Hollows
Beiliuhun Street, District 36.
Following the coordinates provided by the Technology Development Bureau, Suifeng arrived at a hill.
The lush lawn looked exceptionally green in the sunlight, the grass swaying like waves in the warm summer breeze.
What should have been a peaceful scene was disrupted by a giant embryo at the foot of the hill.
The embryo resembled an enormous egg, about ten meters tall, its surface blood-red, with veins hidden beneath a thin outer layer.
Boom, boom—the faint sound of a heartbeat resonated from within.
Suifeng's delicate face showed confusion. She had never heard of a Hollow laying eggs. Could it be a Hollow that had only recently appeared?
Circling the embryo, she found no Hollow hole, no mask, and even her spiritual pressure struggled to detect anything.
This was unprecedented. After a pause, she drew her Zanpakutō and chanted, "Sting and kill all enemies, Sparrow Bee." Whatever it was, she decided, it could not remain alive.
Her Zanpakutō emanated a soft glow. The slender Bee Blade, sheathed on her right middle finger, hinted at its potential. An armband at her elbow connected to the Bee Blade by a thin golden chain.
She rushed down the hill, tapping the embryo's surface with the Bee Blade. A black butterfly pattern quietly appeared.
The embryo reacted. Veins beneath its surface swelled like spears, forcing her to retreat. A sizzling sound erupted as the green grass burned from the intense heat. A blood-chilling scream echoed from within.
Suifeng's cat-like pupils remained calm, waiting for the right moment.
The throbbing paused, and a voice emanated from the embryo. "Thank you, God of Death."
"You can speak?" Suifeng's eyes widened.
"Haha, of course. I used to serve Soul Society. Now, thanks to you, I have merged with a Hollow."
The voice was steady and composed. Broken Peak frowned. "Thanks to me?"
"Yes. Evolution requires fear. The threat of annihilation forces organisms to change. Your power alerted Aronillo and me. We could not continue this entanglement, and with that realization, we successfully merged."
Hollow. Fusion. Broken Peak finally understood. "You are Genjiro."
"Yes."
"Ridiculous… all this trouble just to become this… ugly?"
Broken Peak's tone was sarcastic. She had read his file. Before the establishment of Soul Society, Genjiro and Yamamoto Genryūsai were close friends, promising to change Soul Society together.
But a great Hollow from Hueco Mundo had defeated them, breaching the seventy-two barriers and entering the Soul King Palace. Overwhelmed, Genjiro abandoned his ideals and sought to transform himself.
He began conducting Hollow experiments secretly. When the Empire of Light attacked, frustrated by slow progress, he switched sides, joining them for a breakthrough. Yamamoto and the Gotei 13 crushed the Empire's offensive, and Genjiro was imprisoned in the Underworld—until recently released by Oda Nobunaga.
From the looks of it, he had succeeded.
"Any creature evolving will appear ugly at first. Only when evolution is complete does beauty emerge," Genjiro said confidently. "Death God, let me show my true form."
Crack.
The embryo's top split open, and a massive, furry claw emerged—hundreds of meters tall. Another followed, landing on the lawn with a thud, a turbulent surge of reiatsu emanating.
The Hollow's spiritual pressure grew overwhelming, nearly absorbing all of Shattered Peak's reiatsu.
A bear-like head, shrouded in white bones, emerged between its paws, inflating rapidly into a body the size of a mountain. Blood lingered on its white fur, casting a vast shadow over the area.
Genjiro's eyes, glowing blue-white, swept over the surroundings. Every person, every mountain, seemed insignificant.
Its mouth opened, azure light coalescing within. A flash blasted across the distant horizon, its head spinning in a circle as the light traced a path across the earth.
Boom! A roar shook the area. Hundreds of thousands of souls perished.
"Hahaha!" Genjiro laughed, the immense spiritual pressure compelling expression.
The massive body emerged fully from the embryo, revealing the Hollow in its abdomen. It now stood over a thousand meters tall, reminiscent of the ancient Great Hollows.
The surrounding reiatsu swirled into a storm, dark clouds gathering and obscuring the Northern Thirty-Sixth District. Lightning and thunder roared.
A scene like the end of the world unfolded. Ruifeng's face remained expressionless; a body of this magnitude was simply a target.
Even without Bankai, Shikai alone was enough to counter it.
"First, destroy Soul Society and strike down Yamamoto Shigekuni. Then, turn to the Soul King Palace and tear the Soul King from his throne," Genjiro muttered.
"Dream on," Ruifeng leaped forward, aiming to stab beneath its feet, her snow-white fur bristling like living spikes.
Startled, she dodged and landed atop a mountain, her expression darkening. This was truly troublesome.
"Ouch!"
Genjiro roared, summoning the Hollows of Hueco Mundo to attack Soul Society in one devastating wave.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters