Great Hollow Forest.
Yekawa held a small centipede covered in dark golden patterns in his hand. The creature opened its mouth and spat out a tiny, faintly glowing white speck of light.
Catching the small light in his palm, the corners of Yekawa's mouth beneath his mask lifted so high they nearly reached the sky.
"Ginjo really is capable. That kid managed to find the second Spirit King fragment so quickly."
"Soul Eater."
The moment the ability activated, the Spirit King fragment dissolved just like the previous one, transforming into pure white reishi that flowed directly into Yekawa's body.
"Ah… this feeling really is wonderful."
A low, satisfied moan escaped him as the pleasant sensation spread through his limbs.
"With just two more fragments, I will definitely succeed in becoming an Arrancar."
After absorbing the second Spirit King fragment, Yekawa's centipede clone automatically opened a Garganta to Hueco Mundo, returning to the Human World and reappearing beside Ginjo.
Meanwhile, Yekawa himself transformed into a streak of brilliant lightning and rushed toward the Great Hollow Home he had personally established.
As he passed through the region that had once been known as the New Territory, he suddenly sensed three powerful bursts of spiritual pressure erupting dozens of miles ahead and slightly to the left.
One of those spiritual pressures clearly belonged to a Hollow, and its strength was astonishing comparable to Halibel's.
The remaining two spiritual signatures were extremely violent and unstable, much like the incomplete Arrancar Ito Makoto had encountered during his Soul Burial examination.
"Another Vasto Lorde… could it be…"
Thinking of a certain possibility, Yekawa immediately altered his course. Lightning flashed as he shot toward the source of the battle.
Bang!
A Vasto Lorde shaped like a half-human goat, its face covered by a skull mask with two long horns, was smashed violently into a crater in the sand. In its hands was a double-headed bone spear.
"Impossible! You're only Adjuchas how could you possibly…"
Nelliel stared at the two Adjuchas whose forms had changed drastically, confusion written across her masked face.
"Hahaha! Adjuchas? We're no longer such lowly creatures. Now we've surpassed the limits of Hollows!"
"We are Arrancar!"
One of the incomplete Arrancar had the body of a human but the head of a pig. His mask was broken and his swollen belly hung grotesquely as he sneered at the fallen Nelliel.
Beside him stood another incomplete Arrancar with a human body and a horse's head. His damaged mask exposed a mouth full of jagged steel-like teeth, and thick strands of saliva dripped from his lips.
"Never expected this, did you? A naturally born Vasto Lorde… about to be killed by the Adjuchas you once defeated!"
"Cry! Beg! Let me see how pitiful you look when you beg for mercy!"
The horse-headed Arrancar grew increasingly excited as he spoke, even letting out strange screeching laughs.
"Arrancar…"
Nelliel lay in the crater, her body covered in wounds. Even so, she gripped the bone spear in her hands, preparing to throw it in a final desperate attack.
At the same time, the two Arrancar raised their hands and began charging Cero, aiming directly at her.
Seeing this, Nelliel's lips slowly curved into a faint smile.
Zzzzt!
Two powerful Cero fired downward, accompanied by the shrill laughter of the incomplete Arrancar.
Yet in the next instant, something happened that left both of them completely stunned.
The Vasto Lorde who had appeared too weak to even stand suddenly opened her mouth and swallowed both incoming Cero whole.
Immediately afterward, the black-and-red Cero merged with a newly formed pink Cero inside her mouth. The combined energy swelled violently, its power tripling before it erupted outward.
"Cero Doble!"
Boom!
The horse-headed Arrancar reacted quickly and used Sonido to escape the blast. However, the pig-headed Arrancar was half a second too slow.
The devastating beam tore straight through him, blowing away the entire upper half of his body. Only the lower half remained, collapsing heavily onto the sand.
Hidden in the shadows, Yekawa clicked his tongue quietly.
"Aizen's Arrancar experiments are progressing too slowly. Why are these Arrancar still this weak?"
"Come on, Lord Aizen… I'm counting on you to perfect this transformation so the Menos Grande under my command can evolve completely."
With the Hōgyoku, the ideal Arrancar should be vastly superior. An Adjuchas that becomes a true Arrancar ought to easily defeat a Vasto Lorde that hasn't undergone the transformation.
Yet here, two Arrancar Adjuchas had ganged up on an untransformed Nelliel and one of them had even been counter-killed.
Clearly, there was still far too much "water" in this incomplete Arrancarization.
"At this rate, I won't even get a chance to play the hero and save the beauty."
Watching the embarrassing performance of the two Arrancar, Yekawa shook his head helplessly in the shadows.
Back on the battlefield, Nelliel had just used Cero Doble to eliminate the pig-headed Arrancar. Now she staggered upright, gripping her double-headed spear as she prepared to finish off the remaining enemy.
The horse-headed Arrancar panicked, repeatedly using Sonido to dodge her attempts to attack.
Bang!
But the moment Nelliel forced herself fully to her feet, before she could even raise her arm
Her exhausted body gave out, and she collapsed back into the crater.
Seeing this, the horse-headed Arrancar who had already retreated hundreds of feet immediately turned around and rushed back, intending to kill her while she was completely drained.
"I never thought I'd be the one who laughs last!"
"The flesh of a Vasto Lorde… I'll savor it all by myself!"
"Damn it…"
Watching the half-horse Arrancar slowly approach, Nelliel could only roar weakly in frustration.
Zzzzzzt!
Suddenly, a pillar of dark golden lightning fell from the sky.
The horse-headed Arrancar, who had been secretly reveling in victory, was struck directly by the bolt. In an instant he was roasted inside and out, his body blackened and smoking.
Nelliel struggled to open her eyes.
Through blurred vision she could only see the vague outline of a humanoid figure standing before her… before she finally lost consciousness.
Yekawa glanced at the two Arrancar corpses lying on the sand and immediately activated Soul Eater.
Before long, both bodies were completely devoured.
"Hm? That's all?"
Feeling the reishi flowing into his body, Yekawa frowned.
The spiritual pressure contained in those two Arrancar was no stronger than that of ordinary Adjuchas. The only difference was a faint trace of unusual reishi a degraded energy similar to the Spirit King's power.
But the quantity was pitifully small.
For Yekawa, it was practically negligible.
After some time, the heavily wounded and exhausted Nelliel slowly regained consciousness.
She discovered that her injuries had been crudely bandaged. The horse-headed Arrancar who had tried to devour her had disappeared completely.
Before her stood a humanoid Menos Grande with black hair and dark eyes.
Under her mask, Nelliel's large eyes darted about nervously. Her two front hooves gently scratched at the sand in front of her as she asked timidly:
"Um… did you save me?"
Seeing her shy and awkward behavior, Yekawa found it unexpectedly amusing.
She was already this adorable even before becoming an Arrancar. What would she look like once she evolved further?
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yekawa."
"I am the leader of the Great Hollow Home. At the moment, I am searching for powerful and kind companions like you to join us."
"Would you be willing to join me… unknown Vasto Lorde?"
Nelliel blinked in surprise at the invitation.
Then she proudly puffed out her chest and slowly circled around Yekawa, examining him carefully. Although she had not yet become an Arrancar, the beginnings of the famously impressive figure she would later possess were already faintly visible.
Finally, she extended a hand toward him.
"Um… hello. My name is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."
"Please take care of me from now on, partner."