"Zzzzt!"
Wrapped in crackling lightning, Raizen Kō's lightning whip lashed out again and again. With each violent strike, a Giant Hollow was annihilated on the spot. Ever since Raizen Kō ascended into a Giant Hollow himself, his mastery over Flash Lightning had reached an entirely new realm.
"Crack!"
The lightning whip, imbued with terrifying electrical force and tremendous striking range, cleaved a worm-shaped Giant Hollow cleanly in half. Almost simultaneously, Raizen Kō's massive centipede-like tail followed through, plunging into the severed body as Soul Eater activated.
"This Soul Eater… truly delights me!"
Thus, Raizen Kō slaughtered Giant Hollows one after another, devouring them through Soul Eater. With every kill, his Reiatsu surged higher and more oppressive!
After a prolonged series of battles, not only did Raizen Kō show no sign of exhaustion, but instead grew stronger with every engagement like a merciless executioner harvesting lives with mechanical precision.
Each swing of the lightning whip meant the death of a Giant Hollow.
Raizen Kō had just obliterated an ape-like Giant Hollow with a single strike when three more suddenly emerged behind him, claws extended, aiming to tear him apart from the rear.
Unfortunately for them, just as their talons were about to reach him, Raizen Kō vanished in a burst of distortion
Sonido!
In the blink of an eye, he had already reappeared dozens of meters away.
After finishing absorbing the ape-like Hollow's remaining Reishi, Raizen Kō calmly turned his masked face toward the three would-be ambushers, a cruel and cold smile etched into the pale bone.
"Don't rush," he said lightly.
"Take your time… it will be your turn soon."
And so, the Hollows that had previously been locked in chaotic mutual slaughter now shifted their focus, forming an impromptu siege against Raizen Kō.
Yet it was useless.
At this stage, Raizen Kō found killing Giant Hollows of the same rank to be as trivial as slaughtering livestock.
Before long, of the more than twenty Giant Hollows that had been battling, only a single indigo-blue Lizard Hollow remained.
Feeling the weak Reiatsu emanating from this Giant Lizard Hollow, Raizen Kō shook his head slightly. This Hollow had clearly only recently evolved into a Giant Hollow
its size and spiritual pressure were both inferior compared to the others. That was precisely why Raizen Kō had deliberately left it for last.
At this moment, the Lizard Hollow trembled uncontrollably.
Despite its limited intelligence, witnessing Raizen Kō butcher more than a dozen beings of its own rank had carved terror into the very core of its hollowed soul.
Raizen Kō did not even bother to look carefully.
He simply lashed out with his lightning whip.
"Crack!"
With a crisp, violent sound, half of the Lizard Hollow's massive body was erased in a single strike.
Just as Raizen Kō prepared to activate Soul Eater and slowly absorb it to death, something unexpected occurred.
From the obliterated half of the Lizard Hollow's body, countless flesh buds burst forth at astonishing speed. They writhed, intertwined, and rapidly reformed into a new body.
However, once reconstituted, the Lizard Hollow's overall size was noticeably smaller—and its Reiatsu had clearly diminished.
Seeing this, Raizen Kō, who had originally been indifferent, suddenly widened his eyes. Beneath his pale Hollow mask, a look of wild delight bloomed.
"This is… High-Speed Regeneration!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
"I searched endlessly for it… and now I've found it without effort!"
Raizen Kō burst into unrestrained laughter.
High-Speed Regeneration an extremely rare and terrifying Hollow trait, typically seen only among higher Adjuchas and beyond. To encounter it here, in a mere Giant Hollow, was nothing short of absurd luck.
He immediately coiled his massive centipede tail around the Lizard Hollow, binding it tightly, then activated Soul Eater once more.
But this time, he was not merely devouring Reishi.
He was activating the special one-time effect: Steal.
The moment Raizen Kō had unlocked Steal through Soul Eater, his first thought had been High-Speed Regeneration a near "bug-level" ability within Hollow physiology.
