Adjuchas? Despair!

At the critical moment, this squinty-eyed fellow could still be counted on.

Even if Gin Ichimaru had not stepped in, Kyōsuke Kuchiki could have dealt with the two beasts himself.

But for certain reasons, he wanted to conserve his strength.

That was why he had used the least draining Bakudō.

With Gin Ichimaru's help, Kyōsuke Kuchiki swung Dijiang and cut down the only Gillian still able to move freely in a few strokes.

With his Reiatsu amplified tenfold, the Menos Grande's Hierro was little tougher than tofu.

Besides, Kuchiki's Dijiang was a spatial-type Zanpakuto, with a sharpness no other Zanpakuto could match.

After finishing off the Gillian, Kyōsuke Kuchiki frowned.

His proficiency in the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art had not increased; it was still at 91%. The difficulty of accumulating proficiency had risen again! Interesting!

Not far away, the stationed Soul Reaper watched the two youths display their might, dumbfounded. He had even forgotten what he was there to do.

He had heard of these two geniuses before.

At the time, he had thought little of them. How capable could a bunch of brats who had barely seen blood be, no matter how gifted they were?

He just hoped they wouldn't piss themselves at the sight of a Hollow.

Yet in fact, the one who had nearly pissed himself was none other than him, a full-fledged Soul Reaper who had fought countless battles.

Other than admiring them wholeheartedly and applauding, he seemed incapable of doing anything.

Seeing that the crisis had more or less passed, the Soul Reaper trainees finally let their long-held breaths out. Looking back on everything they had experienced, it felt like another lifetime.

All they wanted now was to finish the Konsō test as quickly as possible and return to the Seireitei.

They could not stop praising Kyōsuke Kuchiki's strength.

"Gillian? Nothing special."

"Before Lord Kyōsuke, they're nothing but ants."

"Heh, even the combined strength of over a hundred Hollows amounts to no more than that."

"..."

At some point, the group had all begun addressing Kyōsuke Kuchiki with an honorific.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki paid their chatter no mind.

Saving them had been an easy act in accordance with his own heart. Compared with their flattery, he had more important things to worry about.

"Young Master Kyōsuke, did you have a particular reason for deliberately keeping that Gillian alive?"

As expected of Gin Ichimaru, he had seen at a glance that Kyōsuke Kuchiki had an ulterior purpose in choosing to bind that Gillian.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki smiled faintly and asked a seemingly unrelated question:

"Gin Ichimaru, have you ever gone fishing?"

Even someone as meticulous and perceptive as Gin Ichimaru could not fathom what Kyōsuke Kuchiki was really thinking.

Ignoring the thoroughly bewildered Gin Ichimaru, Kyōsuke Kuchiki gathered his Reiatsu. "Thunder Method! Forbidden Decet!"

The tenfold Thunder Method was now even more powerful than before, and it looked more magnificent as well.

Amid the rumble of thunder, Kyōsuke Kuchiki's fingers flew, inscribing one pale blue, nearly transparent arcane character after another in the air.

In an instant, a torrent of lightning surged from him and enveloped him completely.

At that moment, Kyōsuke Kuchiki stood in the air, countless flashes and bolts of lightning flickering around him...

Rather than a Soul Reaper, he looked more like a thunder god who commanded the lightning!

Gin Ichimaru, the stationed Soul Reaper, and the Soul Reaper students behind them all stared at Kyōsuke Kuchiki in shock.

It was as if they were beholding a miracle.

Then Kyōsuke Kuchiki casually waved his hand, sending several bolts of lightning crashing toward the bound Gillian.

Each bolt contained terrifying destructive power, enough to seemingly pierce even space itself.

Even a Captain-level Soul Reaper would have to be careful when facing such a Thunder Method.

The bound Gillian had no way to dodge and was buried beneath the hurtling lightning in the blink of an eye.

The Gillian let out a series of agonized howls after the heavy blow. Its Reiatsu rapidly weakened and faded, and its enormous body showed faint signs of falling apart.

The air filled with the smell of scorching and a bloody stench.

Several bolts pierced the Gillian's mountain-like body without stopping, then turned and blasted straight toward a spot behind it.

As the lightning struck, a black rift flashed into existence and vanished, accompanied by a cold snort.

Merely hearing that snort made the hearts of the long-suffering Soul Reaper trainees jolt.

Even the full-fledged Soul Reaper's expression changed, and an indescribable feeling of discomfort arose in his heart.

Just now, an extremely terrifying, chilling presence seemed to have burst forth.

It felt like being touched by cold, slimy tentacles.

That alien sensation, colder, more ominous, and greedier than the Gillian Menos Grande, made their hair stand on end and sent chills down their spines.

The last Gillian had clearly dissolved into Reishi amid its howls, and there appeared to be no other enemies nearby.

Yet the Soul Reaper trainees' hearts sank.

