Chapter 92
"Boom!"
The explosion and the sound of Shunpo) rang out at the same time.
A quarter of the huge sign at the top of the office building was instantly missing—the broken part fell to the ground like a shooting star!
"Call--"
A purplish-red fireball grazed the edge of the rooftop and hurtled towards the falling debris.
"Boom!"
The Heat flames exploded in mid-air.
Haruto landed steadily in the center of the tarmac, staring straight ahead at the enormous machine before him.
"A-Qing!"
"Rest assured."
The Shakkahō just now incorporated the power of Haien to enhance the flame temperature, which allowed it to incinerate objects thrown from a height before they hit the ground.
It's still broad daylight. Although the blizzard has discouraged people from going out, there are still some pedestrians in the city center. If that huge thing had really hit, the number of casualties would probably be much higher than you can count on two hands.
"It was so big, I didn't even notice it climbing up from below."
The creature before Haruto was a giant centipede, half of its body coiled around the office building; pale white bony armor covered its pitch-black body, and each segment of its limbs was the sharpest spear and armor.
On the long lower abdomen of the centipede-shaped Giant Hollow, one can also see many child-like Visored with different expressions...
It is quite different from the one covering the hideous head.
"He's got something."
The more human-like a Void is, the stronger and more powerful it is.
However, this principle only applies to the Menos Grande stage—before achieving Gillian, the larger and more exaggerated the Hollow's appearance, the stronger it is; there are even many Giant Hollows with special abilities that are no weaker than Gillians in uniform.
"But that's all there is to it."
In terms of concealment and explosive power, this Giant Hollow is in no way weaker than the Haruto first encountered in Rukongai.
Without Shunpo, that attack would have been enough to take the lives of ninety percent of Soul Reaper.
But!
Haruto is not the same person he was six months ago either.
"Clang."
"Hadō #78"
Haruto gently pushed the hilt of his sword, and the invisible sword light formed from his Reiatsu gracefully and erratically weaved through the air like a flying bird.
"Zanka no Tachi!"
Haruto deliberately reduced the power of the Zanka no Tachi in order to increase the frequency of the strikes: from the three strikes that could maintain the strongest power to twenty-one strikes, which was just enough to correspond to the number of dividing points on the Giant Hollow's body.
"Zheng!"
Sword energy bloomed like flowers in the snow.
The Giant Hollow, ferocious body was instantly divided into twenty-two standard segments.
Clang.
As the Zanpakuto returned to its sheath, a seemingly insignificant wind pressure suddenly surged out violently from the gap between the closed blade!
"Tenran!"
The impact of blood and snow had barely dissipated when an even more powerful storm swept in, pressing it back into a less regular icosahedron.
The Zanpakuto was already sheathed.
Faced with the creation formed from snow and meat, Haruto slowly extended his index finger.
Haruto was unaware of the Giant Hollow's abilities.
But with so many Visored on its body, and appearing in the form of an arthropod, it must have a strong regenerative ability; in that case, Haruto should just put in a little more effort and smash all of its Visored at the same time.
"..."
Haruto extended his middle finger, which was touching his index finger.
Such a large creature would be difficult to kill with just Byakurai, so Haruto simply gave it a super-powerful boost.
He's in a hurry—
"Raikōhō!"
"Sizzle!"
The surging lightning crackled and scattered, while a cyan-gold orb of light condensed in front of his fingertips.
"Boom!!"
The light beads transformed into pillars of light.
The Raikōhō, firing diagonally towards the sky, crushed everything in its path into ashes.
"..."
Haruto and Nanao exchanged a quick glance.
"Next."
"Whoosh!"
――――
"For..."
Gori is on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Why is there Giant Hollow here?!"
After assigning their respective tasks, the trio quickly set off. Although Katakura followed Gori's advice, he felt that splitting into two groups would be a bit faster, since the first two tasks were not dangerous.
Then.
After receiving the coordinates from Gori, Katakura went alone to find a suitable spirit, while Gori and Togakushi worked together—given their group's efficiency, they should be able to complete the first two steps before nightfall.
However.
Things didn't go as Gori had expected.
In the final stage of Konsō performed on a simple wish—"to help the little girl find her way home"—the little girl, who was supposed to "become a Buddha," suddenly transformed into Giant Hollow.
