Casilda Selestino

"You have quite a habit of boring the hell out of me... you're smart, aren't you? If so, then you should pick up my spiritual energy. It's not like yours, which is of Gillian nature. I am of a far stronger breed of Arrancar, and I could easily pick you apart... but that would take too much work. I am what you would call a Vasto Lorde."

- Cortez to Afable Jugador

Cortez Selestino (ヘブンリートライアンフ, Korutes Selestino) is an Arrancar and the Primera in the Espada Afilado. Her Fracción is Afable Jugador.

Appearance
Cortez has long, straight hair that flows down to his shoulders, his bangs partially covering both of his golden eyes. Her skin is a pale Caucasian color. She also wears a shirt that is only enough to cover the upper torso, exposing her shoulders and mid-driff. Her hakama is white and outlined in black, her two Zanpakutō are secured to her waists, in two hidden pockets. Arm bands cover her upper arm, as well as uniquely shaped, bone-like bracelets that cover her forearms.

Personality
Socially, Cortez can prove to be lazy, unenthusiastic, and extremely easily bored. Other than in situations where she has to brief and command her fellow Espada, she is rarely known to communicate with anyone, and spends much of her time sleeping, often to the point that she will not awaken for days. She is commonly indifferent to most of what happens behind her, though she will remember information that is needed for further use. The reason for this is because of her own power and intelligence; to her, there has never been a challenge or a new puzzle that she hasn't solved (which indicates a certain extent of arrogance). Despite her immense strength, she is not violent or arrogant, and is aware of the people that are above even her. She will never show hatred even for her enemies, only seeing them as opponents who she has to get by in order to achieve her goals. Even in combat, Cortez does not change her bored attitude, easily shrugging off taunts and insults made towards her way with a bored remark of her own (which can infuriate some). However, she can fight aggressively when needed, and is not afraid of brutal methods in order to take her opponent down. In an effort to bring up entertainment and a bit of challenge for herself, she will point out what the enemy is doing wrong so that he/she would be prepared to fight against her. In fights that do prove to be more of a surprise and obstacle to her, she will comment on the effect to her opponent in a complimentary manner.

Despite her seemingly unmovable attitude, Cortez does possess at least a certain worry about her teammates. When her Tercera was seemingly slain by Sōsuke Aizen, she was virtually unaffected. However, when the entire team with her was brought down by him and seemingly killed, she fell into a grieving depression, losing her resolve to fight. When Nicolao Jandro was seen still standing after the brutal attack on him and the rest of Cortez's team, she was surprised at him not suffering a scratch.

Synopsis

 * The Lone Fighter: Senkaku Ningensei vs Nori Haruo
 * First Encounter with an Arrancar - Taka vs Hermosa
 * Battle Lovers meet! Ahatake Kurosaki vs Kenpachi Zaraki!

Recruitment Arc

 * Sly Wit Makes Dead Men

Hueco Mundo Regrowth Arc

 * The Dark Clouds Have Gathered! Return of Past Evils...

Powers & Abilities
Immense Spiritual Power: As the strongest Espada and a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar, Cortez possesses tremendous spiritual energy that exceeds a Captain-level opponent's, her presence dangerously overwhelming when active. She is capable of bringing down any of the Espada below them to their knees with just the use of her spiritual pressure without any visible effort (with the majority of them being Captain-level). The only known people known demand that have as much spiritual pressure as her would be the likes of Seireitou Kawahiru and Sōsuke Aizen.


 * Explosive Wires: Cortez can wrap her own spiritual energy around her blade, manipulate, condense it, and swing it in the form of thin wires. At first, they seem to be harmless, invisible to the naked eye and near-impossible to detect by sense. However, they can prove to be quite a deadly weapon in terms of ambush and surprise tactics. When one touches the wires, they are subject to a powerful explosion of varying size and degree. Cortez can control when the trigger occurs, and can set these wires up in order to cage her opponents, or simply wrap them in the strings in order to finish them off quickly.


 * Resurrección de Castigo Divino (神の罰の復活, Resurrection of Divine Punishment): This ability summons large, crimson-colored, and cross-shaped structures in the hundreds, each two times taller than the average humanoid being. These can appear to be embedded in the ground (similar to that of a mass graveyard), or in the air, depending on wherever Cortez chooses to spawn them. They do not provide attack power directly, and seem like a mere visual effect for intimidation purposes at first. However, they are actually regulating the amount of reiatsu in the combat area. If one were to exert too much power and exceed the common Captain-class reiatsu, all of that power would be reflected by the crosses back at the one who exerted it. The pressure is instantaneous and can crush an opponent's bones in seconds.

