Chapter 38: A Golden Opportunity for Evolution |
A fierce battle erupted between Lilith and Grimmjow.
Typically, Adjuchas-class Hollows were significantly weaker than the average Gotei 13 Captain in terms of overall combat power, but they could easily bridge that gap after becoming Arrancars or Vasto Lorde.
Consequently, Lilith wasn't trailing too far behind Grimmjow, even though she had only released her Shikai.
However.
Lilith had no intention of dragging out the fight; she had only intervened because Grimmjow had dared to show blatant disrespect toward her father.
"Bankai, Songu Chishita!"
Lilith raised her delicate hands, lifting the massive handle of her Shikai high above her head as she let out a cold cry, unleashing a terrifying surge of Reiatsu.
The explosive release of spiritual pressure accompanying her Bankai was so immense that the four Adjuchas who had been closely watching Yeruashi immediately shifted their focus to the petite girl in the sky.
"Her Reiatsu..."
As Adjuchas, they stood far above any Gillian and were second only to the strongest of all Hollows—the Vasto Lorde.
But in that moment...
They felt a staggering chasm in power between themselves and this small girl!
"You..."
Grimmjow's jaw dropped in shock, but he quickly snapped back to his senses. With a beastly roar, he lunged at Lilith, intent on tearing her apart with his razor-sharp fangs.
But Lilith swatted him aside, sending him flying dozens of meters with a simple swing of her massive bow's shaft.
'Damn it...'
The four Adjuchas standing on the barren ground tilted their heads back, their mouths agape as they prepared to fire their Cero. A dark premonition had suddenly gripped them all at once.
An Adjuchas's Cero was far more potent than a Gillian's, and the combined blast from four of them contained so much concentrated Reiatsu that it felt as if the energy beam could pulverize anything in its path!
A powerful shockwave and visible ripples in the surrounding Reishi radiated outward from the four Adjuchas' joint attack.
Nearly every Hollow within a kilometer of the clash turned their heads toward the source, sensing the tremendous eruption of spiritual power.
Lilith remained perfectly composed, even in the face of the simultaneous assault from four Adjuchas.
"Yame no Ame!"
She pulled back the bowstring with grace and elegance, showing no sign of panic or concern. When she released it, a massive crimson arrow streaked toward the four Adjuchas.
Whish!
Mid-flight, the massive projectile split into a multitude of brilliant crimson streaks that collided with the combined Cero in a deafening explosion.
"Damn it..."
Grimmjow’s expression darkened as he gnashed his teeth, his body tense.
He truly loathed it when others interfered in his fights, but he now realized that this little girl possessed terrifying spiritual pressure... likely on par with a Vasto Lorde!
Yet, the moment he grasped her strength, his mind was flooded not only with tension and wariness but also with an unprecedented thrill. By consuming such an opponent, he might finally evolve into a Vasto Lorde!
That was his ultimate ambition!
Roar!!!
Grimmjow charged at Lilith's back, letting out a ferocious, predatory cry.
Lilith, tracking him out of the corner of her eye, snapped her leg back to meet him.
Her slender, delicate leg, which seemed to carry no weight at all, slammed into Grimmjow’s beastly jaw with a dull thud.
Thump!
Grimmjow’s feral form was sent hurtling back like a cannonball after making contact with Lilith's snow-white foot.
"So this is the strength he possessed before becoming an Arrancar..."
Yeruashi murmured thoughtfully, watching Lilith kick Grimmjow in the jaw.
He had recognized the fierce panther-like Adjuchas almost instantly.
This was the future Sexta Espada under Aizen’s command—assuming, of course, the plot followed its original course.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Lilith was now taking on five Adjuchas simultaneously, including Grimmjow. Far from retreating, she was steadily pushing back and overwhelming her numerous opponents.
The gap in pure combat power between Lilith and the five Adjuchas wasn't as vast as it might appear at first glance. However, she had not only mastered the four fundamental Shinigami combat arts but also possessed a powerful Dojutsu that allowed her to track her enemies' every movement with ease.
Because of this, Lilith was able to dominate the battlefield, even against five Adjuchas at once!
As the weight of the situation sank in, all the Adjuchas except for Grimmjow began to frown, their morale steadily crumbling.
The second Shinigami hadn't even made a move yet, and they were already in a losing position.
The girl had already made it clear that the other Shinigami held a much higher status!
They would surely suffer a crushing defeat the moment he decided to step in!
"Grimmjow... eat us!"
One of the Adjuchas cried out after Lilith’s blood-red arrow shredded his arm.
Grimmjow turned to the shouting Adjuchas. "Stop talking nonsense!"
"I realized long ago that I wasn't destined to become a Vasto Lorde," Nakeem said, looking at Grimmjow. "My spiritual power stopped growing after I consumed about a thousand Hollows. I didn't feel the slightest increase in strength even after eating three thousand!"
Nakeem continued, addressing Grimmjow, "I, Di Roy, Edrad... we were always meant to remain Adjuchas forever! Only you, Grimmjow, can reach the next stage of evolution!"
"Therefore..."
"Devour our spiritual power... so you can become a Vasto Lorde for all of us!"
The other Adjuchas looked at Grimmjow, offering no objections to Nakeem's words.
There was no point in continuing to hunt thousands of Hollows if they were never meant to evolve, and besides, there was no guarantee they would even survive this battle.
Let Grimmjow become a Vasto Lorde!
