Goodness, to think Seth might have actually encountered Neliel.
Although it was unclear if this was the Neliel who would serve as the 3rd Espada in the future, judging by her headbutting attack style and the fact that she had let Seth go, Kōe figured it was highly likely the yet-to-mature Neliel.
Next, Kōe asked about a few other names—such as Starrk, Baraggan, and Halibel—names that would become quite renowned in Hueco Mundo in the future.
Seth indicated he had never heard of them. This was normal; the sheer size of Hueco Mundo was absolutely no less than that of Soul Society. For Seth, who lived in a remote corner, to have encountered Neliel was already a pleasant surprise.
"My Lord, you see, I'm really of no use to you. You already know the direction to the inner perimeter, and I've told you everything I know." Seth looked at Kōe with a foolish expression and pleaded, "Do you think you could let me go? I promise I'll never enter the World of the Living again, really!"
"Despite being stopped by Shinigami so many times, didn't you still end up running to the World of the Living in the end?"
"That was only because I was so hungry I couldn't stand it," Seth muttered softly with his head bowed.
Kōe sighed helplessly and continued to ask, "And you think you'll be able to endure the hunger from now on?"
"Well..." Seth thought for a moment before saying solemnly, "I will constantly remind myself that being a little hungry won't actually kill me."
"I don't think merely knowing that will help you hold back. Take me to the inner perimeter. I will be staying here for a long time," Kōe said in a flat tone. "If you can completely suppress your instincts by the time I leave, then I guarantee you will definitely be able to survive in the inner perimeter."
"Really?"
"Do you think I have any reason to lie to you?!" Kōe snapped sharply. "Now hurry up and move!"
If he could survive in the inner perimeter, he wouldn't have to go hungry anymore. Clinging to this simple thought, Seth picked up his pace and trotted cheerfully toward the inner perimeter.
However, he had no idea just how harsh Kōe's definition of 'completely suppressing his instincts' truly was. But he would soon find out.
...
An unknown amount of time passed. Compared to his time in the Plains of Slaughter, Hueco Mundo's lack of day and night made it far easier to lose all sense of time.
Shortly after entering the inner perimeter, Kōe and Seth encountered a pack of Hollows. A quick glance estimated their numbers to be somewhere between thirty and forty.
"Go on, Seth," Kōe ordered. He leaped down from Seth's head and stood in place with his hands behind his back, having no intention of intervening.
"But, my Lord..."
"If they get within ten paces of me, you will die right alongside them."
Kōe's calm voice made Seth shudder involuntarily. They had encountered Hollows before; sometimes Kōe would strike to incapacitate the enemy, leaving Seth to clean up the battlefield and enjoy a small meal.
Other times, Seth had to fight them himself while Kōe stood silently on the sidelines, looking as if he were leaving it all up to fate. Lately, it had always been the latter.
But previously, it had only been two or three Hollows at a time, or a dozen at most. This time, the numbers had suddenly doubled or tripled. Even though Seth had realized he wasn't completely weak, seeing so many of his own kind still left him feeling deeply insecure.
But he had no choice. The person standing behind him was countless times more terrifying than these Hollows. Seth could only bite the bullet and charge forward.
Seth was indeed not weak, but he wasn't as strong as he thought he was either. According to Kōe's judgment, Seth's absolute limit was taking on five ordinary Hollows simultaneously—and that was only by outer perimeter standards.
As for the Hollows before them, each one was probably worth six or seven Seths. Making him face them alone was a guaranteed death sentence.
In truth, during this period, Kōe had never stopped helping Seth, as his goal was to force him to evolve into a higher-level Menos.
According to Seireitei records, ordinary Hollows, driven to fill the inexplicable hunger in their hearts, would initially enter the World of the Living or Soul Society in search of Reiryoku to devour.
As their own Reiryoku grew, this hunger would gradually shift toward their own kind, leading them to devour one another. Once a Hollow managed to devour and fuse the Reiatsu of hundreds of other Hollows, it would evolve into the lowest class of Menos—a Gillian.
That was the Seireitei's record, but Kōe knew the details far more intimately. For instance, not all Gillians were the same.
Most Gillians were exactly like the ones Kōe had seen in the Plains of Slaughter: massive, pitch-black figures resembling shrine maidens draped in black cloaks, with long noses on their masks. They were monsters that acted purely on instinct, devoid of a single shred of emotion or consciousness.
However, there was another type of Gillian. If one of the devouring Hollows possessed an exceptionally strong individual consciousness, then upon evolving into a Gillian, their mask would resemble striped armor without the long nose, and they would retain their sense of self.
By continuing to devour other Gillians, they could then evolve into even higher-level Menos.
But having been a Shinigami for so long, Kōe had developed a different understanding. Theoretically speaking, this devouring process was essentially just pure Reiryoku fusion. It shared striking similarities with the Artificial Soul research conducted by Squad 12's Captain, Hikifune Kirio.
From this perspective, as long as the Hollow that devoured hundreds of others possessed self-awareness, the resulting Gillian would definitely retain its self-awareness, or at the very least, be capable of advancing to the next stage of evolution.
Shinigami could not simply plunder and claim another Shinigami's Reiryoku as their own. Let alone do what Hollows did—not only claiming it but also expanding their body's capacity to store Reiryoku. It was a qualitative leap.
He had originally thought that directly injecting his own Reiryoku would be enough to elevate Seth to the Gillian class, but doing so had nearly caused Seth to explode. As expected, Artificial Souls weren't as simple as just injecting Reiryoku, even with the incredibly strong compatibility inherent to a Hollow's spiritual body.
Kōe didn't yet possess Hikifune Kirio's level of skill. He couldn't simply use Reiryoku fusion to force Seth to evolve directly into a Gillian. Instead, he needed to observe the process of Seth becoming a Gillian to see if he could artificially interfere with Hollow evolution using Kidō or other methods he excelled at.
So later on, he resorted to slaying Hollows and tossing them right to Seth's mouth—essentially hand-feeding him. He would then use a Kidō planted inside Seth's body to analyze the Reiryoku on a fundamental level, hoping to make a discovery.
However, that approach seemed flawed. Seth's internal Reiryoku barely grew through this method; even after eating nearly fifty Hollows, he was still stuck at square one.
Afterward, Kōe refined his method. He would beat a group of Hollows until they completely lost their mobility, then let Seth finish them off. But the rate of Reiryoku growth was no different from before.
In the end, Kōe decided to only intervene at critical moments, aiming to authentically recreate the scenario of Hollows battling and devouring each other as closely as possible.
Just like right now. With barely any combat experience, Seth instinctively opened his mouth to bite at his opponent, completely unaware that before his teeth could even make contact, his head would be shredded by the enemy's sharp claws.
At that exact moment, Kōe would timely flick a small pebble, knocking the opponent's claws away so Seth's attack wouldn't be hindered. This allowed it to count as Seth devouring the enemy with his own strength.
By doing this, Seth's Reiryoku did indeed begin to grow. The amount of growth was roughly equivalent to the Reiryoku possessed by the devoured target. At the same time, his Reiryoku began to compress and form Reiatsu—a progression in both quality and quantity.
But simultaneously, something unexpected began to occur, making Kōe realize that the underlying cause of Hollow evolution was far from as simple as he had imagined.
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