The Abomination was beyond saving.
At least, Lode couldn't do anything about it at the moment. The Abomination had been so traumatized by Haschwalth that he had PTSD. Now, not to mention becoming a Hollow, he would faint at the sight of Haschwalth.
The most crucial thing was!
The 'mastermind' behind all of this was actually the seven-year-old Yinmeng!
A pink exterior with a black interior, so deceptive!
Lode would have never imagined, even if he racked his brains, that Yinmeng was such a scheming little loli!
Even the usually aloof Haschwalth had his style twisted by Yinmeng!
"Yinmeng..."
Lode sighed, rubbing his forehead, and said, "Can you tell brother, where did you learn all this from?"
"I'm sorry, brother."
Yinmeng clutched at the corner of Lode's clothes with her small hands, staring with her watery eyes, and said aggrievedly, "But according to my memory, Captain Nemu Kurotsuchi treated those sinners like this."
"..."
Lode's eyelids twitched wildly, and he felt anger rising from nowhere. It turned out that the culprit who turned Yinmeng into this was that old pervert!
Good for you, Nemu Kurotsuchi!
Just you wait...
Don't let me summon you, or I'll blow your dog head off!
"Lord Lode, what should we do now?" Realizing his mistake, Haschwalth felt both ashamed and angry.
This was a task personally given to him by Lode, but he had messed it up like this. How could he face Lode?
"Forget it, failure is failure."
Lode sighed and said helplessly, "Without the help of the Hogyoku, even if the Abomination becomes a Hollow, he will only be a Gillian at best."
"Then what should we do with him?" Haschwalth asked again, "Should your subordinate kill him?"
"Hmm..."
Lode thought for a while, shook his head, and said, "Don't kill him yet, leave him here, maybe there will be a chance."
"Yes!"
Haschwalth responded in a deep voice.
Beep beep beep...
Suddenly, the Substitute Soul Reaper badge hanging on Lode's waist rang, emitting a piercing buzzing sound!
"Huh?"
Lode picked up the Substitute Soul Reaper badge and saw the golden skull on it with scarlet light flashing in its eyes. He said with slight surprise, "The feeling of this spiritual pressure, could it be a Menos Grande has appeared?"
The Substitute Soul Reaper badge was one of the tools the system gave him the earliest. It could help the soul quickly escape the Gigai and transform into a Soul Reaper, and it could also detect the spiritual pressure of Hollows within the nearby range. It was a very useful tool.
However, since Lode's number of outings increased, and with the help of Frank, Jessica, and Matt, the Hollows in New York City had been almost completely eliminated, the Substitute Soul Reaper badge rarely rang.
But unexpectedly, it rang today, and according to the spiritual pressure, it was a Menos Grande!
"That's a bit interesting."
Lode revealed a slight smile and said, "I didn't expect that under such circumstances, New York City could still produce a natural Menos Grande."
Seeing that Lode seemed a little interested, Haschwalth quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Lord Lode, a Menos Grande of this level doesn't need you to take action at all, please leave it to me!"
"No need!"
Lode pursed his lips and said, "The spiritual pressure of this Menos Grande is a bit strange, I'll go take a look myself, you and Yinmeng stay at home."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Gigai suddenly shook.
The next second, Lode, dressed in Soul Reaper attire, appeared, stepping on Shunpo and disappearing in place.
"This..." Haschwalth supported Lode's Gigai, with a wry smile on his face: "Lord Lode, you left too fast."
Yinmeng tiptoed, poked Haschwalth, and put her hands on her hips: "Haschwalth, how dare you betray me!"
Instantly,
The bitter look on Haschwalth's face became even more intense.
...
Lode came outside the Jingling Pavilion and found that the sky had already darkened, and New York City had become brightly lit. He took out the Substitute Soul Reaper badge flashing: "Let me see, where is the Menos Grande?"
Beep beep beep...
"West?"
Lode stepped on Shunpo and disappeared, passing through the long sky, leaving a black trace!
Whoosh ~ ~
The wind howled in his ears. Lode ran for more than ten minutes before he saw the target!
The Hollow's body was about two meters tall, its face covered with a white bone mask, and its abdomen was the Hollow's iconic black hole.
Around this Hollow, there was an ominous spiritual pressure, feeling as heavy as stagnant water, and as deep as an abyss!
"This size..... and this spiritual pressure..."
Lode narrowed his eyes slightly, put away his contempt, and thought to himself, "Could it be an Adjuchas that evolved on its own?"
The level of Menos Grande is divided into three categories!
The first category is Gillian, which is formed by hundreds of ordinary Hollows devouring each other, possessing a huge body and low intelligence.
The second category is Adjuchas, which is evolved from Gillian with individual consciousness, constantly devouring similar Menos Grande. Its shape is similar to the size of ordinary Hollows, but it has initially possessed higher intelligence and powerful power far exceeding Gillian!
The third category is Vast Lorde, the highest level of Hollow. Only Adjuchas with 'qualifications' can evolve after devouring similar species, possessing a body close to humans and super high intelligence!
And the Hollow in front of me...
Possesses a body similar to humans, but judging from the spiritual pressure emanating from it and the mask that has not yet been broken, it should not be a Vast Lorde-level Menos Grande!
But even if it is not a Vast Lorde, an 'Adjuchas' that has evolved independently is enough to make him feel Tricky.
"Let's give it a try!"
Lode thought in his heart, and then his figure suddenly disappeared.
The next moment, he appeared in front of the Hollow, and his Zanpakuto was unsheathed!
Clang ~
"Shoot to kill, Shinso!"
In an instant, the blade elongated at an extremely fast speed, leaving a dazzling cold light in the air, stabbing towards the Hollow's mask!
But the Hollow tilted its head and easily dodged Shinso!
Seeing that the attack was easily dodged, Lode raised his left hand calmly, and the Quincy Cross turned into the Judgment, emitting a dazzling spirit particle beam!
This time, the Hollow didn't have time to dodge and was hit head-on by the Holy Annihilation Arrow!
Boom!
The Holy Annihilation Arrow seemed to have hit an indestructible steel wall, only leaving a shallow mark before dissipating due to the problem of spirit power.
"Such hard skin!"
Lode's face changed slightly. Although the power of the Holy Annihilation Arrow was not strong, it could never be defended against so easily.
"Roar — —"
The Hollow's mask cracked, and it let out a piercing roar, interrupting the shocked Lode.
Then, the Hollow raised its fist like a heavy artillery firing, bringing a burst of exploding wind and smashing it fiercely towards him!
"Blood Pulse Ignition!"
Lode was covered with blood-red lines all over his body, holding the hilt of the sword in both hands and taking half a step forward, and then slashing out a sword from top to bottom!
Kendo: Severance!
Bang!
The moment the fist and sword intersected, countless sparks splashed like starlight in the night, and the two completely different spiritual pressures collided fiercely with each other, immediately bursting out with rolling air currents that shattered the surrounding surface.
"Although the power is great, the spirit pressure is only at the level of an ordinary Menos Grande."
Feeling the power coming from the blade and the spiritual pressure bursting out from the Hollow, Lode had already judged that this Hollow was not a real Adjuchas.
It's just that...
What Lode felt a little strange was, why was the hardness of this Hollow's skin so high?
The skin that could block his Zanpakuto and Holy Annihilation Arrow, its defense power should have reached the steel skin of the Arrancar level!