He had originally assumed that, due to its rarity and its usual association with Adjuchas and above, it would take a very long time before he could ever acquire it.
He never expected to encounter it so soon after arriving in the Forest of Menos (Menos no Mori).
"Menos no Mori… you truly are a treasure trove for me!"
Raizen Kō tightened his coils around the Lizard Hollow, activated Flash Lightning, and electrocuted it until its entire body was scorched black. The Lizard Hollow could not even scream properly.
At that moment, Raizen Kō opened his mouth wide and seized the opportunity, plunging his tail directly into the Lizard Hollow's mouth and activating Soul Eater at its deepest level!
Of course, Raizen Kō was not doing this out of any grotesque personal inclination it was simply a necessary condition for activating Steal through Soul Eater. After all, he had no interest in a Giant Lizard Hollow itself.
"Ghh… gghhh!"
The Lizard Hollow's four limbs convulsed violently as its body trembled uncontrollably.
Then its face turned ashen, as if something fundamental had been ripped from its existence.
A flash of distorted light passed.
The Lizard Hollow's body rapidly shrank, degenerating until it was only four or five meters long.
"This is… it degenerated into a Powerful Hollow?"
Raizen Kō stared in momentary surprise.
Then, a faint golden arc of lightning flickered between the fingers of his right hand. Without hesitation, he sliced across the pale horned layer on his left wrist.
Instantly, the flesh split open and crimson blood spilled forth.
But in the very next moment
The wound wriggled violently.
Muscle, flesh, and bone reconstructed themselves in the blink of an eye, restoring his arm perfectly.
If not for the blood that had yet to dry, Raizen Kō would have thought he had imagined it.
"High-Speed Regeneration… I can use High-Speed Regeneration!"
Raizen Kō burst into laughter again, gazing at his restored arm.
In the world of Shinigami and Hollows alike, offensive power was absurdly high. Battles between experts could be decided in a single exchange. Possessing High-Speed Regeneration meant that unless his opponent could completely crush him, Raizen Kō could drag them into a battle of attrition and outlast them through sheer resilience.
Moreover, when he ascended to Adjuchas in the future, if his body were severely damaged in battle, he would permanently lose the qualifications for further evolution.
But now…
With High-Speed Regeneration, that fatal flaw had vanished.
Thinking of this, Raizen Kō could not help but smile.
Then his gaze shifted to the small lizard that had lost its regeneration and degenerated into a Powerful Hollow.
Raizen Kō activated Soul Eater once more.
This time, not to steal an ability.
But to devour it completely.
Thus, the Lizard Hollow—already stripped of its evolution—was fully consumed by Raizen Kō.
"It's not that I wanted to eat you," Raizen Kō said calmly, as the last traces dissolved into his body.
"It's simply that after losing your ability and degenerating, you could no longer survive in Menos no Mori. Wandering aimlessly would only lead to a meaningless end. It's better to become part of me and be carried into eternity."
"After all, you gifted me High-Speed Regeneration. Consider this my repayment."
He paused briefly.
"Alas… I am always far too soft-hearted. This isn't good."
Thus, upon his very first arrival in the Forest of Menos, Raizen Kō had slain nineteen Giant Hollows of the same rank.
No—eighteen.
Because that Lizard Hollow had ultimately degenerated into a Powerful Hollow and could no longer be counted among them.
After this battle, Raizen Kō not only acquired High-Speed Regeneration, but also increased his own Reiatsu by more than ten percent.
"Eighteen Giant Hollows… and only a ten percent increase in Reiatsu."
Raizen Kō narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I wonder how I compare now… to that unique Gillian from back then."
Every time his strength increased, he instinctively compared himself to that singular Gillian he had encountered in his earliest days.
That Gillian had left an indelible shock upon Raizen Kō when he had first arrived in Hueco Mundo.
And it was precisely because he had witnessed that Gillian use Cero and Sonido that Raizen Kō had managed to master these two techniques so unnaturally early.