Let him be the one to keep moving forward in their stead!
"So, you've given up?"
Grimmjow whispered, bowing his head.
Moments later, when Grimmjow raised his beastly head, his eyes were hard and determined, his voice ringing with iron resolve. "Fine... I will eat you, since that is what you want! Your strength will stay with me forever. I will become the King!"
Grimmjow let out a mighty roar and pounced on the nearest Adjuchas. The target didn't resist; instead, he shielded Grimmjow from Lilith's crimson arrows, allowing him to feed in peace.
Crunch!
Grimmjow tore off the Adjuchas's head with his fanged, bestial maw.
At the same time, the three remaining Adjuchas unleashed the strongest Ceros they could muster toward Lilith, preventing her from interfering with Grimmjow.
Grimmjow blurred past his comrades, his savage jaws ripping away a piece of the bone mask from each one of them.
'Interesting... will he actually succeed in becoming a Vasto Lorde?'
Yeruashi watched with genuine curiosity. In the original timeline, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had been an Adjuchas before becoming an Arrancar, never reaching the Vasto Lorde stage.
But now, things might take a different path. In addition to the Soul King's power, a small fragment of his own energy now served as a foundation for this world. His Six Paths evolution power significantly increased the probability of a being evolving to a higher stage.
Grimmjow sat on the ground and let out a long, echoing roar as he felt the massive influx of spiritual energy from consuming the masks of four Adjuchas.
His bestial Adjuchas body began to warp and twist, accompanied by pulsing, powerful bursts of Reiatsu.
Soon, Grimmjow’s frame straightened, assuming an upright, humanoid posture—much like a member of the panther clan!
However.
His Reiatsu was fundamentally different.
His turbulent Hollow energy had ascended to a new plane after breaking through the Adjuchas limit! Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had become... a Vasto Lorde!
Thoom!!!
The surrounding Reishi trembled violently under the influence of Grimmjow’s vast and turbulent spiritual pressure, as if welcoming the birth of a new sovereign!
Roughly a hundred kilometers away, a girl wearing a massive mountain goat skull mask turned her head in surprise. She had a lush figure and flowing green hair, though her lower body was that of a horse. She sensed the incredibly powerful surge of Reiatsu.
"Has a new... Vasto Lorde been born?"
This was one of the few Vasto Lorde currently existing in Hueco Mundo—Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck!
After a brief moment of hesitation, she dashed toward the source of the spiritual eruption.
Having evolved into a Vasto Lorde, Grimmjow’s Reiatsu now fully rivaled Lilith’s in her Bankai state!
"You did it..."
"Keep moving forward for us... Grimmjow..."
The Adjuchas, having lost most of their spiritual power along with their masks, could no longer withstand Lilith’s relentless long-range attacks.
Their bodies were struck one after another by numerous arrows glowing with crimson light, before they began to slowly dissolve into countless Reishi particles.
Grimmjow, having just completed his transformation into a Vasto Lorde, first watched the fading forms of his four companions. Then, he looked at his clawed hand—now strikingly similar to a human’s—with exhilaration.
"So this is the power of a Vasto Lorde..."
"I have finally become the King."
He whispered, clenching and unclenching his clawed fist, before turning his gaze toward Lilith, radiating an intense killing intent. "Shinigami! You will be the first of countless enemies to fall by my hand now that I am a Vasto Lorde!"
Lilith whispered indifferently, sensing Grimmjow’s skyrocketing Reiatsu, "So you evolved by devouring your comrades."
Whish!!!
With those words, Lilith calmly gripped the string of her massive Bankai bow with her delicate fingers.
Lilith wasn't bothered in the slightest by Grimmjow's sudden power boost; in her eyes, this Hollow was already a dead man walking.
Only one thing awaited him: death.
"Lilith..."
Yeruashi, who had been standing quietly on the sidelines the entire time, addressed her for the first time since the battle began. "This Hollow is your chance to take another step forward."
"Yes," Lilith nodded.
She wanted to grow stronger—much stronger—but her progress had slowed significantly after she achieved Bankai.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez’s unexpected evolution could be the perfect opportunity!
Any Hollow had the potential to grow stronger by devouring others, but only a handful among the countless masses could ever become Gillians, and even fewer could reach the Adjuchas level, let alone Vasto Lorde.
A typical Shinigami couldn't increase their spiritual power by devouring other souls, but that didn't apply to them!
If Yeruashi could absorb the power of the Soul King, why couldn't Lilith grow stronger by consuming the spiritual energy of a Vasto Lorde?!
Though Yeruashi and Lilith were currently in Shinigami form, the influence of the Six Paths evolution power she had inherited from him was practically equivalent to that of the Hogyoku!
Simply put, for her, the boundary between Hollow and Shinigami didn't exist.
Consuming the spiritual power of an ordinary Hollow would have little effect on her, but Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, who had reached the pinnacle of Hollow evolution, was an entirely different matter.
Lilith’s spiritual power would undoubtedly take a significant leap forward if she defeated and absorbed Grimmjow!
A surge of intense battle intent radiated from her, her previous cold indifference vanishing as she fully grasped the scale of the opportunity before her.
She had to overcome and absorb Grimmjow, who had evolved into a Vasto Lorde—the strongest and rarest species of Hollow!
"Your strength will become mine," Lilith declared resolutely, drawing her massive bowstring as she locked eyes with the evolved Grimmjow.