How long had Helliodoro existed? How long had he roamed and reigned in the skies as though none other existed? He himself, remained unaware of how long, there was no point in tracking such pointless statistics. He had even forgotten just how long ago he had made the transition to the state of a Vasto Lorde, once again, it was a pointless bit of knowledge, there was always something else to entertain him, something more important by his measure any way. In all this time however, there but a single moment in which a character had presented themselves that was something he would have to dedicate himself completely and beyond in order to achieve the results he had desired, or at least hoping to achieve such a goal.
At that time he had not challenged this presence, whether he had a reason or not, once again he had forgotten, but perhaps it was the only reason he lived to see this day. To see another of similar strength and at this time, challenge that strength. Helliodoro was a fool, this was without doubt but he was a successful fool, his strength prevailing in any and all situations in his prior endeavours. Today would be a day where he would be truly tested, and if he were not cautious, the likelihood of his demise was something that was omnipresent.
To ignore the spike of Reiatsu displayed by the
King, that would be a feat perhaps more impressive than the feat of the Reiatsu itself. During his multi-angled descent alongside his Cero, Helliodoro was more than aware of this rise in pressure. Helliodoro was cautious from the very beginning, those below would be unaware of such a fact but this caution was displayed in his Cero. Helliodoro was one who preferred to close the gap between his prey and himself in a single motion and a single strike, regardless of distance, this Cero was uncharacteristic of him but perhaps a sign of some respect for the strength of his newfound opponent. Only the Vasto Lorde himself would know.
Had he taken his usual approach, he may have faced the same fate his Cero was destined for, obliteration. However, he had made a wise choice, a rarity for him. The Reiatsu originating from the
King, had served the Vasto Lorde as a redlight of sorts. A second before the supposed impact of the Cero, Helliodoro had completely altered his course, if not for the trail that followed him hopelessly trying to catch him after his departure, he would have disappeared from the visual spectrum as if never having existed to begin with. His new route of flight had taken him not too far this time around, instead only pushing him roughly twenty meters back up. Such a distance was almost literally nothing to any who practiced any form of high-speed movement and as such, Helliodoro had been in position for nearly a full second, having to wait that second before watching the fate of his Cero. Watching from a mere one hundred feet above the very spot that Vincent was stood.
Shattered into glimmers of it’s former glory, the safety of those below was guaranteed by their
King. Alongside the destruction of his Cero, Helliodoro watched as a portion of Las Noches itself was torn asunder, debris of varying sizes and shapes being catapulted into the far distance by the pressure created by Vincent’s single effort. Could Helliodoro have challenged this display? It was likely that in the
King’s current state, he could have. That was not good enough, the fact that there was a risk that his own Reiatsu would falter in confrontation with the opposing was enough to deter the Vasto Lorde. Again, uncharacteristic.
Following the destruction that had been drawn to Las Noches, Helliodoro could be seen seemingly floating down the roof of Las Noches too stand on equal footing with the
King. It was odd, from his initial action of firing off a Cero and comparing it to the scene at hand. It seemed almost as if he was ready to call off what he had started at that very moment. Those who would assume that would be the same that in this case would fall not but a moment later. Aiming to gently land himself a meager one hundred feet from Vincent once more, aiming to land behind where Vincent had been facing originally and where Helliodoro had intended to land originally, as that was now rubble in the deserts. He had full intentions of continuing but he wasn’t interested in a trial of Reiatsu versus Reiatsu, he wasn’t interested in trying his luck at a Cero again. A strange calm had come over the otherwise raging personality of his, as if a glee of sorts had been introduced to him, a thrill once more. It had been so long.
Had he been left uninterrupted, once landing on solid ground, his eyes would have remained locked onto the surprisingly short Arrancar. The golden glow of his almost featureless eyes looking as though they left a trail with each and every motion of his body. There was no position assumed, he simply stood by. The first and perhaps only time any living being would be able to discern respect from Helliodoro. The
King was right, Hollows would mostly only respond to strength and despite Helliodoro’s rather simplistic way of mind, this was something unseen among the Hollow. As Helliodoro stood upon the roof of Las Noches, it was immediately obvious that there was something going on about his physicality, or so it seemed. The previous similarities between Helliodoro’s Reiryoku and Vincent’s Reiryoku had been both disproven and proven in such a miniscule amount of time. Their interactions with everything was similar, destruction, a release from reality. Yet they were achieved in completely different methods, as had been displayed, Vincent’s was simple and pure, destruction. Helliodoro’s Reiryoku, while at this distance from him it wasn’t noticeable, it incinerated anything it came into contact with, erasing any possible tie to a material existence. Not ash, not particles, nothing. This was the case with the portion of the roof his feet had met, his feet seemingly creating prints along the solid surface as though it were the sand of the deserts.
Helliodoro was engrossed with his new opponent, all that was occurring beneath them was completely irrelevant to him.