"Do we have any sub-class Hollows capable of explosive techniques?"
Sombravida's question came without preamble.
Considering the scale of enemies they would soon face, direct confrontation alone would not be sufficient.
Jekain nodded.
"Yes. Two low-level Adjuchas possess explosion-related abilities."
"One produces parasitic biological explosives."
"The other can infuse explosive force into his reiatsu projectiles. However, it cannot be combined with Cero."
Sombravida considered this.
"What about high-velocity piercing projectiles? Needles, spikes, or hardened bone structures?"
Jekain paused.
"There is one. A Hollow whose back is covered in hardened spikes. He launches them as weapons."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…You are preparing a trap."
Nel tilted her head.
"We're setting traps again?"
Sombravida nodded.
"Yes."
"We need time."
Buying Time
"Time?" Nel repeated, confused.
Sombravida folded his arms behind his back.
"Gatmont has broken through the southern front and is crushing one alliance."
"But even Gatmont cannot defeat two intact alliances and nearly a hundred Adjuchas reinforcements."
"While our northern advance is slow, our objective is attrition and resource seizure — not reckless conquest."
He turned slightly.
"If we delay enemy reinforcements and prevent coordination between alliances, Gatmont's offensive will succeed."
"At the same time, we reduce pressure on our own front."
"And while confusion spreads…"
His eyes glinted.
"I will infiltrate border territories and assassinate isolated Adjuchas."
"They still do not know the true assassin."
"This allows us to repeat previous tactics: erosion, fear, and internal distrust."
He paused.
"But this window will close. Once they understand, they will launch a final unified assault."
"When that happens, Gatmont and I must each devour an alliance."
"Otherwise, we lose."
Nel stared.
"…I still don't understand."
Sombravida laughed softly and ruffled her hair beneath her mask.
"It's simply layered tactics."
"If our technology were more advanced, we could create far more interesting results."
He looked at both of them.
"For now, this territory is under your command."
Nel straightened proudly.
"Leave it to me, Lord Sombravida!"
Ability Demonstrations
Jekain returned shortly with two Adjuchas.
They knelt.
"State your names and abilities."
Hendron
"My King, I am Hendron."
"My ability allows me to launch the spikes growing from my body."
"They regenerate using spiritual energy."
The Hollow resembled a massive hedgehog, but its limbs were thick and muscular.
"Unlimited production?" Sombravida asked.
"Yes. As long as I possess reiatsu."
"Show me."
Hendron removed a spike and offered it respectfully.
Sombravida tested it.
Flexibility: moderate.
Durability: limited.
Sharpness: excellent.
He dragged it across his forearm, cutting through Hierro and opening a deep wound.
Several Hollows flinched.
Their king tested weapons on himself as if pain were irrelevant.
Sombravida extended his arm.
Nel immediately licked the wound.
It regenerated.
Sombravida nodded.
"With sufficient velocity, these could penetrate mid-level Hierro."
"But not reliably kill."
"Still useful."
Gesbord
The second Adjuchas stepped forward.
"My King, I am Gesbord."
"I split my tissue to create larval bombs."
"Currently sufficient to injure low-level Adjuchas."
He resembled a swollen beetle, his abdomen grotesquely enlarged.
He separated a piece of flesh.
Within seconds it transformed into a writhing larval organism.
The larva leapt.
It glowed.
It exploded.
The blast would have obliterated a Gillian at point-blank range.
Sombravida asked calmly:
"Must you control them?"
"They are linked to my reiatsu. I may control them directly."
"Range?"
"Within approximately seven hundred meters."
"And outside your range?"
"They become dormant."
"If stimulated by sufficient spiritual pressure, they detonate immediately."
Sombravida nodded slowly.
"Excellent."
The Experiment
"Can your bomb be pierced by Hendron's spikes without detonating?"
Gesbord hesitated.
"…I have never attempted it."
"Then we will."
A short time later, in a cleared forest zone:
Gesbord produced larval bombs.
Hendron pierced them with spikes.
The larva trembled but did not explode.
Spike after spike entered its body.
Thirty penetrations.
Still intact.
"My King… its vitality is dropping," Gesbord warned. "Further damage may kill it."
"Stop."
Sombravida signaled.
"Jekain. Nel. Bring two Gillian."
Moments later they returned.
"Place the bomb into dormancy."
Gesbord carefully suppressed its activity.
The presence of spikes destabilized its spiritual pattern.
Even he worked cautiously.
After a minute:
"It is stable."
Sombravida's eyes narrowed.
"Slow."
Gesbord bowed.
"The spikes destabilized its spiritual flow. I dared not rush."
Sombravida waved the concern away.
"Let's observe."
Gesbord buried the dormant larva beneath the sand and severed control.
The Gillian were pushed closer.
Reiatsu approached.
The larva awakened.
It burst from the sand.
BOOM
The Gillian were blasted backward.
They rose moments later.
Minor damage only.
Gesbord frowned.
"The explosive output decreased."
"It should have severely injured them."
"The jump height was also reduced."
Nel tilted her head.
"Did the spikes disrupt its structure?"
"…Possibly," Gesbord admitted.
Sombravida descended to examine the crater.
The others followed.
The sand around the detonation site had crystallized from heat and reiatsu compression.
Fragments of spike material lay fused within the blast zone.
Sombravida crouched and examined the residue.
Then he spoke.
"It isn't a failure."
"It's interference."
He held up a fused spike fragment.
"The spikes disrupted the internal reiatsu circulation of the bomb."
"They prevented proper pressure accumulation."
He stood.
"But they also stabilized it long enough to prevent premature detonation."
His eyes gleamed faintly.
"Which means…"
He turned to them.
"We can weaponize the instability."
Tactical Insight
Sombravida began outlining the implications:
spike-pierced bombs destabilize but remain dormant
• destabilized bombs trigger irregular detonation patterns
• reiatsu disturbance can alter blast direction and pressure
• dormant bombs can be planted as delayed ambush triggers
• piercing objects may act as directional fragmentation cores
• destabilization reduces predictability → increases battlefield chaos
This was not a mine.
It was a reiatsu-reactive disruption device.
Against disciplined Adjuchas formations, unpredictability was a weapon.
Against coordinated reinforcements, chaos was force multiplication.
Sombravida looked toward the horizon.
"We will refine this."
"We will build fields of spiritual disruption."
"And when the enemy advances…"
his voice lowered,
"their formation will collapse before the battle even begins."
The war was no longer only fought with claws and Cero.
Now, it would be fought with control of the battlefield itself.