Chapter 006
By modifying one of the broken spells-the Hohō-based rush technique-to release the shock wave in a gentler manner, it could silently alter the properties of the ground or sand, making them far easier to traverse.
Its true brilliance lay in how one used it. Those who only viewed Hadō or Hohō as mere output skills would fail to understand its depth.
Urahara-san had praised the move, but Kazuki ignored him. He was focused on sensing the spiritual pressure inside the building and adjusting his infiltration plan; socializing was not on his mind.
However, the Hollow's reiatsu within seemed unusually sluggish and unchanged even as he reached the lower levels of the structure.
Such calmness kept him alert.
"...It's not that simple, is it?"
Based on his experience watching countless movies in his previous life, Kazuki knew that missions appearing easy at first often hid disastrous turns. Many heroes met their downfall from that kind of complacency. Perhaps the house was rigged with hidden traps, or worse-what if the Hollow had already sensed him and was merely feigning ignorance?
And to make things worse-the captain had practically raised a flag before he left.
"It's fine... probably..."
Even if things went wrong, this was only one of his clones. Death wasn't exactly permanent for it.
After reaching the building's foundation, Kazuki adjusted the frequency of his spiritual waves, carefully breaking down the stone and sand into powdered fragments without noise.
Once he hollowed out a narrow passage into the structure, he suppressed his reiatsu to the limit and vaulted upward.
Two seconds later, his sight adjusted to the dim light, and his first reaction was to curse under his breath.
"Damn it-"
It was unmistakably some sort of laboratory.
Strange mechanical instruments filled the room-complex and heavy-beyond his understanding. Two rows of enormous cylindrical tanks stood against the wall, each filled with yellow-green fluid that suspended Hollow corpses in distorted shapes.
It looked like the set of a low-budget horror film.
Though the corpses were lifeless, the sight and the stench that hung in the air were enough to unsettle him. Wasting no time, Kazuki swiftly exited the chamber.
He sensed the main source of spiritual pressure coming from above-that was his target.
Exiting into the corridor, he found walls lined with additional rooms, identical in function. Each contained similar displays of dissected Hollows and specimen jars.
"So... this place is either some kind of corpse museum... or a research lab?"
Either was possible. In Hueco Mundo, oddities were common; perversion took countless forms. At this point in time, Aizen hadn't unified Hueco Mundo, so bizarre creations roaming freely was far from unusual. What did unsettle him, however, was the latter possibility.
Who in Hueco Mundo could possibly organize scientific research?
There was only one name that came to mind-Szayelaporro Granz, the future Octava Espada.
Yet the details didn't fit. Szayelaporro had once been of Vasto Lorde class before splitting his own essence through experimentation, but the reiatsu Kazuki sensed above was that of an Adjuchas at best. Weak even, considering there had been no reaction to his infiltration so far. That discrepancy made little sense.
"Troublesome..." he clicked his tongue. "...really troublesome."
Overthinking wouldn't help. The answer was upstairs. He'd find out soon enough.
..............
Everyone had their weaknesses. Just as Kurosaki Ichigo was dense about spirits at first, Kazuki lacked any natural talent-or interest-for scientific apparatus.
Like any ordinary person, his only reaction upon seeing strange machinery was to think, "Looks cool," or "Wow, that's awesome."
Ask him to explain why, and he'd fail instantly.
He had no basis for it. In his past life, he was a liberal arts student; in this one, his focus was entirely on spiritual combat. Scientists would probably regard him the way scholars looked at monkeys, unless the system itself granted him knowledge directly someday.
Walking deeper into the structure, he couldn't help recalling his uneasy experiences being subjected to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute's tests. Every foreign device he encountered tensed his shoulders further.
"What's this? And that? Am I supposed to be some old lady on a museum tour?"
He sighed under his breath. "I should've dragged Urahara-san here. Feels like this could be some kind of trap... hopefully none of this junk suddenly transforms and jumps me."
His stomach tightened-it took hard work to earn this much composure in Hueco Mundo, and this eerie environment was testing it badly.
Moving in silence up the staircase, Kazuki approached the source of the concentrated reiatsu. The heavy door before him was left partially unlatched, and faint clanging echoed from within-metal striking metal in measured rhythm. Yet, the flow of spiritual pressure hadn't shifted at any point.
He reminded himself firmly-important thoughts required repetition-he wasn't afraid of dying right now. This was only one body. And whatever awaited him, he would face it directly.
He exhaled once and pushed the door open.
It took him another second for his eyes to register the room's details-and his brow lifted in disbelief.
There was someone there. Or rather, something-a humanoid Hollow.
Judging from the reiatsu, she was indeed at the Adjuchas level. Her figure was humanoid-tall and lean-with armor-like plating that hugged her frame like an organic exoskeleton. The hollow hole sat at the center of her throat, and her mask covered her entire head in the shape of a smooth helmet reminiscent of those used by motorcycle riders. From beneath its lower edge spilled long strands of white hair reaching her waist.
He couldn't see her face, but there was no mistaking the striking presence she carried-she must have been beautiful once, perhaps even now beneath that mask.
What drew his attention next were her movements.
When Kazuki entered, she had been seated at the table, hammering away at some metallic component while carving at another piece with precision tools. The surroundings confirmed it-half-finished machinery and finely crafted parts lay scattered everywhere. At the far side of the room stood what looked like the half-built frame of some cylindrical device.
As Kazuki stepped in with Nagaretsuki held loosely at his side, the Hollow froze mid-motion. In the heavy silence that followed, the faint sound of her swallowing filled the room.
"...Shinigami!"
Her tone carried clear panic though the timbre was oddly pleasant-young, almost musical.
"Shinigami's come for me!"
She lurched backward, grabbing the curved blade resting by her workstation, leaping into defensive stance as her limbs trembled slightly.
Kazuki said nothing, observing in silence. Her posture was unsteady. There was no mistaking it-the Hollow's hands were shaking as she clutched her weapon.
PS GOALS: 150 PS= 5-10 extra chapter on an update.
💕💕
READ 45+ ADVANCED CHAPTER AT MY P@TREON! FOR ONLY 10$
at [email protected] /Zaneninjacat
💕💕
💀💀 gimme powerstones!💀💀