Encountering an Attack

The berserk spiritual pressure swept in, ravaging everything around them and seemingly draining all color from the world until only a gray-white scene remained, like a black-and-white funeral portrait hanging in a mourning hall.

This was the first time Asano Kiyoshi had truly faced the existence known as a Hollow!

Although he had seen Hollows in the original work in his previous life, these fodder Hollows had not left much of an impression on him. After all, in the original work, such fodder Hollows were casually slaughtered like chopping melons and vegetables.

But when he saw a Hollow with his own eyes, Asano Kiyoshi finally understood how terrifying they were!

Its immense body, grotesque appearance, savage aura—everything about it had been born for slaughter!

A Scroll emerged in his mind, lines of ink appearing upon the ancient parchment and displaying this Hollow's exact attributes:

Name: Ordinary Hollow

Attack: 55 (Its massive size represented absolute strength.)

Speed: 20 (Its bloated body did not possess much mobility.)

Endurance: 35 (Its overly swollen muscles resulted in poor recovery and sustained combat ability.)

Spiritual Pressure: 35 (The corpses of its kind had transformed into flesh within its body, becoming Reishi filled with the stench of blood. However, as an Ordinary Hollow with no awakened skills and low intelligence, it could not make good use of Reishi.)

Overall Rating: 145 (Close to the strength of the Fifteenth Seat in an ordinary squad, but its low intelligence slightly reduced its combat power.)

Note: Unlike Shinigami, Hollows cannot have their spiritual pressure measured as a fixed value. Therefore, a new evaluation system is used for Hollows. The total value remains unchanged and is still benchmarked against Shinigami.

After the Hollow's data appeared in his mind, Asano Kiyoshi relaxed considerably. Fortunately, its value was only 145, still some distance from Bannai Daigo's imposing score of 180. Unless something unexpected happened, Bannai Daigo should be able to deal with this Hollow soon enough.

And Bannai Daigo did not disappoint Asano Kiyoshi. Looking at the Hollow that had appeared and sensing its spiritual pressure, he snorted coldly. The Reishi foothold beneath his feet shattered instantly, bursting into a faint cloud of pale blue smoke, while Bannai Daigo himself shot forward like a cannonball. Drawing the Zanpakuto at his waist, he slashed down at the pale, boar-bone mask.

The blade left its sheath, its edge reflecting a cold, blood-red gleam. With a sharp slice, bright red, viscous blood sprayed from the Hollow's arm.

With just one strike, Bannai Daigo severed one of the Hollow's arms. Yet he seemed dissatisfied with the blow. His brows furrowed slightly as he muttered,

"Did it use its arm to block the killing blow at the last moment? Miracles won't happen twice. It's over!"

As his words fell, Bannai Daigo's figure flashed, reappearing at the Hollow's rear flank. Veins bulged across his hand as he swung his Zanpakuto, still stained with uncongealed blood, straight at the pale bone mask.

Yet the scene he had imagined did not occur. The sound of flesh colliding rang out, and half of Bannai Daigo's body was smashed flying. A trace of disbelief still remained on half his face, and a dying "Eh?" escaped his throat.

His body, reduced to pulp, happened to fly past Asano Kiyoshi's side. Blood mixed with fragments of organs splattered across Asano Kiyoshi's body, thick and scorching hot.

Asano Kiyoshi froze. He looked at what remained of Bannai Daigo's body, his expression blank.

The Corpse Pieces were mixed with white marrow, fat, chunks of flesh, sebum...

The revolting sight drained Asano Kiyoshi's face of color. Though he had lived in Rukongai before, public security in the Thirty-Seventh District was not particularly bad. He had seen dead people, but this bloody, horrifying scene was something he had never witnessed in either this life or his last!

The Hollow seemed stunned for a moment as well. Then it let out another roar and continued walking toward Asano Kiyoshi and the other two!

As the enormous monster, covered in shredded flesh, charged at him, Asano Kiyoshi's mind went blank at first. Then an inexplicable frenzy surged up from the depths of his heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, he faced the charging Hollow, raised his fingers, and shouted at lightning speed:

"Lord! Mask of flesh and blood, myriad forms, fluttering wings, bearer of the name of man! Scorching heat and strife, roll across the sea and march southward!"

"Hado #31—Shakkahō!"

As the incantation ended, a searing blaze warped the surrounding air. Terrifying heat condensed within the red light, then it tore through the air at incredible speed, trailing a scorching crimson streak as it shot toward the Hollow.

At the sight of the blazing fireball, a layer of dark red light suddenly surfaced across the boar-masked Hollow's body. The muscles over its entire body swelled and tightened once more. Its dark red spiritual pressure, mixed with the stench of rotting flesh, made the Hollow resemble a Demon crawling out of Hell!

As the dark red spiritual pressure erupted, the Hollow charged directly at the fireball, then slammed its one remaining hand violently into it.

With a thunderous boom, the blazing fireball shattered, scattering sparks across the sky. The surrounding temperature rose from the flames.

A massive figure burst from the smoke. The upper portion of the Pig-faced Hollow's arm had been charred black by Shakkahō, its flesh and tendons melted together and giving off a burnt stench. Yet despite suffering such grievous injuries, the Pig-faced Hollow only became more frenzied. It opened its mouth, foul saliva dripping down as it swung at them with overwhelming pressure.

Ikkaku and Yumichika had recovered by then as well. They drew their Zanpakuto, muscles bulging across their bodies, and charged at the Hollow. Yumichika's voice carried over along with Ikkaku's charge:

"Self-destruct, Rondānini's Black Dog. Leap forth and burn it all to ash! Sever your own throat! Bakudo #9—Geki!"

As Yumichika finished his Kido incantation, the Pig-faced Hollow's movements immediately slowed. In that brief instant of sluggishness, Ikkaku had already arrived before it, bringing his Zanpakuto down viciously upon its mask.

The Pig-faced Hollow let out a shrill scream. A deep gash was carved into the mask on its face. It roared furiously, and its cart-sized palm, carrying a gale sharp enough to flay flesh, sent Ikkaku flying. At the same time, its spiritual pressure surged again, directly overpowering Yumichika's Kido.

Under the Pig-faced Hollow's counterattack, Ikkaku's body was bent into an inverted U-shape and hurled straight backward. Yumichika, meanwhile, spat out a huge mouthful of blood. Bright red, viscous blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and ears as he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

And all of this happened in the blink of an eye. From the moment the two attacked to the moment it ended, less than five seconds had passed!

Aizen stood high in the air, a faint smile on his face and his eyelids lowered, like a god pitying the world.