"Maidy, who is your master?"
Just as Apacci stopped in her desired isolated space, her opponent threw out a rattling question.
She turned to him with a scowl. "Cut the crap and release your Resurrección, or you'll die."
"That blonde woman or the one chilling on the tree?" Luppi asked as though he couldn't read her clear annoyance, curiosity clear on his face. "Which one do you wag your tail to? Tell me now—so I know where to deliver your corpse."
Apacci paused before bursting into laughter. "I'll tell you if you beat me."
"Sorry for riling you up, maid~." Luppi smirked and gripped the shortsword sheathed in the small compartment in his clothes. "I'll end this quickly. Estrangula, Trepadora! (Ivy Maiden)"
Smoke exploded around him. His intentions were clear — he couldn't wait to drag her corpse to her 'Master' for his twisted pleasure. As his silhouette swelled and changed, a sharp vine launched from the fumes with terrifying speed. She narrowed her eyes, using Sonído to vanish from its path.
"You finally showed your true nature." Luppi laughed as the smoke dissipated, revealing his Resurrección. He now had eight white tentacles coming out of the octagonal bone plate fused with his back. "You're a coward."
Apacci's brows twitched. "You expect me to stand there and get whipped? Are you stupid?"
"Yes! Don't you stand there when your master whips you? What's wrong with someone else having some fun?"
The image of Kazuya whipping her flashed in her mind; it made shiver in a good way. Clearing her throat, she said, "Never did I get whipped in my whole life."
"Then let me take your whip virginity. These tentacles will give you a climax no man can~." One of Luppi's tentacles wriggled close to him and caressed his face. "Will you let it grab you gently?"
Apacci snorted, clearly not buying his bullshit. She doubted anything could make her feel as much pleasure and love as her man. She wielded her chakrams, glaring at him with ice-cold eyes. "I don't even need to release my Resurrección for you."
Luppi wriggled as though he felt chills all over. "Ahhh, there's nothing more satisfying than breaking a beauty who is so full of herself—"
Apacci took a step forward and vanished in the middle of his monologue. "Too late. You're already dead."
He froze at the sudden cold sensation of steel on his neck, and before his tentacles could defend him, the sharp chakrams dug into the soft skin of his throat. His head slid from his shoulders before the rest of his body collapsed in a lifeless heap.
Any Hollow below Vasto Lorde had no business challenging her to a fight. She could crush them all the same like an ant. Even Vasto Lorde wouldn't be able to defeat her in a small time.
She glanced at the sheer look of horror on the sadistic man's face, only now realizing that she hadn't asked for his name.
She turned away, ignoring the corpse. He wasn't even worth devouring.
"Isn't there someone stronger?"
…
While Apacci killed her opponent in the blink of an eye, Mila Rose had yet to start her battle.
"Espada must be really hurting for manpower if they're hiring a clown like you." She let out a short laugh. "Sorry, I heard that line on a comedy show once."
Charlotte took a step forward and stomped the ground. "Someone who looks like a gorilla's butt shouldn't talk about clowns. No appreciation for beauty in that savage face of yours—"
He never got to finish insulting her. Mila Rose crossed the distance between them with Sonído, her broadsword cleaving through the air where his head had been a split second before. He ducked—just barely avoiding getting his head cut off but still lost a few precious chunks of his hair.
"Such brutish technique," Charlotte taunted with a smile, though a bead of sweat could be seen running down his cheek. He almost died before the battle began. "No elegance and zero beauty in it whatsoever—oof!"
Mila Rose's knee slammed into his stomach, driving the wind from his lungs. Without pause, she followed up with a horizontal slash he rolled away from just in time. Watching him dance around her attacks, she laughed and relaxed her posture.
"Now you know this so-called beauty doesn't win battles. Beauty doesn't keep you alive in Hueco Mundo. Strength does."
Charlotte sprang back, his purple hair whipping around. "Beauty is power. I'll teach you its true meaning."
The Espada launched at her, and his katana crashed into her broadsword. The shockwave blew the sand away in a radius. Charlotte gritted his teeth, pouring all his strength to push her back. It failed to make her budge an inch.
Mila Rose's lips curled. "I'm only using one hand."
"Gorilla face and gorilla strength." Charlotte sneered and leaped into the air. His katana raised overhead in a shogun-like stance, he shouted, "Haiyaaaaah!!!"
She watched, eyes keen, as he spun furiously down at her and arched himself like a bow, his katana drawn as far back as possible.
"Eat the deadly yet Beautiful Charlotte Chuhlhourne's Miracle Sweet Ultra Funky Fantastic Dramatic Romantic Sadistic Erotic Exotic Athletic… Guillotine Attack!!!"
Mila Rose winced at the overblown name. It was only by instinct did she block Charlotte's downward slash. Their blades collided with an ear-splitting clang. The devastating force made her feet sink in the sand. Her arms trembled as shallow cuts appeared on her skin. Blood seeped but her eyes blazed—she was more excited than hurt.
"That's what I'm talking about!"
She roared and drove her left fist straight into Charlotte's face. Her counter attack came right after enduring his greatest technique, catching her completely off-guard. He went flying before rolling in the sand.
Mila Rose wiped the crimson trail from her cheek. "You aren't half bad. Franceska Mila Rose — you're worthy of knowing the name of the lioness who'll end you."
Charlotte stabbed his katana in the sand and picked himself up. "Beauty is power," he whispered, voice filled with barely-concealed anger. "For you to recognize my power is the same as acknowledging my beauty."
"Fuck off!" Mila Rose rested her broadsword on her shoulder with a laugh. "I have the greatest mate in the world, and it's not because of 'beauty.' It's not what I have here." She thumped her chest proudly. "Call me a savage if you want, but real beauty is in the heart."
"You got one part right." Charlotte lowered his katana and raised a pumped fist to the air. "Let's settle it Hueco Mundo way. Whoever wins will redefine beauty to the whole world."
Mila Rose raised a fist. "Challenge accepted."
***
You can read 20 more chapters on my Patreon!
patreon.com/Lordheaven