Chapter 37: Your King Has Returned, Hueco Mundo! |
The 7th District of the Southern Rukongai.
A dozen Shinigami from the Second Division were currently holding back several dozen Hollows.
To the Shinigami's immense relief, only one Gillian stood among the horde of ordinary Hollows.
The 7th Seat of the Second Division, leading this group of Shinigami, was managing to keep the Gillian at bay, though only with significant effort. Gillians were notoriously slow and dim-witted despite their formidable Reiatsu, which was the only reason they hadn't been overwhelmed.
A dozen Shinigami would normally have been more than enough to eradicate several dozen lesser Hollows, but the presence of the Gillian in their ranks changed the dynamic of the battlefield.
Due to the crushing Reiatsu of the Gillian, the Shinigami were focused on buying time rather than launching a reckless assault.
"Seat Mitsuki, if this keeps up..."
"Hold the line a little longer! Reinforcements are on the way!"
Yuta Mitsuki, the 7th Seat of the Second Division, shouted his command as he continued to swing his Zanpakuto.
Whether it was Yoruichi, Yeruashi, or Lilith...
It didn't matter which high-ranking officer arrived; any one of them could easily wipe out every Hollow here, Gillian included.
Currently, the Second Division was regarded as the most powerful in the Gotei 13, barring the First Division, which housed the undisputed strongest Shinigami.
Not only did the Second Division now boast three Captain-level Shinigami, but Yoruichi also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido.
The Second Division rarely needed to ask other squads for help; they could handle such minor threats on their own, even if their Captain wasn't immediately present.
The massive Gillian looming over the lesser Hollows stepped forward clumsily. It unhinged its jaw, and a concentrated mass of dark red Reiatsu began to swirl within its maw.
"Watch out! It's charging a Cero!"
Mitsuki roared, warning his subordinates the moment he noticed the monster's movement.
The Shinigami scattered instantly, hearing the timely alert from their officer.
Boom!
The Gillian's Cero slammed into the earth where they had stood a moment before, scorching the ground.
"Excellent! Now, try to draw them toward the edge of the district!"
Mitsuki exhaled, swinging his Zanpakuto to knock back an ordinary Hollow before shouting to his subordinates.
But as the 7th Seat spoke, a massive surge of Reiatsu washed over the battlefield, causing the rank-and-file Shinigami to tremble involuntarily.
"This Reiatsu..."
Mitsuki tensed up at first, but a wave of relief quickly washed over him as he recognized the presence. "Lieutenant Hatake!"
Yeruashi technically remained the Lieutenant of the Second Division, but rumors of his refusal to accept the position of temporary Captain had spread throughout the Gotei 13. Consequently, many in the Second Division had subconsciously begun to address him as Captain.
The members of the squad firmly believed that Yeruashi met all the requirements for the rank; he had simply chosen to stay their Lieutenant instead of accepting the promotion.
Less than a year had passed since Yeruashi joined the Second Division, yet he almost rivaled Yoruichi in terms of popularity and the respect he commanded.
In the hearts of most members of the squad, Yeruashi stood nearly on equal footing with Yoruichi herself.
Thump!
Yeruashi, who had been hovering in the sky above the battle, stepped forward and vanished. He reappeared instantly, his hand resting directly atop the Gillian's head.
With that light touch, the Gillian's head burst into fragments, followed immediately by its massive body. The creature, once radiating powerful Reiatsu, disintegrated into countless Reishi that drifted away on the wind.
Whoosh!
Then, Yeruashi waved his hand casually, releasing a powerful pulse of Reiatsu that swept through the remaining Hollows.
The monsters froze, their forms twisting and warping before they began to dissolve one after another. They were powerless to withstand the sheer weight of his spiritual pressure.
Yeruashi drifted down from the sky once the last Hollow was gone.
"Hollow attacks have become noticeably more frequent lately."
He touched down on the ground and spoke thoughtfully, looking over the dozen Shinigami.
