"ROOOAAARR!"
"ROOOAAARR!"
"ROOOAAARR!"
Hundreds of Gillians roared in unison, their hollow cries echoing across the desolate forest of Hueco Mundo as they followed the will of their master, Hubert Allen.
Each roar vibrated through the air like a wave of crushing Reiatsu. Yekawa could clearly feel the disturbance ripple through the spiritual pressure circulating within his body, as though invisible hands were pressing down upon his very core.
"So this is… a coordinated suppression field?"
Yekawa's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had not expected an Adjuchas to possess enough authority and intelligence to synchronize hundreds of Gillians into a combined Reiatsu resonance, forcibly interfering with his own flow of spiritual energy.
A faint headache pulsed through his skull.
"You carry Ian Grey's Reiatsu on you."
A cold, mocking voice drifted down from above.
"That worthless fool deserved to die. He even allowed my spiritual pressure to leak just to lure you here. To think a mere Menos Grande would dare wield a Shinigami's Zanpakutō… truly amusing."
A Hollow descended slowly from the massive tree nest.
It was only four to five meters tall small by Hollow standards yet the density of its Reiatsu far surpassed that of any Gillian present. Its form was half-human, half-serpent: pale humanoid upper body fused to a long scaled tail, its mask shaped like a distorted serpent skull with slitted eyes that glowed faint crimson.
It stood coiled upon the tree trunk, gazing down at Yekawa with calm disdain.
"You alone dream of killing me? You court death."
Its lips curled into a cruel smile.
"The instant you killed Ian Grey, the fragment of my Reiatsu within him sensed your presence. I have been waiting ever since."
Yekawa lifted his gaze slowly.
Compared to his own towering Gillian form, Hubert Allen appeared deceptively small yet the oppressive pressure rolling off his body left no doubt.
This was no ordinary Hollow.
This was a true Adjuchas.
For the first time since entering Hueco Mundo, Yekawa was standing before a complete, fully evolved Adjuchas-class Hollow.
"So you are the master behind them…"
Yekawa silently observed him, carefully gauging the structure of his Reiatsu, the stability of his form, the refinement of his spiritual pressure.
Then Hubert Allen spoke again, his tone suddenly shifting.
"I will grant you mercy."
His voice was calm, almost benevolent.
"Mutilate your form. Let me inject my venom into your core, and swear loyalty to me.
Become my subordinate, Hubert Allen's servant — and I shall spare your existence."
He had mistaken Yekawa for an Adjuchas.
As for demanding that Yekawa cripple his own form, it was simple cruelty forcing him to fall from Adjuchas rank into a lesser Hollow, forever bound by venom and submission.
What Hubert Allen did not know… was that Yekawa was not an Adjuchas at all.
He was not even a Gillian.
He was merely a Menos Grande yet one who had devoured countless Hollows and broken the limits of his rank.
"Snap!"
Hubert Allen flicked his fingers.
Instantly, hundreds of Gillians surrounding Yekawa raised their heads, crimson light gathering in their masks as they began charging their Cero in perfect unison all aimed directly at him.
Yekawa felt the pressure surge like an ocean closing in.
"…Tch."
For a brief moment, silence fell.
Then without warning
Yekawa raised his Zanpakutō.
And severed his own left arm in a single clean strike.
Blood erupted like a crimson waterfall, splashing against the pale sands of Hueco Mundo.
"I… offer… my loyalty… Lord Hubert Allen…"
Yekawa released his Zanpakutō, allowing it to fall to the ground with a dull clang, then lifted his severed arm high with his remaining hand.
Hubert Allen froze.
Then, he burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! Excellent! I admire decisiveness!"
He snapped his fingers once more, and the Gillians immediately halted their Cero charging.
With a flash of Sonído, Hubert Allen vanished from the tree and appeared directly before Yekawa, extending his clawed hand toward the offered arm.
But in that instant
The severed limb began to writhe violently.
Flesh twisted.
Bones reshaped.
In less than a breath, Yekawa's left arm regenerated completely.
And in that regenerated hand, crackling with dark-golden lightning, formed a lightning whip forged of Reiatsu.
"This is… Rai—"
"WHOOSH!"
Before Hubert Allen could finish reacting, Yekawa lashed the whip forward.
Though Hubert Allen retreated instantly with Sonído, the lightning pursued him relentlessly, curving through the air like a living serpent and slamming directly into his mask.
"ROOOAAARR!!!"
The Adjuchas screamed as his body was hurled backward into the trees.
A deep fracture split his mask.
Crimson blood trickled down through the cracks.
"You… YOU DARE DAMAGE MY MASK?!"
Hubert Allen's voice erupted with madness.
The mask was the core of a Hollow's existence.
With it damaged, his path to Vasto Lorde was forever severed.
From now on, he would be forced to devour endlessly just to prevent degeneration trapped permanently within the Adjuchas rank.
"I'LL TEAR YOU APART ALIVE!"
Yekawa extended his hand, and his Zanpakutō flew back into his grasp.
With Sonído, he surged forward, blade flashing toward Hubert Allen's shattered mask.
Hubert Allen retreated rapidly, his fingernails extending like spears, each claw carrying black-and-red Reiatsu as they collided violently with Yekawa's blade, sending shockwaves through the forest.
"You despicable trickster!"
"Noisy."
Yekawa raised his left hand, a black-and-red Cero forming instantly.
Hubert Allen answered in kind, firing his own Cero from the tip of his serpent tail.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The beams collided violently.
Yet Hubert Allen's Cero pierced through first, blasting a bloody hole straight through Yekawa's waist.
"Cough… as expected… challenging an Adjuchas is no simple matter…"
But the flesh wriggled.
High-Speed Regeneration activated.
Within seconds, the wound vanished.
Hubert Allen stared in disbelief.
"If only I possessed High-Speed Regeneration…"
Jealousy twisted his features.
Roaring, he commanded the Gillian army once more.
Yekawa knew he could not delay.
Drawing every ounce of Reiatsu he possessed, he raised his blade high.
A fusion of Zanjutsu memory and lightning-based Reiatsu surged into a single strike.
"Thunderclap Slash!"
And the sky split apart.