He had a pair extra wings compared to Ulquiorra, did that make him stronger than Ulquiorra then?

“Ignorant Shinigami!” Vladimir suddenly snapped but then calmed down almost immediately, “Then again, this may be your first time seeing me, so I can’t blame you for your ignorance.”

Muyang frowned as this was his first time seeing someone this arrogant.

“Since you can stop my attack, I’ll give you a special treatment and tell you my name.”

Vladimir looked down at Muyang with condescending eyes.

“My name is Vladimir. Be grateful that you get to hear my name before you die.”

“Now, let me hear your name! And there’s no need to thank me! As someone who can stop my attack, you at least deserve that much.”

Muyang started to lose his patience. Seeing someone arrogant was nothing new for him, but this was his first time seeing someone whose arrogance knew no bound.

“Unfortunately, I had a habit of never giving my name to those that will die by my hands.”

The atmosphere instantly became tense as Muyang and Vladimir were eyeing each other with killing intent.

“Oh, you actually decline my generosity.” Vladimir shook his head out of pity, and with one flap of his wings, the overwhelming Reiatsu immediately filled the air.

“It’s a shame, but you’ll have to die.”

Muyang immediately looked up as he felt the terrifying Reiatsu and saw massive fire as if the sky itself was on fire. Even though it was nowhere near the level of Yamamoto’s flame, he knew he couldn’t take it lightly.

“Doomsday!”

“Although you have angered me, it is hard to find someone as strong as you. I’ll use this move to end your life out of respect for your strength. As the name suggests, it can destroy the whole world, so you can be proud of yourself that you’ll die with this move.”

Vladimir looked at Muyang and Harribel with pitiful eyes. It has been so long since he found someone as strong as them, yet they would die this quick.

Seeing the crimson sky, Harribel was shaking. She just couldn’t believe the difference in strength between them was this far apart? 

“Although that might be a little troublesome to deal with, but…” Muyang seemed to be seeing the sky and the sky, “If you think that will be enough to kill me, then you’re just an arrogant Hollow, nothing more.”

Even Yamamoto’s flame couldn’t defeat him, yet this Hollow thought he could kill him with this fire that was nothing but flashy?

Muyang grabbed Harribel and used Shunpo, reappearing a few hundred meters away from the area of impact. He saw that te fire razed the place he stood earlier without leaving any surface unburned.

“It seems that he is not just all talk.” Muyang nodded as not only did the attack cover a huge area, its destructive power was also extraordinary. An average Captain would be seriously injured if they weren’t fast enough to dodge the attack.

Muyang, who thought that was the extent of Vladimir’s move, was surprised as the fire that bombarded the ground earlier rose once again and headed straight toward Muyang.

“What? Is it targeting me no matter where I go?” 

Muyang saved the thinking for later, grabbed Harribel, and used Shunpo once again to dodge the flame. Not even in his wildest imagination would he think that Harribel would drag anyone down, but it was clear that she was nothing but a burden in this scenario.

Muyang reappeared several meters away, but the flame kept following him.

shua~shua~shua~shua~

Muyang kept using Shunpo to dodge, but the flame was following him closely no matter how far he moved.

“This is really troublesome,” Muyang murmured as he continuously dodged the attack.

At this time, Harribel firmly held onto Muyang and looked at Muyang with eyes full of emotion. The man beside her didn’t even know her, yet he went this far to protect her.

shua~

Muyang felt like he was in trouble until he glanced at Vladimir and found that his eyes were moving around, following Muyang’s movement. He smiled and immediately used Shunpo and appeared behind Vladimir.

Vladimir was startled and immediately used Sonido, putting distance between him and Muyang 

“As I thought, you control your flame with your eyes.”

Muyang said with a smile after realizing that the flame didn’t immediately follow him this time,.

“It seems I have to admit that you are not just a mere insect.”

Vladimir said solemnly, but clearly he sounded different from earlier.

Muyang himself was surprised even though he guessed it right. Although he didn’t show it on his face, he was already screaming deep down, “Controlling fire with your eyes? Do you think this is Amaterasu or some shit?!”

Although the flame itself wasn’t a threat for Muyang, the ability to freely control it with his eyes completely changed the situation.

Muyang used Shunpo and put quite a distance between him and Vladimir, laid Harribel on the ground, and returned in front of Vladimir once again.

“I guess I have to get a little serious too.”

Muyang drew his Zanpakuto from the waist, pointing it at Vladimir.

“Shinigami, Kimura Muyang, I’ll be taking your life.”