Chapter 41: We're Heading to... Las Noches! |
"Alright."
Yeruashi looked at Nelliel and said calmly, extending his right hand, "Come here, Nelliel."
She let out a breath and obediently stepped forward, though she didn't understand what he intended to do.
When Nelliel approached Yeruashi, he raised his hand and straightened his finger, pointing it directly at her chest.
Splash!
The tip of his straightened index finger first began to writhe and distort like viscous dough, then a small cloud of milky-white liquid broke away from it. It dissolved into Nelliel's body, entering through her ample chest.
Nelliel felt an instinctive urge to reject this strange white liquid, but she tensed and shuddered before she could take action. Then, she felt a completely different and unfamiliar power beginning to spread rapidly through her body.
"I grant you my power of evolution," Yeruashi said calmly, lowering his hand before turning back to observe Lilith.
Nelliel frowned and touched her smooth stomach, feeling a steadily intensifying heat spreading through her body.
Soon, she clenched her fists and involuntarily let out a moan, unable to endure the searing heat throughout her body.
Nelliel could clearly sense strange and unusual changes occurring within her body, despite the scorching heat.
In truth, this act of transferring a small fragment of the Six Paths' evolutionary power was equivalent to a single application of the Hogyoku.
Nelliel, who had become a Vasto Lorde many years ago, was able to advance to the next level of development thanks to receiving this Six Paths evolutionary power from Yeruashi's hands.
The Vasto Lorde, the peak of Hollow development, began to gradually transition to a higher and more perfect level.
Menos have three levels of evolution—Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde.
Hollows acquire human traits as they transition to higher levels of development, but even the Vasto Lorde, considered the final stage of a Hollow's evolution, often only partially resembles a human.
For example, the self-proclaimed King Baraggan, who occupies Las Noches, takes the form of a human skeleton, while Nelliel takes the form of a centaur.
Nelliel's upper body has the appearance of a beautiful, curvaceous woman, while her lower body is that of a horse; furthermore, a bony Hollow mask with massive horns covers her head.
Now, as she transitioned to a higher level of development, Nelliel's massive lower body began to gradually shrink, emitting a dazzling radiance.
Soon, this glow gradually dissipated, revealing a beautiful, semi-naked girl with flowing green hair and a neat bone mask adorning her head.
Her beautiful, slender legs and full chest, visible through her torn clothes, surged with turbulent power.
Nelliel had gained a full human form after undergoing this evolution.
"How..." Nelliel whispered in a daze, sensing the immense changes that had occurred in her body.
She had become noticeably stronger than before!
It seemed to Nelliel that now even Baraggan, who held Las Noches, could not compare to her in terms of the intensity and volume of her Reiatsu!
"Thank you for this priceless gift, my King," Nelliel knelt and addressed Yeruashi respectfully as soon as she recovered herself.
Yeruashi waved his hand nonchalantly. "Rise. From this moment on, just call me Lord Yeruashi."
"Understood, Lord Yeruashi." Nelliel nodded respectfully and stood slightly behind and to the right of Yeruashi to observe the changes that had been occurring with Lilith this whole time.
Any aggression or dissatisfaction Nelliel held toward Lilith had completely vanished, as she had already concluded that the newly minted Vasto Lorde had likely provoked or insulted Yeruashi and Lilith himself, paying for it with his own life.
Such a punishment was entirely expected even for a Vasto Lorde, for Yeruashi was not just an incredibly powerful being, but the Supreme King who had created Hueco Mundo.
Every Hollow had the opportunity to be born and live here only thanks to Yeruashi's existence. Thus, in essence, all Hollows inhabiting Hueco Mundo are subjects of the Hollow King, which by default obligates them to remain loyal and show respect to their King.
"You need to get used to your new power," Yeruashi said calmly, having been closely watching Lilith's evolution, as he glanced at Nelliel standing slightly behind him.
Nelliel nodded obediently and stepped aside. She raised her palm and began to carefully concentrate her Reiatsu, testing her sharply increased strength.
At the same time, the evolution of Lilith, who had consumed Grimmjow, was nearing completion.
Whoosh!
Another long, milky-white tail extended from the twitching and writhing body of the Ten-Tails.
Ultimately, the huge milky-white monster only stopped writhing when the number of its tails had increased to fifteen, and Lilith's Reiatsu had transitioned into the advanced Captain class!
Compared to a Shinigami, a Vasto Lorde's Reiatsu is only slightly inferior to the advanced Captain class; therefore, supported by the Six Paths evolutionary power, Lilith's spiritual power was able to advance to the next level!