Mitsuki bowed respectfully and whispered as he sheathed his Zanpakuto, "You are right, sir. I have heard reports that the frequency of attacks on other divisions has also increased significantly of late."
Yeruashi looked up at the sky, deep in thought.
He didn't think Aizen had become the ruler of Hueco Mundo just yet. According to the original timeline, Aizen only began his conquest after Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru became Captains.
Life in Hueco Mundo should have been proceeding as usual, yet these frequent incursions suggested otherwise.
It meant an anomaly had appeared in Hueco Mundo, one that deviated from the original story.
Perhaps the number of Hollows inhabiting Hueco Mundo had grown too large recently.
"Hm?"
As Yeruashi scanned the sky while pondering the situation, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
A black crack abruptly manifested in the clear blue sky, expanding like the maw of a terrifying beast.
A Garganta.
Within that ink-black rift, eyes glowing with a sinister red light appeared.
Thud! Thud!
Massive bone-white hands gripped the edges of the rift, prying it wider. Several massive silhouettes and large, glowing red eyes were revealed within the darkness.
"Are those all... Gillians?!"
"Why? How are there so many?!"
Mitsuki and his subordinates began to turn pale as the spatial rift widened further.
If this had happened just a few minutes earlier...
Such a force of Gillians would have not only crushed them but also caused catastrophic damage to the densely populated Rukongai.
However, in the current situation, the Shinigami didn't feel fear so much as pure shock.
After all, Lieutenant Hatake was standing right there with them!
"How interesting..."
Yeruashi stared into the depths of the passage, completely ignoring the Gillians. He whispered to himself as he spotted several figures lurking behind the giants, directing the large-scale assault.
These several Hollows had varied forms, much like ordinary Hollows, but their Reiatsu was on an entirely different level than the Gillians.
These were higher-level Hollows, capable of commanding and directing the mindless giants.
Adjuchas.
"..."
More and more Gillians gripped the edges of the black spatial passage with their massive hands, eager to burst into the Soul Society.
Several Gillians, wearing identical white masks devoid of any individuality, poked their massive heads out of the Garganta and glared at the figure of Yeruashi below.
Then, they opened their mouths in unison, concentrating a massive amount of dark red Reiatsu.
A moment later, the Gillians unleashed a terrifying volley of Ceros directly at Yeruashi.
Boom!!!
In response to the barrage, Yeruashi merely gave a careless wave of his right hand. The destructive torrent of red energy was completely blocked, as if hitting an invisible wall.
Yeruashi's palm didn't look particularly large or imposing, yet it gave off an incredible sense of reliability and permanence, as if it could hold up the falling sky itself.
Whoosh!
At that exact moment, a change occurred.
Lilith's miniature figure appeared in the air beside the protruding heads of the Gillians. With a simple swing of her Zanpakuto, she decapitated them all in a single motion.
The several Adjuchas watching from within Hueco Mundo looked at one another in surprise.
"The Gillians were crushed in an instant."
"These Shinigami are truly powerful!"
"There's no point in engaging these Shinigami without knowing their true numbers and strength..."
"We should abandon this idea, Grimmjow."
One of the Adjuchas raised its massive hands, preparing to close the rift.
But.
Just as the black crack in the gloomy sky of Hueco Mundo was about to seal shut, a pair of small hands suddenly reached through!
The hands thrust into Hueco Mundo, gripped the edges of the narrowing crack, and wrenched them apart, brutally expanding the spatial passage that was supposed to have closed!
"Isn't it a bit rude to run away without saying hello?"
Following the calm, indifferent voice echoing through the passage, the owner of those hands stepped into the bleak sky of Hueco Mundo.
A figure with silver-white hair, dressed in the black Shihakusho of a Shinigami, lowered his hands and looked down at the group of Adjuchas below.
"!"
The Adjuchas, including Grimmjow, narrowed their eyes as they stared at the Shinigami who had just invaded their world through the very gate they had opened to attack the Soul Society.
On the other side of the rift...
Mitsuki and the other Shinigami of the Second Division stood with their mouths agape, watching as Yeruashi literally tore open the closing passage and leaped inside.
