Arata tried to move his body, but realized he couldn't move at all.
Only then did he become aware of how serious his injuries were. The poison Kadavil had injected before dying had nearly destroyed his body completely.
If it hadn't been for Apacci's treatment and the self-healing ability of his bloodline, he would probably be exhaling more than inhaling by now.
He felt that his body was recovering extremely slowly.
If he didn't take any additional measures and relied only on Apacci's healing gel, it would take at least another half a month of rest to fully recover.
Arata would have no objections to that, if he were in the Soul Society.
But he was now in Hueco Mundo, a dangerous place where he had no idea who would show up next.
If he didn't regain his strength quickly, his fate would be entirely in Harribel's hands.
Arata truly hated the feeling of being passive. In any sense, he was used to holding absolute initiative.
With that in mind, he decided to first use the spiritual pressure essence he had exchanged through the system.
Arata took a deep breath and with a slight mental command, the blue vial appeared in his palm from the system space.
The vial was ice-cold, and the liquid inside glimmered faintly. Aside from being slightly different in size, it was almost identical to the one he had seen with Unohana Retsu.
"Gudong——"
He threw his head back and drank it down without hesitation. The moment the liquid entered his mouth, it transformed into a torrent of spirit particles that surged down his throat.
Arata felt as if his internal organs were submerged in a natural hot spring, and every cell in his body cheered.
"This is?!"
To his surprise, the spiritual pressure that had almost completely dried up was recovering at an astonishing rate.
Not only that, his overall spiritual pressure continued to rise.
The threshold that had been blocking him at the edge of captain-level suddenly gave way, and in an instant, his spiritual pressure broke through to a new level!
Third-rate spiritual power, standard captain level achieved!
As expected of something that costs 1,000 destiny points per bottle, this was truly good stuff!
In comparison, the one-time-use Tenshintai at 998 points seemed rather overpriced.
However, at that very moment of joy, something strange happened.
"Uhh—"
Arata suddenly let out a muffled cry, and along with the recovery of his spiritual pressure, an unknown force surged through his body.
Unlike the initially gentle and obedient spiritual pressure, this force was wild and violent.
Even worse, from the wounds where he had previously been pierced by Kadavil's scorpion tail, a white bony substance began to ooze out, twitching constantly as if it were alive.
"What's happening?…"
Arata endured the terrible pain and tried to suppress the inexplicable force with the spiritual pressure inside his own body.
But the more he suppressed it, the stronger the resistance became.
Then he remembered Kadavil's final words.
The scorpion had arrogantly revealed one secret.
The opponent's scorpion tail had been fused with a special poison created by Szayelaporro, that twisted scientist. Could it be that he had mixed in some form of Hollow soul?
"Damn you, Szayelaporro!"
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and Arata could clearly feel how a force unlike that of a Shinigami was rapidly corroding his body.
The clearest change had already appeared on his face. A white bony mass was slowly creeping up his face and thickening, gradually forming a translucent bone mask!
The shape of the mask was grotesque and terrifying, like an evil war god that had crawled out of hell.
The moment the mask formed, the wild force suddenly became obedient.
The two forces, which had been clearly separated until a moment ago, now coexisted in harmony, like a yin-yang fish.
Arata reached out to touch it, but felt only a slight chill. The mask clung perfectly to his face, as if it had always been a part of his body.
Moreover, aside from feeling slightly exhausted, he had no sense of losing reason or control over himself.
"Does this… count as a direct Hollow transformation?"
Arata muttered to himself, and the voice that came through the mask was no longer calm as usual, but carried a hint of electronic static unique to Hollow.
As if sensing his confusion, the system popped up with a reminder.
[An abnormal change has been detected in the host's inner power, bloodline information has been updated.]
[Host, please check the details yourself.]
Arata immediately opened the system panel and found the data on his bloodline.
[B+ Rank Item: Spirit King Bloodline (Incomplete)]
[Effect: After fusing bloodlines, potential and talent are enormously improved. The body can be compatible with powers of various natures and has integrated the power of Shinigami and Hollow.]
[Note: Cannot be gifted, can be enhanced.]
[Enhancement Count: 1]
The system's description had visibly changed.
First, the bloodline rank had been raised from B to B+. In addition, the effect field had one more sentence added: "The power of Shinigami and Hollow has been integrated."
And at the end, it clearly displayed the number of enhancements.
"So that's how it is…"
After a brief moment of thought, Arata suddenly understood everything.
The Spirit King is the original personification of the balance of the three worlds. All kinds of powers that appeared later originate from him, so his bloodline naturally possesses the ability to reconcile different forces.
Szayelaporro's Hollow poison didn't destroy Arata. On the contrary, under the influence of the Spirit King bloodline, it became a part of his own power.
And as the integration continued, Arata could feel his changes more and more clearly.
First, spiritual pressure, the total amount increased by nearly 50%, rising from his former vice-captain level to captain level, and the very quality of his spiritual pressure became denser and more stable.
Second, the body his wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his muscles were becoming firmer.
Arata tried to lift his Zanpakutō and slash at his own skin with force, but only a shallow white mark remained, which quickly vanished.
Even though he hadn't used full strength in that strike, it was more than enough to kill an ordinary Gillian.
Does this mean that, since it comes from the system, it immediately delivered Hierro and super-fast regeneration?
Moreover, Arata discovered that he could completely freely control the activation and deactivation of his Hollow state.
"Disappear."
At a single gesture, the white demonic mask on his face vanished like an illusion.
With another, it reappeared in the same instant.
This level of arbitrary control far exceeded the Hollow level of Visored and Ichigo.
"This is… my current power?"
Arata clenched his fists, feeling the spiritual pressure surge through his body.
He vaguely realized that in the future, he might walk a path similar to Aizen and Ichigo, not a pure Shinigami, nor a complete Hollow.
But rather a higher being in other words, a transcendent.
A multidimensional form of life that transcends the boundaries of simple concepts such as death and void.
A specially crafted Hollow poison, which was originally sufficient to kill a captain-level Shinigami, in his case became the key to opening the door to Hollow power and transcendence.
Arata exhaled softly.
It truly was the case that misfortune sometimes turns into a blessing.
Just as he sighed, footsteps could once again be heard outside the cave.
Harribel and the others had returned.