A Sudden Turn of Events

Bang!

Watching the Lanzador Verde fly toward him, Kasijiade showed no sign of panic. He simply crossed his two massive hammer-like arms in front of him. The Lanzador Verde pierced one of his thick arms, but could go no farther.

Immediately afterward, Kasijiade unleashed a burst of Spiritual Pressure, and the double-ended lance shattered. It did not appear to have posed much of a threat to him. Nel, however, was not charging at Kasijiade, but at Waruta, who had just been struck by Wien's Cero.

"Sir, it seems you've refused the easy way and chosen the hard way." Before Nel could reach him, however, Waruta's icy voice rang out from beneath the dust.

A surge of pale purple Spiritual Pressure soon erupted, blowing away the dust around him in the next instant. When Waruta appeared before Wien, his only injury was a slight wound to the arm he had used to block the Cero.

"In that case, the two of you will have to leave your lives here." With that, an intense purple light burst from Waruta's eyes. Nel, who was charging toward him, came to an abrupt halt the moment she saw it.

"Th-this is..." A chill appeared in the eyes of the immobilized Nel.

"Illusion Cage," Waruta explained at length. "My ability converts Spiritual Power into a special light that enters my enemies' eyes and immobilizes them."

"An illusion type?" Wien's voice grew low. Nel was now trapped in an illusion. Although Wien knew it was not real, her five senses had been thrown into disarray, and escaping it would not be a quick or easy task.

Without hesitating any longer, Wien fired another Pale Gold Cero, striking Waruta. He forced him to move, attempting to distract him.

And that was indeed what happened. Though it was a Gillian Level Cero, the strength of Wien's Spiritual Pressure was already comparable to a Pseudo-Adjuchas's, and Waruta did not dare take the attack head-on. The previous Cero had already injured him, even though he had deliberately defended himself with his Spiritual Power.

If he took this attack head-on, not only would his Illusion Cage be affected, but he would also suffer some degree of injury. No matter how he looked at it, it was not worth it.

Spiritual Power rippled beneath Waruta's feet, and he instantly vanished from where he stood.

With Sonído, Waruta avoided any damage from Wien's Cero. Meanwhile, Nel, who had not yet completely fallen into the illusion, broke free of its hold thanks to Wien's interference and her own Spiritual Pressure, then quickly retreated to Wien's side.

"Tch, they're tough to deal with." Wien's voice was subdued. The three Pseudo-Adjuchas Menos Grande before him were even harder to handle than he had imagined. Continuing to fight them head-on would do him little good. "Nel, get ready to open a Garganta so we can run."

Hum!

With a hum, Wien fired another Cero.

"But... Lord Wien, you..." Concern flashed in Nel's eyes.

"It's all right. I can hold on a little longer," Wien said quietly. "Hurry and prepare..."

"Shadow of Restraint." Before Wien could finish, Yinfeng, the dragon-headed Hollow who had stood silently behind Waruta and Kasijiade all this time, made his move.

A massive shadow spread rapidly outward from him, covering the area where Wien and Nel stood. It was over five hundred meters in diameter.

"My lord, I can't connect to the Garganta!" Seeing the shadow close in, Nel hurriedly opened a Garganta, but the instant it opened, the shadow covered it. It quickly shattered into streaks of black light and vanished.

"Don't waste your effort," Waruta said gravely. "Besides preventing anyone inside its area from leaving, Yinfeng's Shadow of Restraint can also block all Reishi fluctuations within the space. So a transportation ability like Garganta, which needs to connect to another endpoint, is essentially useless.

"Once you've used up all your Spiritual Power and can't replenish it, you'll die!"

"Tch, this is trouble..."

Faced with such a predicament, Wien clicked his tongue inwardly while his mind raced, trying to find a way out of this adversity.

But in the face of overwhelming power, Wien's schemes seemed somewhat inadequate. With three Pseudo-Adjuchas attacking one, no matter how gifted Nel was, she could not possibly withstand their combined assault at her current stage.

What was more, Nel had only recently advanced, and there was a considerable gap between her Spiritual Pressure and that of the three enemies. If they really fought, she might be defeated by the three Adjuchas in fewer than ten exchanges.