Lilith, having just finished off the last of the Gillians, dove into the rift after him without waiting for the squad's reaction.
"Do not follow."
Lilith's calm, unperturbed voice was the last thing they heard before she vanished into the black void.
Mitsuki and the others stood in shocked silence for a long time, staring at the spot where the Garganta had been.
As Shinigami, they knew exactly what lay on the other side.
The world of the Hollows...
The antithesis of the Soul Society...
Hueco Mundo!
Yeruashi and Lilith had taken the fight directly to the enemy's lair!
"Seat Mitsuki..."
One of the Shinigami looked at Mitsuki and whispered tensely, sweat beading on his forehead.
Mitsuki spread his hands, simply not knowing how to handle such a situation, before sighing helplessly. "You stay here just in case, and the rest of you return to the Second Division headquarters immediately!"
There was no point in staying behind; they couldn't help Yeruashi or Lilith now that they were in Hueco Mundo.
The only thing they could do was report the situation to their Captain as quickly as possible.
*
Hueco Mundo.
Yeruashi floated peacefully in the sky, observing the bleak and lifeless landscape.
This place felt even more desolate and barren than the lands beyond the 80th District of the Rukongai.
An endless grey desert.
Nothing else.
In the middle of this wasteland stood five Adjuchas, led by Grimmjow, all staring intently at Yeruashi's figure in the sky.
It should be noted that the current Grimmjow was an Adjuchas and did not yet possess a human form.
There were only two ways for an Adjuchas to gain a partial or full human appearance. The first was to gain the power of a Shinigami, becoming an Arrancar. The second was to evolve into a Vasto Lorde, the final stage of Menos evolution.
Silence reigned.
Lilith flew out of the closing rift and hovered in the air just behind Yeruashi.
The spatial passage sealed itself shut and vanished completely, but Yeruashi and Lilith seemed to pay it no mind at all.
Yeruashi spoke with a hint of disappointment as he looked at the Adjuchas below. "...What's the matter? You were so bold and provocative in front of my subordinates, yet now you lack the courage to even challenge me?"
"Hmph!"
Grimmjow, the leader of the group, gave a predatory grin as he looked up at Yeruashi. "You've got guts, chasing us all the way to Hueco Mundo! But you'll be staying here forever, because you're going to be my snack, Shinigami!"
Silence returned.
Lilith, floating behind Yeruashi, stepped forward slowly. She held her Zanpakuto before her and said emotionlessly, "Father was generous enough to grant you the honor of a challenge, but he did not give you the right to be rude... Stain the enemy scarlet, Chishita!"
Lilith understood perfectly that her father had no intention of hiding his true identity in Hueco Mundo. He hadn't come here just for Grimmjow and the other Adjuchas; he wanted to see the Hueco Mundo he had created over a million years ago.
The inhabitants of this world might not even realize that an actual King sat above them, for Yeruashi had left Hueco Mundo shortly after its creation.
The vast majority of Hollows likely had no idea that a separate dimension, isolated by layers of space, existed directly above the center of Hueco Mundo.
Just as the dimension Zero had created above the Soul Society was known as the Soul King Palace, this independent dimension was the Hollow King Palace!
Yeruashi continued to float in the sky with a faint smile, making it clear he had no intention of interfering with Lilith's actions.
"Not a bad level of Reiatsu."
Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and shouted as he felt the surge of power erupting from Lilith's body. "But that won't be enough to survive a fight with me!"
Whoosh!!!
With those words, Grimmjow's beastly form blurred and vanished, reappearing directly in front of Lilith in the sky with his jaws wide open.
The other Adjuchas did not move.
They knew better than anyone how much Grimmjow hated interference in his battles, and besides, there was still the other Shinigami to consider.
From the brief exchange earlier, it was obvious that Yeruashi was stronger than Lilith. Therefore, the Adjuchas watched the silver-haired Shinigami warily, prepared to swarm him the moment he showed any sign of moving!