It was as if they had discovered they were trapped in a nightmare: terrified beyond measure, yet unable to wake up.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki, who had also sensed that greedy, cunning presence, wore a meaningful smile.

"See? The fish has taken the bait!"

"Gin, you can't catch a big fish without patience!"

Chapter 20: Adjuchas? Despair!

As his words fell, Kyōsuke Kuchiki suddenly turned, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.

His Zanpakuto left its sheath in an instant, its snow-white blade sweeping through the air.

"Bombard and resound, Dijiang!"

Tenfold amplification!

"Bakudo #81, Dankū!"

Swish—!

A streak of white light suddenly burst forth, expanding within a few seconds into a massive, translucent barrier that completely shielded everyone.

Bang!

The next second, a black Bala came hurtling in, its coiling Reiatsu like a surging tide as it slammed into the barrier!

Unfortunately, it could only make the barrier tremble slightly before immediately dispersing.

But that single tremor made Gin Ichimaru's expression change.

So fast!

That wasn't a Cero, but a Bala at least twenty times weaker!

During their match in the seat-ranking competition, he had given it his all and still failed to shake Kyōsuke Kuchiki's defenses.

Yet the Bala the newcomer had thrown out had managed to shake the high-level Bakudō Kyōsuke Kuchiki had amplified with his Zanpakuto!

This guy... is far more terrifying than a Gillian!

Beside him, the full-fledged Soul Reaper's legs were already trembling, and he was at a complete loss.

Had he not remembered his duty, the stationed Soul Reaper would surely have fled for his life at full speed using Shunpo, without so much as a backward glance.

The Soul Reaper trainees fared even worse. Only one thought filled their minds.

We're going to die!

We're going to die!

We're going to die!

At that moment, they recalled once more the fear of being at the mercy of a Menos Grande.

Realizing the danger, Gin Ichimaru did not need Kyōsuke Kuchiki to say anything. He immediately turned and ordered:

"Go! Hurry!"

In the sky, the rift the Gillian had forcibly torn open had yet to close.

The moment Gin Ichimaru's words fell, a figure darted out like lightning.

No, rather than a person, it was more like a strange beast that merely retained a humanoid shape.

It had a body as black as ink, beastlike feet, long claws, and a thick tail studded with bone spurs trailing behind it. A deathly pale mask covered its entire face.

Streams of foul-smelling drool dripped onto the ground, corroding shallow pits into the mottled stone slabs.

As the Menos Grande's greedy gaze swept over him, Gin Ichimaru felt as though a dangerous venomous snake had fixed its eyes on him, and a chill washed over him.

"Now we're really in trouble!"

The calm vanished from Gin Ichimaru's face in an instant, and he immediately tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

At that moment, he felt his life was in danger.

The Menos Grande before him was a higher order of being than a Gillian.

Only when a hundred Hollows devoured one another could a single Gillian be born.

Among them, if one Hollow's individual consciousness was especially powerful, the resulting Gillian would possess consciousness.

Only by meeting that condition and continuously devouring Gillians of the same level could it evolve into a higher-level Hollow.

"Young Master Kyōsuke, be careful! It's an Adjuchas!"

At that name, everyone's expression changed except Kyōsuke Kuchiki's.

A Gillian, formed by devouring a hundred Hollows, was terrifying enough!

An Adjuchas, on the other hand... was a monster that had devoured at least a hundred Gillians!

The gulf between them was as vast as the difference between a galaxy and a star!

The next second, the Adjuchas before them suddenly spoke.

"Kid, how did you find me?"

"I'm very good at concealing myself. You're the first Soul Reaper who's ever found me."

"Because Gillians have no intelligence, only instinct."

"For two Gillians to cooperate in battle without conflict, there had to be a higher-level Menos Grande directing them from behind the scenes."

Kyōsuke Kuchiki had naturally noticed the undisguised greed in the Adjuchas's eyes.

However, there was also a hint of fervor in Kyōsuke Kuchiki's gaze as he looked at the Adjuchas.

It wanted his soul, and he likewise wanted to take its life to improve his proficiency in the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art.

As for who would have the last laugh, the answer was naturally him, Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

After hearing Kyōsuke Kuchiki's words, the Adjuchas let out an unpleasant laugh that set their teeth on edge.

"Kid, you're smart, and you're delicious."

"Once you become part of me, I'll be able to become smarter too."

"As for the rest of you, you're not much use. You're only fit to be a little dessert after the meal."

With that, its cold, merciless gaze swept over the people behind Kyōsuke Kuchiki.

Under that gaze, everyone except Gin Ichimaru lowered their heads, including the full-fledged Soul Reaper. None of them dared look directly at the Adjuchas's hideous face.

Almost every one of them fell into despair!

To them, a Gillian was already much like a monster out of legend, to say nothing of an Adjuchas a hundred times stronger than a Gillian.

That viscous Reiatsu, which seemed capable of sealing off space itself, left them without the will to resist.

Could a captain defeat a monster like this?