Chapter 210 Enemies in the Shadows
While Shawlong Koufang suppressed his laughter throughout the journey, Grimmjow allowed Ryoko to lead him toward her home as though he'd swallowed something particularly unpalatable.
Seemingly wanting her mother to recover quickly, Ryoko pulled Grimmjow along at considerable speed. She nearly stumbled several times along the route, but thanks to Grimmjow steadying her, the little girl didn't actually fall.
After traversing several consecutive alleyways, Ryoko guided Grimmjow to an extraordinarily remote corner. The moment they halted, both Shawlong Koufang and Grimmjow looked upward. They witnessed a building exuding black and purple atmospheric energy positioned directly before them.
"We've arrived! This is Ryoko's home!"
After reaching the house, Ryoko also grew more restrained. Having released Grimmjow's hand, she gazed at them both expectantly, hoping they would enter her home soon to examine her mother.
"Something's wrong, Shawlong!"
Grimmjow transmitted his thoughts to Shawlong Koufang through spiritual communication—a technique Reinhard had taught the Espada upon Fiander's orders after their return to Hueco Mundo to improve their capabilities.
"Indeed. With such an obvious aura present, didn't the Shinigami responsible for this area detect it?"
As he spoke, Shawlong Koufang glanced toward Kurosaki Clinic positioned several streets distant and addressed Grimmjow once more:
"Even if Soul Society failed to notice, Kurosaki Ichigo's father—Kurosaki Isshin, the former Captain of Gotei 13—is a individual possessing considerable strength. Such a person couldn't simply ignore the situation before us. Unless there exists a barrier throughout this area... but we didn't sense any obstruction along our approach. Could it be..."
At this moment, both simultaneously regarded Ryoko standing before them. Grimmjow comprehended what Shawlong Koufang implied. He immediately placed his hand atop Ryoko's head and declared: "Let's proceed. Take us to see your mother. This uncle is an exceptionally skilled doctor!"
Ryoko, carrying her flower bucket, nodded vigorously. Then she approached the house's entrance, opened the door, and addressed them both: "Please come inside. This is Ryoko's home. Mother is lying upstairs. Because we have no money, Mother's condition keeps getting worse!"
CREAK—
The instant Ryoko opened the door, a deathly aura rushed forth to greet them. Even Grimmjow—who'd fought his way from the Menos Grande Forest to his current position—had never encountered such an oppressively gloomy atmosphere.
After observing intently, Grimmjow pretended ignorance. He scratched his head and addressed Ryoko with a smile: "Understood. Then please guide us to your mother!"
"This way, please!"
After Ryoko brought them through the entrance, she didn't request they remove their shoes. Instead, she directly guided them toward the bedroom on the second floor.
From the moment they'd stepped into this dwelling, a rotten stench had invaded both their nostrils. The sensation resembled decaying meat left abandoned for considerable duration. The putrid odor permeated the entire house. Had an ordinary person entered, they might have vomited from the stench immediately.
Following Ryoko's footsteps, both ascended the stairs toward the second-floor bedroom. Ryoko pushed open the sliding door, approached a skeletal woman, knelt before her position, and addressed her: "Mother, I've already brought doctors to help you. Please open your eyes!"
However, at this moment, Grimmjow and Shawlong standing at the bedroom's entrance felt genuinely stunned. Their expressions transformed instantly. What manner of woman lay before them? Observing through their Arrancar's Pesquisa abilities, what lay beside Ryoko was merely a pool of writhing, rotting flesh.
Perhaps some illusion or barrier affected ordinary people's perception, preventing the residents of this area from noticing anything amiss within Ryoko's household.
As though aware of outsiders' arrival, the rotting mass appeared surprised. It quickly curled together defensively. However, Ryoko—remaining oblivious—simply perceived that her mother seemed cold. Her entire form curled tightly, trembling. Ryoko immediately approached a nearby cabinet, attempting to retrieve another quilt to cover her mother.
"Is Mother cold? Don't worry—Ryoko will cover you with a blanket!"
Witnessing the little girl's thin frame struggling to hold a quilt twice her size, Grimmjow stepped forward. He took the quilt from Ryoko's hands and helped her drape it across the rotting flesh.
"Thank you, big brother! Ryoko is still too young. If only I could grow up faster!"
Ryoko thanked Grimmjow with a bright smile.
However, this time Grimmjow displayed no particular expression. He simply sat cross-legged, pulled Ryoko beside him, pointed toward her mother, and spoke: "There's something I must tell you, kid. Your mother... may already be dead!"
"Liar!"
The instant Grimmjow finished speaking, Ryoko's furious voice erupted directly. The originally gentle little girl's expression transformed completely. She broke free from Grimmjow's grasp and rushed toward the squirming rotting flesh. Collapsing atop the quilt, she wept: "You're lying! Mother is still alive—she's just sick! If you cannot cure Ryoko's mother, please leave! Ryoko doesn't want to see you anymore!"
"Little brat, don't be ignorant of goodwill!"
Being accused by a human child, Grimmjow also spoke with a trace of anger. He stepped toward Ryoko and lifted her into his grasp, then ordered Shawlong Koufang positioned beside him:
"Drain the spirit particles from the vicinity. I refuse to believe that without spirit particles, these supernatural entities can maintain their false appearances indefinitely!"
"Yes, Lord Grimmjow!"
Seeing that Grimmjow possessed no intention of acting further, Shawlong Koufang directly spread both hands wide and inhaled tremendously. In an instant, the surrounding spirit particles rushed toward Shawlong Koufang's mouth like a surging spring.
"AAAHHH—"
As Shawlong Koufang drew that tremendous breath, the ambient spirit particles began dissipating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Had Grimmjow not applied a protective barrier around Ryoko's form, the little girl would have been transformed into spirit particles and dissipated instantaneously.
Ryoko's mother also revealed her true appearance during this process. Observing her mother's grotesque state, Ryoko's heart filled with despair. Her pupils began losing focus.
She remained certain that the monster before her was indeed her mother—because beneath the creature's eyeballs hung a wooden pendant she'd crafted herself.
BOOM! BOOM!
Suddenly, the entire house began trembling violently. Shadows from every corner of the room began pouring forth, covering the entire dwelling like a surging tide.
"Lord Grimmjow, this little girl serves as the medium for this barrier. If she doesn't acknowledge that her mother has perished, then this barrier can be maintained indefinitely."
The instant Shawlong Koufang finished speaking, their surroundings plunged into absolute darkness. This was the shadow realm—the domain where the Quincy messenger resided.
As the genuine environment revealed itself, Ryoko within Grimmjow's grasp had vanished at some point. The surroundings grew deathly silent, with no light visible whatsoever. As both continued advancing, they finally sensed the shadows surrounding them transforming into a gray expanse.
When they stepped into this darkened area, the shadow space behind them sealed completely. A sharp, piercing voice emerged from before them:
"Hmm? Humans have stepped here? No—not humans? Without Reiatsu... who are you?"
At this moment, upon the floor directly before Grimmjow and his companion, black shadows coalesced. Then a woman wearing a cone-shaped black mask slowly materialized from the darkness.