Enhanced Hierro: Cortez's Hierro is highly formidable, her skin being able to withstand strikes from a Bankai-level opponent with minimal damage. The common Captain's Bankai is only capable of doing such, and in her released form, such attacks are non-existant to her. She can only be cut by opponents of equal calibre, and even then it takes effort in order to do so. A high-level Kido spell from the likes of Sōsuke Aizen proved to do only minor damage to her, even at point-blank range.

Sonído Master: Cortez's Sonído speed is so great it is often mistaken for teleportation - the method of simply moving from one place to another. She takes great pride in this skill, using it commonly to catch opponents off-guard (particularly ones with confident and/or arrogant attitudes towards him). She is skilled at evading various attacks made by her enemies, keeping herself a steady defensive pace against an aggressor. Her skill, although for a short while, was comparable to that of Sōsuke Aizen's level.

Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Cortez possesses tremendous skill in swordsmanship, being able to fight on even ground with masters of swordsmanship. She is ambidextrous, capable of fighting with a sword in her left hand in her right. When fighting with both of his swords, she can prove to be a dangerous threat and can easily overwhelm her opponent if they're not careful enough. Her attacks are swift and precise, enabling her to land lethal blows to her opponent.

Cero: Cortez's Cero is rose-colored. While initially standard, Cortez's way of using it prove to be quite unique. She is able to fire off a Cero without warning, as well as from various body parts such as the forehead, palm, and finger. The speed of her Cero is instantaneous, leaving little time for targets to react. It is not only limited to simple single fire - Cortez can fire a volley of Cero at her enemy for much more damage. She can control and stop the paths of these Cero. When they are stopped, they continuously contract and expand like shockwave bubbles, creating an effective minefield to trap an enemy directly or indirectly.

Garganta: Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Cortez has the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway.

Genius Intellect: Cortez possesses a great amount of observance, intellect, and analyzation when in combat. Through a calm exterior, she can easily keep track of her opponent and note out even the small details of their attack pattern. She has a habit of analyzing her enemy first before commensing her own attacks in order to counter them.

High-Speed Regeneration: A weakness in Cortez is that she doesn't possess the enhanced Hierro that most of her teammates do. However, she makes up for it with her regeneration - a trait that focuses on the helplessness against blows that one sentenced to crucifixion would feel. She can regenerate even lost limbs, and even vital organs. However, she can only heal ten grievous injuries at a time. That number is doubled when she is in her released form.

Zanpakutō
Verdugo (死刑執行人, Beredugo; Spanish for Executioner, Japanese for Innocent Man's Killer): Cortez's swords take the form of cutlasses. Its blade size is the same as a katana's, though wider. The blade is slightly curved outward, and the tip of it is pointed like a claw.
 * Resurrección: Verdugo's release command is "Punish" (処罰, shobatsu). In her released form, Cortez's appearance takes on a more drastic change, though she still retains a humanoid form over anything else. Her skin takes on an even paler color, her hair turning white. She has a total of three bird-like wings, two on her back, and one that had previous been her right arm. Her outfit consists of what looks like a black and tattered dress, the majority of her legs, midsection, shoulders, and part of her right thigh seen.


 * Resurrección Special Ability: Cortez's special ability revolves around the feeling of helplessness that a crucified victim feels, hence her aspect of death. With her own will, anything she makes physical contact with is immediately "negated", broken down and erased from existance. Although this is commonly used in close-quarters combat, it can be used for longer ranges. To do this, Cortez must pull her lance back and thrust it towards her target. A burst of spiritual energy with the speed of a Bala will be fired. When it hits, there will be no damage sustained. However, from that point on, Cortez can negate an opponent's inner organs as well as outer, capable of erasing vital points such as the heart and brain. Cortez can use this as a defensive measure as well as offensive, able to nullify nearly any attack directed towards her person.

Trivia

 * Cortez's theme song is Grace by Apocalyptica.
 * The beginning letters in Cortez's first and last name are a play off of the former Primera's, Coyote Starrk - a reference to him, to be exact.