Before Togakushi could react, the opponent delivered a powerful punch, severely injuring him.
Certainly.
Even if they could react in time, Togakushi would be no match for the Giant Hollow.
Wuli naturally didn't sit idly by and wait to die, but when his fully chanted Crimson Fire Cannon failed to even leave a scratch on the giant false surface...
Gori made the very decisive choice to run for his life.
The difference between a Hollow and Giant Hollow is enormous. If it were a Hollow as described in the textbook, Gori's Shakkahō would definitely be able to severely injure it in one hit—such a clear "result" made Gori instantly realize the gap between the two sides.
The most urgent task right now is not to save people, as that would only cost us our own lives. The key is to contact Katakura and escape together.
Haruto- senpai must have been keeping an eye on the situation here. As soon as he arrives, things will immediately improve.
Haruto- senpai might not be able to hold off the Giant Hollow for long, but he can definitely contact the Soul Reaper of the Thirteenth Division —whether it's the teacher, Seated Officer, or even a group of them coming to gang up on them, their lives will be guaranteed.
That's enough.
"Boom!"
Behind them came not only an explosion, but also a shockwave.
It's not that Gori can't fly, but the faster Giant Hollow has the same ability, and as an obvious target, they'll only die faster.
"... That beast is fast!"
The Giant Hollow's size was completely disproportionate to his speed.
Even though Gori had pushed his speed to its limit, he still couldn't shake off the Giant Hollow that was hot on his heels.
I don't know whether to call it luck or misfortune.
The Giant Hollow ape was also very interested in the passersby around it. Even though Gori had tried his best to run to places with fewer people, many ordinary people still suffered as a result... Even though the Giant Hollow slowed down the pursuit, Gori was still very upset.
Maintaining stability in the World of the Living is a crucial aspect of Soul Reaper's work. Although Gori is not yet Soul Reaper, Gori deeply respects this principle, which has been instilled in them since entering the Shin'ō Academy.
"Boom!!"
The explosion, which was just inches away, sent Gori tumbling and rolling away.
Fortunately, he had enough defensive magical artifacts, although they were all inferior items that nobles would look down on, but they were still enough for Gori, who desperately needed life-saving items.
"Splash."
Gori, who had just stood up from the pile of stones, had a face covered in dark red dust, with half of his glasses hanging on it.
"Dead end..."
Gori glanced behind him.
"No, we barely managed to force our way through!"
The wall, which had been sealed off very tightly, was blasted open by his shell, creating a gap large enough for someone to pass through.
"Very..."
Just as Gori was about to take advantage of the narrow terrain to escape, he saw that at the end of the alley behind him, a Giant Hollow had already blocked his way.
And within the Giant Hollow maw of the Void, with its interlocking fangs—
"Katakura?"
The body of Katakura Asuka, severed in two, was reduced to a faint trace of life... He was killed by the Giant Hollow in a single exchange.
"Mix..."
"Asshole!!"
Gori forced himself to remain calm.
Both paths lead to dead ends; his only remaining option is to retreat.
"Hadō #31!"
Gori slammed his palm down on the ground, completing the incantation of the Kidō amidst the deliberate slowing of the Giant Hollow's pace.
"Shakkahō!"
"Boom!"
Despite being burned and somewhat dazed, Gori used the recoil from the Shakkahō to quickly reach the rooftop.
However...
"Hiss!"
A sharp whistling sound rang out as a claw tip, thicker than Gori's forearm, swept across his back.
"Puff!"
Gori tumbled and landed on the roof.
Spinal fracture, nerve paralysis, plus massive bleeding...
Either way, it's a fatal flaw.
"Gah!"
When Gori finally managed to lift his head...
An eagle, an ape, and a porcupine—three enormous creatures that completely obscured the surrounding view—slowly approached with menacing sneers.
At this moment, Gori also saw it clearly:
In Yuanxu's hand, he was holding the half-dead Togakushi.
Judging from this situation, he was most likely to be "enjoyed" by the Giant Hollow that resembled a falcon; as for whether it would slice him into pieces with its claws or peck out his internal organs bit by bit with its hook-like beak, he wasn't sure.
This was the first time Gori had felt that having too much knowledge wasn't a good thing; if he could escape alive, he would definitely devote all his time to cultivation from now on and never read so many miscellaneous books that could reveal how he would die again.