Description[]
The first fight upon my return and I bring to you the most despair I can muster without using a certain silver-haired swordsman. Vetto, the beast who was given the name Vetto the Despair and Ulquiorra, who's final form is despair itself. (Note, heavy spoilers for Black Clover because god this backstory is complicated. Decently sized spoilers for Bleach as well.)
Interlude[]
Despair, the feeling of all hope, any chance of victory or even survival far from your grasp. The moment when everything truly becomes hopeless. Any being that chooses to don this emotion as their very title should make sure they have the skill to back it up... and so very few can exemplify that better then these two...
Vetto, The Third Eye's Despair...
and, Ulquiorra Cifer, the 4th Espada...
Vetto[]
In the ancient times of the Clover Kingdom, lived the elf tribe, a mostly peaceful race of elves gifted with immense magical power led by an elf known as Licht. Despite their peaceful nature, their inherent magic power struck fear among the humans of the kingdom and with this, tragedy soon struck.
Stirred on by immense fear and jealousy a group of royals used magic artifacts to steal the elves power before beginning to slaughter them one by one. They then spread tales of the elves, portraying them to be despicable and demonic creatures bent to control the world. And this would have been the end, a tragedy brought by distrust between the races... if not for Zagred.
Zagred was a devil, who had been manipulating much of the events. He had possessed a minister of the kingdom, orchestrated the royal's plan, and had prevented yet another key player, Lemiel, from entering the area where the main tragedies took place. This was all to influence Licht, as well as his grimoire, creating the first recorded 5-leaf grimoire. Zagred had attempted to possess Licht as well, but the arrival of Lemiel put things in a stalemate. Using a collection of magic artifacts Licht turned himself into a monster, preventing Zagred from taking over but also his own death by the hands of Lemiel. Lemiel and his 'servant' Secre then sealed Zagred but as he was being sealed, he cast one last spell suspending the elves souls until they were reincarnated.
Many years later, the first reincarnation occurred in the form of Patolli. Sharing many physical similarities he posed as Licht and constructed the Eye of The Midnight Sun. Dedicated to the destruction of the Clover Kingdom. Among the members of The Eye of the Midnight Sun none are more prolific then the three other elves reincarnated, the Third Eye; Rhya, representing treachery, Fana representing Hate, and finally Vetto, representing despair.
Among the members, Vetto certainly possesses the highest physical strength though that matters little in the world of Black Clover. It's a good thing his magic is nothing to scoff at either. His 'Beast Magic' provides him with significant buffs to his physical abilities, making him all the more powerful. His main attack is the Bear Claw, a fast moving swipe attack that effortlessly breaks through various materials. His Rhinoceros Armor lets him take absurd levels like it's nothing, even being able to take an attack from Luck and Magna at the same time with barely any reaction. Lastly, his Cheetah Charge increases his speed to absurd levels, even allowing him to outpace Luck Voltia, who's shown to move close to lightspeed at this point in the story.
When he's in tough spot however, Vetto has even more abilities at his disposal. Upon opening his third eye, Vetto gains access to Mythical Beast Magic, further increasing his strength, speed, and durability while also giving his access to new abilities. While non of these abilities have official names due to being the fantasy equivalent of this:
g̸̠̝̣̖͛̅͗͌̇̈́̊̿̓̍h̶̖͉͈̱́̚̕͝t̷̢̙̳͎͖̓̏̏̑̊̐ÿ̵̡͕̣̻̝̩̦̩̘̯̣̄͋̌͌͐̈́̑͂̈́͠͝ ,he does still display new abilities. Mainly, a regeneration spell allowing him to heal entire limbs in seconds and two new attack spells, both of which give him much more range in his attacks allowing him to pierce through the side of the Seabed Temple with ease (more on that later).
That's not even it though, upon his defeat he still has one final attack. By condensing the high amount of mana that one of elf blood has access to, Vetto can essentially turn himself into a bomb of sorts, vaporizing everyone and everything around him. While mana has no official unit, and we don't know how much mana Vetto actually has access to, multiple characters have stated he would've been able to completely destroy the Seabed Temple (again, more on that later) so we can use that as our minimum.