Whoosh!
The fifteen long, milky-white tails, waving chaotically in the dark sky of Hueco Mundo, first froze abruptly and then began to retract into the massive body. Following the disappearance of the tails, the massive milky-white body itself rapidly contracted.
In the air, where the monster had condensed, Lilith's figure appeared, having undergone significant changes both internally and externally.
Now, Lilith no longer looked like a tiny thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.
Her snow-white hair reached her waist, and her figure had become very slender, including smooth, long legs.
Lilith now looked like a beautiful young woman of about eighteen, with the sole exception of her chest, which remained as flat as ever.
"..."
Lilith slowly opened her eyes, accompanied by Yeruashi's close scrutiny.
She first raised her hands before her, sensing the changes in her power, then lowered her head and frowned at the physical changes.
Then, whoosh!
Lilith's figure was enveloped in a bright glow. When it gradually dissipated, in place of the eighteen-year-old woman stood a small girl of about twelve or thirteen.
Lilith, having just returned to her original form, floated smoothly toward Yeruashi and said impassively, "I am finished, Father."
"Good," Yeruashi nodded with satisfaction, sensing the changes in Lilith's spiritual power.
Through this evolution, Lilith's spiritual power had crossed the threshold of the advanced Captain class.
This meant that Lilith was virtually equal to him in pure power, if comparing solely their Shinigami strength!
"Feel your true power!" Yeruashi smiled and waved his hand, releasing a miniature version of Lilith from his palm.
After separating from Yeruashi's palm, this tiny Lilith began to grow rapidly in size until she perfectly matched Lilith's soul.
"Alright." Lilith nodded and flew into her own body, beginning to merge her spirit with her flesh.
Hum!
Following the fusion of spirit and flesh, a terrifying pulse erupted from Lilith's body, sweeping rapidly across the desolate Hueco Mundo.
Even Nelliel was greatly surprised when she encountered this pulse, for she could feel that it was far more powerful than her own pulse after her evolution!
The fusion of the soul, possessing advanced Captain-class spiritual power, with the original physical body was perfect.
The reason for this was extremely simple.
Not only was it Lilith's own body, but the power of her Dojutsu also increased as her spiritual power grew.
The power of Dojutsu pertains to both soul and body, as it encompasses not only spiritual but also physical energy, allowing it to become the perfect bridge for merging body and soul. The influence of the Dojutsu power ensured an ideal fusion.
Hum!
Lilith's Reiatsu weakened significantly now that her soul had merged with her flesh. In fact, it became even weaker than it had been before absorbing Grimmjow, but at the same time, its nature changed subtly, beginning to instill a sense of helplessness and despair in the creatures around her.
"Wonderful." Yeruashi smiled and nodded with satisfaction, carefully inspecting Lilith's body. A golden glow shimmered in his pupils, indicating the activation of his God's Eyes.
The perfect fusion of the spiritual body, endowed with Shinigami power, and the physical body, endowed with the power of the God Tree, had led to a significant increase in Dojutsu power.
Now, by Yeruashi's rough estimation, Lilith slightly surpassed even Genryusai Yamamoto, provided she decided to go all out in battle!
Lilith's power was close to that of a small star!
Even the current Yeruashi would not dare call such power insignificant, for his own strength would increase significantly should he ever fully consume Lilith's power!
But more importantly, the perfect fusion of Lilith's soul and body indicated that the powers of the Shinigami and the God Tree did not reject each other at all!
This meant... his idea of absorbing the Soul King's power was entirely feasible!
Seeing such a smooth and ideal process of merging Lilith's Shinigami and God Tree powers, Yeruashi now felt he could head to the Soul King Palace right away to attempt absorbing Zero's power.
"Do you want to go to the Soul King Palace?" Lilith asked with interest, roughly understanding what Yeruashi was thinking.
Yeruashi first reached out and stroked Lilith's snow-white hair, then said slowly, surveying the endless white desert of Hueco Mundo, "First, we will visit our palace, and then I will head to the Soul King Palace."
Then Yeruashi turned his head and addressed Nelliel, who was still getting used to her newfound power. "Let's go, Nell."
Nelliel, who had assumed her centaur form, quickly returned to her human shape and ran to Yeruashi. "Where... where are we going?"
"To Las Noches, of course," Yeruashi said casually, looking in the direction of the massive gray fortress known as Las Noches, located in the central region of Hueco Mundo.
Yes. The palace they had created over a million years ago was located directly above Las Noches, just as the Hollow King Palace sat directly above the Seireitei.