Before long, Raizen Kō had devoured the entire remains of the Chameleon Hollow, leaving not even fragments of its shattered mask behind. Every piece of hardened bone and high-density Reishi dissolved into his body, merging seamlessly with his own existence.
This battle against a Giant Hollow-level opponent had been perilous but the harvest was immense.
Although Raizen Kō's physical size had not increased, still towering at over ten meters, the change within him was undeniable. His Reiatsu surged violently, nearly doubling in intensity. The weight of his presence alone distorted the surrounding Reishi currents, a clear sign that his strength had leapt forward.
At this moment, Raizen Kō was certain.
Even if the Chameleon Hollow were resurrected and forced to fight him again, he could defeat it cleanly, even without preemptively destroying its tongue with a Cero.
Nearby, the small dog-shaped Hollow now dubbed Little Yellow Dog by Raizen Kō had finished devouring the chunk of flesh larger than its entire body. Its form was visibly sturdier than before, limbs taut with new strength.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
It barked cheerfully, its tone strangely expressive.
"You're saying you can help heal my injuries?"
Though Little Yellow Dog could only bark like a normal canine Hollow, Raizen Kō found somehow that he could understand its intent clearly, as though Reiryoku itself carried meaning.
He gently lifted the small Hollow and placed it on his shoulder as it gestured insistently.
The dog Hollow hopped onto Raizen Kō's back and carefully licked the two bloodied wounds that had only just begun to scab.
What followed was nothing short of miraculous.
The scar tissue dissolved almost instantly.
The wounds sealed smoothly.
Raizen Kō's back returned to its pristine, armored state as if never injured at all.
"I didn't expect you to possess such an ability," Raizen Kō said, genuinely surprised.
"In that case… follow me."
"Woof! Woof!"
Little Yellow Dog barked twice happily, then stood obediently on Raizen Kō's left shoulder.
Raizen Kō coiled his tail around the two bone spurs that had nearly ended his life and departed the battlefield with his new companion.
The Blade of Bone
Within a cave formed from compressed, hardened sand, Little Yellow Dog lay curled in a corner, deeply asleep, clearly still digesting the Reishi it had consumed.
Raizen Kō, meanwhile, stared at the two massive bone spurs in his grasp.
These weapons had nearly killed him.
Originally, he had planned to devour them but their density far exceeded what his teeth could currently process. When he attempted to bite into one earlier, the pain had nearly shattered his fangs.
And so, he kept them.
Now that he examined them closely, Raizen Kō realized they resembled the thick bone spikes that jutted from the necks of certain Gillian-class Menos.
How a Giant Hollow like the Chameleon had obtained them… remained a mystery.
Recalling how he had been poisoned by direct contact with the Hollow's blood, Raizen Kō made a decision.
These would become his weapons.
In his previous life, he had once studied swordsmanship under a respected kendo master not out of ambition, but curiosity. The tuition alone had cost him dearly.
He had never imagined that knowledge would one day save his life in another world.
Slowly, he recalled the fundamentals:
The eight basic movements of the blade: thrust, cut, upward slash, guard, sweep, point, collapse, and intercept.
Clearly, these bone spurs were ill-suited for elaborate techniques.
But they were perfect for one thing:
Thrusting.
For Hollows of low intelligence, precision mattered more than complexity.
Raizen Kō raised one spur in both hands, arms aligned with the weapon, forming a straight killing line.
Then he struck.
The air shrieked violently.
Thus, Raizen Kō trained relentlessly in the cave thrusting into empty space again and again.
"Being a Hollow… is far more convenient than being human."
In his previous life, a few minutes of practice would leave him exhausted.
Now, he performed thousands of thrusts without fatigue.
Little Yellow Dog awoke midway through this and stared blankly at the massive creature repeatedly attacking nothing at all.
The New Territory
Hueco Mundo Desert — New Territory Sector
"Croaaak!"
A five-meter-tall, bloated, flame-red frog Hollow barreled across the sand, chasing a normal-sized dog Hollow ahead of it.
Little Yellow Dog sprinted desperately, its speed remarkable for its size. The frog Hollow nearly gave up
Until Little Yellow Dog suddenly slowed.
The frog Hollow croaked sharply and surged forward again.
Little Yellow Dog darted up a sand dune and stopped abruptly.
The frog Hollow lunged wildly
Only to be impaled from below by a bone spur that erupted from the sand.
Sizzle!
A violent arc of dark-gold lightning surged through the weapon, coursing through the frog Hollow's entire body.
"Croaaak!!"
It screamed in agony, eyes locking onto Little Yellow Dog in rage.
Then Little Yellow Dog leapt aside.
Raizen Kō burst from beneath the sand and swung his weapon horizontally, slicing the frog Hollow cleanly in half.
"Well done, Little Yellow Dog."
Raizen Kō tore off a hind leg and handed it to his partner while consuming the rest himself.
In the New Territory, the two had developed perfect synergy:
Little Yellow Dog lured.
Raizen Kō ambushed and executed.
They had already hunted more than a dozen Hollows—five of them powerful ones.
This efficiency far exceeded Raizen Kō's previous solo hunts.
With constant real combat, Raizen Kō's thrusting technique had grown sharp and precise.
He could now maintain Flash Lightning along the bone spur for extended durations a technique that had allowed him to instantly kill a Hollow of equal rank moments ago.
There was only one flaw:
The weapon was slightly too long for his current form.
But that would soon change.
Raizen Kō could feel his Reiatsu compressing, thickening, reaching a critical threshold.
One more Fresh Hollow.
That was all it would take.
Once he evolved into a Giant Hollow, his form would perfectly match these weapons.
He would not delay.
"Roar!"
A crocodile-shaped Fresh Hollow burst from the dunes, charging straight at him.
"What timing."
Little Yellow Dog jumped from Raizen Kō's shoulder and blinked in confusion at the suicidal beast.
Raizen Kō thrust.
The crocodile Hollow was skewered like prey on a spit.
Instead of devouring it immediately, Raizen Kō carried the corpse back to the cave.
A Giant Hollow's evolution could not be interrupted.
And Raizen Kō would not allow anyone to interfere.