The Monster

Uryu Ishida's Seele Schneider skewers Szayelaporro Granz between the collarbones and drops him to his knees, but the blade abruptly dissolves in a flash of energy. Cackling, the Espada calls Uryu a fool for imagining any arrow could break his body and reminds him that the earlier duel with Cirucci Sanderwicci let him study the Quincy's abilities in advance. Away in the holding cell, Menoly Mallia stirs and marvels that she survived a point-blank Cero, and Loly Aivirrne, huddled against the wall, tells her that Orihime Inoue is responsible.

A flashback shows Grimmjow ordering Orihime to fix her own bruised face, yet she instead kneels by Loly, lays the severed leg against the stump, and raises Soten Kisshun to knit it back together. Loly strikes her for the presumption, but Orihime works on without flinching, then moves to Menoly's remains to rebuild her ruined upper body the same way. In the present, a sweating Loly can only ask what she just witnessed and brands Orihime a monster.

Back in the hall, Uryu slips under a punch from a hulking Arrancar whose fist splits into stabbing tendrils. His Heilig Pfeil crumbles before it reaches the creature's head, and when a second bruiser closes in, Szayelaporro warns that the Ginrei Kojaku will vanish too, leaving Uryu weaponless as a giant fist swings down. Renji Abarai lunges in at the last instant, catching the blow on Zabimaru and telling Uryu to think up a way to beat the Espada instead of freezing. The two trade sharp encouragement while a smiling Szayelaporro watches.

Szayelaporro reveals he can nullify Uryu's weapons because his prior analysis of the Cirucci fight primed him against Quincy techniques. A flashback exposes Orihime's eerie composure as she reattaches Loly's leg and reconstructs the slain Menoly, prompting Loly to call her a monster. In the hall, Uryu is disarmed and nearly overwhelmed until Renji arrives to block the killing blow and cover him.

This is the fifth chapter of the thirty-first volume, DON'T KILL MY VOLUPTURE. The title's dread points at Orihime's uncanny power rather than any villain. Its events were adapted into Episode 163 of the anime, Shinigami and Quincy, the Battle of Madness, and the chapter interleaves a flashback with the ongoing duel.