As for Wien, he was still only Gillian Level, so facing them head-on was clearly impossible. The only absolute defense he could use now was Negación. But that was not enough to win.

"Nel, I'll hold Waruta off. Do your best to take one of them down." Wien now had no choice but to meet them head-on. He pinned his hopes on Nel disabling one enemy as quickly as possible, preferably Yinfeng, who had unleashed the restraint technique.

But the enemies were clearly on guard as well. Waruta used Sonído to position himself in front of Yinfeng, the purple light in his eyes glowing faintly as he tried to obstruct any enemy who approached. Kasijiade, meanwhile, banged his hammer-like arms together, clearly ready to charge over and fight with all he had. Wien and Nel had no opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Yinfeng.

Soon, however, Yinfeng stepped forward. Having never spoken before, he finally opened his mouth.

"Before we begin, may I know your name, sir?" He directed the question not at Nel, but at Wien.

"Isn't it a little pointless to ask that now?" Wien gave him a cold look. He realized that this taciturn Hollow was no simple opponent: he had seen at a glance that Wien was the real leader.

After all, judging by their words and the way they had fought, though there had been a flaw in what Wien said, it had not been a major slip. Anyone who could discern what was going on in such a short time was definitely not to be trifled with.

"At least it will leave the tale of a powerful Gillian Level fighter among the Pseudo-Adjuchas," the dragon-headed Hollow continued.

"Heh..." Wien chuckled. "Very well. It's a fight to the death anyway. There's no shame in leaving my name behind." With that, Wien stepped forward. "Remember it well. My name is Ace Wien, a Gillian who is about to leave an indelible scar on your mask!"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck," Nel said coldly. "An Adjuchas who will take you down with her, even if she dies."

"Heh... You've got guts." Waruta smiled disdainfully. "Rookie, stop wasting words on him. Just wipe them out!"

"Mm." The dragon-headed Hollow called Rookie slowly raised his right claw. A gleaming black light, mixed with violent Spiritual Pressure, began gathering in its palm.

Seeing the taciturn Yinfeng begin gathering energy, Kasijiade held nothing back either and charged at Wien and Nel with his Spiritual Pressure fully unleashed.

"Good. This will save us a lot of trouble." Standing behind Yinfeng, Waruta's purple-tinged eyes shone a little brighter.

"Kasijiade charges, Yinfeng provides supporting attacks, and I'll control their movements with Illusion Cage. You... What are you doing?!"

Boom!!!

Before Waruta had finished speaking, a tremendous blast roared beside his ear. His view of Yinfeng, who had been standing in front of him, went spinning upward. Only when he saw his own charred neck and his severed body did the purple-tinged eyes slowly lose their light in shock.

Yinfeng, his companion standing before him, had blasted Waruta's neck with a point-blank Cero, instantly separating his head from his body and killing him beyond any doubt.

"Wha..." Halfway through his charge, Kasijiade heard the strange sound and spun around, only to see the shocking scene. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

At the sudden turn of events, Wien and Nel also widened their eyes. Wien, however, had an extraordinary wealth of combat experience. In an instant, he recovered from his shock and said at once, "Nel, take out that big guy first!"

"Yes!" The sudden reversal also gave Nel hope of a counterattack. Her Spiritual Pressure surged, and she charged at Kasijiade. At the same time, Wien began gathering another Cero, preparing to look for a chance to attack or cast Negación on Nel in case the battle changed again.

"Bastard! I should have realized you had ulterior motives!" At this point, even Kasijiade could see what was going on, whether the newcomer Yinfeng had killed Waruta because he wanted everything for himself or for some other reason.

But that realization was meaningless now. Kasijiade was forced to face a pincer attack from two Pseudo-Adjuchas at once.

Bang! Bang!

After meeting the charging Nel head-on twice, Kasijiade was forced to use Sonído to open some distance. But how could Nel be slower than him? In an instant, she caught up to him again and became locked in combat with him. Meanwhile, a black light flashed once more in the palm of the traitorous Yinfeng's claw, and a black-purple Cero immediately began to form. Wien was not idle either; a Pale Gold Cero was likewise gathering at his mouth.

