Instinctive Blade Swing

Just as the man was struck with shock, this Menos that had burst forth from the ground also took notice of him.

Hollows are fallen souls.

When a human dies, the Chain of Fate upon them breaks and the soul departs the body. Initially, while the Chain of Fate remains, the soul can maintain the state it held while alive. However, some souls, due to obsessions or the various hardships they faced in life, give rise to negative emotions. These emotions accelerate the decay of the Chain of Fate, and once it dissipates entirely, a massive hole forms in the chest, causing them to fall and become a Hollow.

Because of the emptiness within their hearts, Hollows instinctively devour souls, seeking to fill that void. If they consume enough souls, a quantitative change leads to a qualitative one, and they evolve from ordinary Hollows into Menos.

Naturally, there are ranks among Menos, and the method of advancement is much like that of an ordinary Hollow evolving into a Menos: it relies on consumption.

Devouring their own kind, devouring souls.

As long as this desire persists, they are monsters devoid of reason, following only their instincts.

Without a doubt, to this Menos, the man in black robes wielding a long blade was the most delicious of prey. It had a feeling that if it could devour him, it would achieve evolution.

And so, after revealing itself, the Menos swiftly launched an attack on the man.

The man also sensed the Menos's intent; his expression shifted, but instead of choosing to evade, he chose to engage.

Though he did not know why this Menos was not in the Forest of Menos but had appeared on the outskirts of Hueco Mundo, this was Hueco Mundo, the world of Hollows, where many things defied logic.

Since they had met, he could only fight.

His figure flickered.

In an instant, he appeared at the side of the Menos.

Thanks to the Reishi in Hueco Mundo being even denser than in the Soul Society, a Shinigami's Flash Step and Kido were both more powerful here than they would be in the Soul Society.

Of course, such a world was also dangerous; after all, it was the world of Hollows.

Shinigamis are also souls, and because of the spiritual power within their bodies, they are even more alluring to Hollows than ordinary souls. It could be said that a single Shinigami is equivalent to multiple ordinary souls to a Hollow.

He swung his blade, striking.

A crescent-shaped blade of light emerged, instantly leaving a deep gash on the Menos, from which crimson blood gushed out like a fountain.

The Menos felt the pain and could not help but let out a roar. A terrifying spiritual pressure radiated from its body, and a force impossible to describe in words swept over, as if a mountain had suddenly pressed down upon his shoulders.

"What?"

The man in black also felt the heavy pressure.

"This sense of oppression... this Menos has likely reached the threshold of evolution."

The man felt a jolt of horror.

If it were merely an ordinary Gillian, he might not be unable to fight it. Although a Gillian's size is massive and its spiritual pressure strong, because it is the lowest grade of Menos, its movements are clumsy and its thinking simple; as long as one uses agile attack methods, it can be slain.

But a Gillian on the verge of evolving into an Adjuchas was different. While not as powerful as a true Adjuchas, its spiritual pressure far exceeded that of an ordinary Gillian. As this sense of oppression bore down, the man felt his body stiffen.

He gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on.

Then, he released his Zanpakuto and continued his assault on the Menos.

Facing the man's attack, the Menos opened its mouth slightly. The surrounding Reishi gathered in an instant, and finally, it erupted outward.

Red light flooded the desert. Natsuki, sitting blankly on the hill, felt a sharp pain in his eyes and lost his vision for a short time.

When the terrifying sound faded and the storm dissipated.

Natsuki gradually regained his sight.

He looked toward the distance again; that massive figure wearing a white mask still stood between heaven and earth.

But the figure in black robes holding the long blade was nowhere to be seen.

"Dead?"

"No way!"

"I don't even know your name yet, benefactor, how could you just die?"

Natsuki's heart sank to the bottom of the abyss in an instant.

With the man in black gone, combined with that terrifying blast, it was basically certain that he had likely fallen in battle.

What made Natsuki feel his luck was at its absolute worst was that this massive figure had locked its gaze onto him.

Having barely escaped one life-or-death crisis, a bigger one had now arrived.

Natsuki suddenly felt that death was not such a good thing after all.

The world after death seemed even more dangerous.

If he had never possessed that sense of relief and was still suffering under the torture of illness, he wouldn't have felt much, but it was precisely because he had possessed it that Natsuki did not want to lose it.

Run!

He had to escape this place.

He steadied his mindset and quickly fled.

However, with his small arms and legs, how could he outrun the monster ahead?

Each step the creature took covered a distance that would take Natsuki a long time to run. In just a few steps, it was already closing in on him.

Natsuki also realized that he seemed unable to escape, but to die again in such a pathetic way was just too hard to bear.

Just then, his foot seemed to strike something, tripping him up.

His body lurched, and he tumbled into the desert, which delayed his escape speed for another moment.

His mood was naturally even worse.

Immediately, he looked down and saw a severed arm with a piece of black sleeve still attached; it appeared to be the arm of the man from earlier. What caught Natsuki's attention even more was that the hand was still gripping a blade.

The man's own sword.

Just as Natsuki was looking at these things, the massive figure had already drawn near.

Perhaps not wanting to die in such a stifling way, driven by some inexplicable impulse, Natsuki reached out, took the blade, and gripped it in his hand.

As the long blade entered his grasp, he felt his soul tremble.

Vaguely, it seemed as if a voice was calling out to him.

The Menos Grande reached out to grab Natsuki. At the critical moment, Natsuki summoned that figure, and then, a terrifying power erupted from his body. He swung the blade, and this power was channeled into a torrential strike that landed squarely on the mask of the Menos Grande.

The arm the Menos Grande had reached out could no longer advance.

After its mask shattered, its towering body quickly collapsed to the ground. What Natsuki did not notice was that after the Menos Grande died, a surge of power flowed out from its massive frame and was swallowed by the long blade in his hand.

"Tired, so tired!"

Natsuki plopped down onto the ground.

At this very moment, he felt nothing but exhaustion. This fatigue, which he could not tell if it stemmed from his body or his soul, permeated his entire being, as if it were everywhere, leaving him feeling completely drained.

He had no heart to think about much else; right now, he just wanted to have a peaceful sleep.