Overall, the killing of the elves was an act spurred by jealousy but Vetto shows one of the many reasons why they're not a kind you want as an enemy either.
Vetto: THE PUREST FORM OF DESPAIR APPEARS THE MOMENT ALL HOPE IS DEAD! ENJOY THE PITS OF DESPAIR!
Ulquiorra Cifer[]
Like the rest of the Espada, Ulquiorra was once a Hollow, however he believed himself to be out of place, alone. Upon finding a white tree he finally found solace taking in it's pure emptiness, even among Hueco Mundo.
Sometime later, he was recruited by Aizen, to become the 4th Espada, paving the way for the Ulquiorra we now know.
Ulquiorra is certainly an oddity of a character. We've seen time and time again, displays of his personality and actions. Not to mention multiple distinctions making him unique among the other Espada. What we never get is a why. Ulquiorra is important to the overall story simply because he is. Maybe it's fitting then, that a character so closely tied to the concept of nothing, doesn't need a reason for his ability.
Being a Arrancar, Ulquiorra has access to a wide variety of abilities from the start. Most notably is the Cero, a high power, concentrated blast of spiritual energy. He also has access to other techniques that draw upon his spiritual energy such as the Bala, a smaller but faster energy blast; and enhancements to his durability and senses.
Where it really starts to kick into high gear is when Ulquiorra chooses to use Resurrección, giving him access to a wide variety of new abilities. Triggered by a specific release command (Enclose), Ulquiorra sprouts wings, gaining the ability off flight and has a dramatic increase in his physical ability right off the bat (heh). As for new techniques, Ulquiorra's Luz de le Luna spawns many energy javelins which he's used for both close and long range capabilities. His Cero Ocuras is an even stronger Cero, stated to be comparable to the Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. Hell, the very act of releasing, as well as the Gran Rey Cero (An attack useable by all Espada, though we never see Ulquiorra himself use it) are stated to be capable of destroying Las Noches itself.
Finally, even if he's defeated in this state, he still has a second transformation, unique among the Espada. His wings increase his size, he gains claws, and even a tail. He uses the tail in various ways, mainly as a whip as it can break through structures specifically designed for defensive capability. His other new ability, beyond the already immense spiritual pressure is the Lanza del Relampago. It shares many similarities with his Luz de le Luna with the distinction of the energy being more flame like in appearance as well as causing huge explosions on impact. It's for this reason that Ulquiorra tends to use this ability for more long range purposes.
Overall, there's really not much to talk about in the history of Ulquiorra, but he's still managed to cement his importance through his overwhelming ability.
Ulquiorra: We are nothingness. And without anything around us, we are nothing.
Death Battle[]
Having been assigned to deal with this specific combatant by Licht, Vetto slowly descended upon his prey. He had no intention of making it 'quick' however, he always loved to savor the despair they felt after all. Still, he began to lunge at the target, aiming for a quick initial blow. Ulquiorra methodically sidestepped, Vetto striking the ground beneath.
Ulquiorra: Is there something the trash needs?...
Vetto meerly grinned back.
Vetto: Despair...
F I G H T !
Vetto swung upwards, Ulquiorra once again sidestepping, this time striking Vetto in the chest, sending him flying backwards.
Vetto: CHEETAH CHARGE!
Vetto's speed increased dramatically, quickly closing the gap between the two. Ulquiorra prepared yet another strike, however...
Vetto: BEAR CLAW!
Vetto struck Ulquiorra in the side of the chest, send him careening to the left. Vetto quickly followed up, stringing multiple blows to Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra took strike after strike before crashing into the ground once again. Ulquiorra casually stood up, before dashing back towards Vetto. Vetto swung open, Ulquiorra knocking his arm out of the way before sending yet another strike to his chest. Ulquiorra raised his arm.
Ulquiorra: ...sigh... Cero.
A green beam erupted from Ulquiorra's hand, the blast hurling itself through the area, kicking up dust before crashing into Vetto. As the dust cleared however, he still stood, a devilish smile on his face.
Vetto: Heh... Rhinoceros Armor.
Vetto once again rushed forward aiming for yet another string of blows. As he closed in, a single word was heard.
Ulquiorra: Enclose.