"Damn it, damn it!" Knowing he was outmatched, Kasijiade instantly flew into a frenzy. "If you want me dead, don't think you'll get off easily!" As he spoke, a silver-white light began bursting from his eyes. Soon, the light shone all over his body, and a surge of violent Spiritual Pressure rose abruptly.

Self-destruction!

At this desperate moment, Kasijiade chose to self-destruct and take his opponents down with him. A Pseudo-Adjuchas's final counterattack was bound to be terrifying. The raging Spiritual Pressure made Nel, who was fighting him at close range, shudder, and she immediately pulled back. But Kasijiade knew he could not reach the other two enemies.

So he clung tenaciously to Nel. Cracks also began to appear all over his body, and immense Spiritual Pressure erupted from them. He was about to explode.

"Nel, take his head off!" At that critical moment, Wien's command brought Nel partly back to her senses. Then, as if by reflex, a Lanzador Verde appeared between her hands. She swung it in a wide arc, turning the thrust into a slash aimed straight at Kasijiade's neck.

Squelch!

On the verge of self-destruction, Kasijiade could no longer dodge. The lance sliced cleanly across his neck, and his enormous, bull-like head immediately flew into the air. At the same time, the explosion followed.

Boom!!!

A massive explosion soared skyward, engulfing everything within several hundred meters. Its shock wave traveled nearly a thousand meters, shaking Yinfeng's Shadow of Restraint apart.

Whew...

The dust soon settled, and Wien, no longer screened by the Shadow of Restraint, once again saw the dim woods of the Forest of Menos. Waruta and Kasijiade, who had just been his enemies, had long since turned into Reishi and merged into Hueco Mundo's sea of sand. All that remained were their two heads, still wearing their masks.

"Ah... That was close, so close." Beneath a curtain of orange-yellow light, Nel gently patted her ample chest. "Luckily, Lord Wien's Negación came in time. Otherwise, I would have been badly hurt."

"That's also thanks to you always remembering the code words I taught you and carrying out my orders. If you'd been a few seconds slower, I doubt even that Negación could have saved you." Wien walked slowly toward Nel.

Indeed, the instant after Kasijiade's head had been sent flying, Wien had cast Negación on Nel, preventing the explosion from doing her any substantial harm. The enormous impact had damaged the Negación to some extent, however, making Wien's Spiritual Pressure somewhat unsteady.

If Wien had a complexion at this moment, he would surely have been as pale as paper. Fortunately, his Spiritual Pressure, accumulated day after day, had managed to withstand the impact.

"Don't let your guard down." Although Wien had very little Spiritual Power left, he and Nel still had an enemy before them: Yinfeng.

Even though Yinfeng had done something baffling, it was still possible that he wanted to devour both his companions, as well as Wien and Nel, all at once.

"Mm." Nel also knew the enemy before them had not yet been completely eliminated. She gave the lance in her hand a small sweep and stepped forward to stand in front of Wien.

Tap... tap...

After Kasijiade's self-destruction, the dragon-headed Hollow named Yinfeng also walked slowly toward Wien and Nel, stopping a little over ten meters away.

"Sir, thank you for your assistance," Wien said when Yinfeng stopped. "If you desire the masks of these two Pseudo-Adjuchas, perhaps we could divide them fairly, one for each of us. Afterward, we'll leave this Forest of Menos, so you'll have an explanation when you return."

Wien was very clever. He understood that someone who betrayed his companions was not easy to reason with, and that Yinfeng would also need an explanation if he wanted to return to his other companions.

So he chose to withdraw, a solution that would make things easier for both sides. He and Nel could retreat unharmed, and he would avoid making another enemy. After all, he and Nel had only just escaped a deadly situation. It would be best to avoid another battle now; otherwise, another hard fight was inevitable.

Yinfeng had yet to use his full strength. In Wien and Nel's current condition, whether they could emerge unharmed from a hard fight was an open question. So avoiding a clash was best. The proposed split also gave the other side room to negotiate. In fact, Wien was willing to hand over both Pseudo-Adjuchas masks. In his and Nel's condition, fighting with everything they had would not necessarily end well.

Yet what Yinfeng did was something Wien could never have imagined. Yinfeng quietly dispersed the Spiritual Pressure around him, then bent one knee and knelt before Wien.

"My king, please forgive Jekain for being late to receive you. Welcome back, my king!"