The battle had ended.
Sombravida issued orders immediately.
The battlefield was stripped with ruthless efficiency.
Aside from Pyromon's corpse and mask — which Sombravida claimed personally — the remaining Adjuchas bodies and masks were distributed among the four Hollows who had arrived as reinforcements, with special priority given to the pangolin-type Hollow that had deployed the anti-membrane shield and absorbed the core blast.
Spiritual pressure was survival.
No resource was wasted.
After consumption and redistribution were completed, Sombravida led his force away from the ruined battlefield.
"Jekain. Have all units arrived?"
"My King, they await orders several kilometers away."
"Good."
Sombravida's gaze shifted toward the devastated territory.
"Gather the sub-class units from our territory. We harvest everything. Nothing here is left behind."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Jekain bowed and departed at once.
"Nell."
Her tail swayed as she stepped forward.
"Take the sensory Adjuchas and our best scouts. Patrol the border zones of neighboring territories."
"If you encounter enemies, eliminate them."
"If they outnumber you, withdraw and prepare defensive formations."
"Yes, my lord."
She hesitated briefly.
"…Do you require healing?"
Sombravida shook his head.
"I was severely injured, but I gained valuable combat insight."
"I must digest it."
"The front line requires strength. For the next few days, harvesting operations are yours."
Nel nodded.
"As you command."
Sombravida returned to his territory while Jekain diverted with a large sub-class detachment toward Pyromon's lands to consolidate control and extract remaining resources.
Because the strike had been swift and surgical, neighboring lords remained unaware of Pyromon's fall.
Had news spread, opportunistic predators would already be circling.
The Fortress
Sombravida withdrew into the underground chamber beneath the stronghold.
From the earliest stages of development, the rock-type Hollow under his command had shaped the fortress according to Sombravida's specifications.
After more than a year, the structure neared completion.
It was not elegant.
It was not symmetrical.
But it was lethal.
Outer perimeter:
sensory Adjuchas
ranged attackers
elevated firing positions
Inner corridors:
winding passageways
choke points and kill zones
sealed partition gates
Without insider guidance, enemies would lose critical time navigating the labyrinth.
And time, in Adjuchas warfare, was death.
Mid-layer:
quarters of Jekain's subordinates
Inner core:
Jekain's command chamber
Central hall above:
Sombravida's residence
Beneath it all, carved by the pangolin-type and stone-manipulating Hollows:
a vast underground chamber.
Here Sombravida could train, heal, and evolve without interference.
Regeneration Study
Sombravida sat cross-legged in the subterranean chamber.
Reiatsu flowed through him in controlled currents.
Healing began.
He had refused Nel's treatment intentionally.
He wanted data.
Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were composed of reishi — spiritual particles.
Everything.
Living beings. Sand. Stone. Structures.
Density determined form.
Hollows possessed instinctive regeneration.
But few studied it.
Sombravida did.
"The reconstruction of matter," he murmured, sensing flesh reforming along damaged fibers, "is the reassembly of spiritual particles into structure."
Different densities.
Different arrangements.
Different substances.
His mind worked beyond Hollow instinct.
He was a transmigrator.
He understood structure.
Framework.
Pattern.
He recalled something from distant memory.
"A Hollow… that restored itself by consuming… was it an Espada?"
The memory refused to surface.
He abandoned the thought.
Focus returned inward.
Comparing his healing speed with subordinate Adjuchas, Sombravida confirmed:
his regeneration was significantly faster.
It was not simply reiatsu density.
Nor structural reinforcement.
It was conversion efficiency:
the speed at which spiritual particles reorganized into biological form.
Adaptability.
Integration.
If refined further…
his regenerative capacity could approach High-Speed Regeneration levels seen among advanced Arrancar.
He considered creating a research unit like the Twelfth Division's institute.
He dismissed the thought.
Outer Hueco Mundo lacked the minds required.
For now.
When he reached the inner realms… that would change.
Technique Optimization
Once healing stabilized, Sombravida shifted focus.
The battle with Paramon had exposed flaws.
Dimensional Slash
Spatial coordinate construction produced reiatsu fluctuations.
Experienced opponents sensed the distortion.
This created dodge windows.
If stealth masked spatial construction…
only the sword aura would be sensed.
If even that were concealed…
the attack would approach inevitability.
But:
stealth
• spatial manipulation
• ranged reiatsu release
used simultaneously demanded extreme control and enormous energy expenditure.
Was it efficient?
Further testing required.
Air Flash (Resonant Spin variant)
Mobility remained exceptional.
But clone generation remained limited.
During peak output against Paramon, he could produce only one afterimage.
Far from mastery.
Speed alone was insufficient.
Spatial timing precision was the missing component.
He would refine it.
One Month Later
Sombravida emerged after one month.
The reason was simple.
Pyromon's territory had been stripped bare.
Gillian resources were exhausted.
The land remained.
Its value did not.
A new target was required.
"Jekain," Sombravida asked as they convened in the central hall,
"How fares Gatmont?"
"He has crushed two territories through overwhelming force. His alliance is collapsing. His advance is faster than ours."
Sombravida nodded.
"That is expected."
"Two alliances fighting simultaneously will force the others to act. Even cooperation breeds conflict."
"We exploit that."
"Have new sub-class units joined us?"
"Yes, my lord," Nel replied softly.
"We discovered six conscious Gillian in Pyromon's territory willing to join us. Combined with ours, twenty-two."
"Seven have evolved."
"Six remain dormant beneath the sands."
"The rest continue accumulation."
Sombravida nodded in approval.
Efficient.
Nel continued:
"We have clashed with neighboring alliance lords."
"They sent scouts when Pyromon stopped attending council meetings."
"We eliminated two scouting groups."
"During the third encounter, Lord Snegatak arrived personally."
Jekain lowered his head.
"Our primary sensory Adjuchas, Adar… was killed before he could respond."
Sombravida's gaze sharpened.
"The bat-type scout?"
"Yes."
"He died instantly in a surprise strike."
"Including the engagement, we lost five Adjuchas."
"The enemy lost three."
"Total exchange ratio: seven to five."
"However… the alliance now knows Pyromon has fallen."
"If Snegatak returns with reinforcements, it will not be a small force."
Sombravida absorbed the report silently.
Unlike Gatmont, he could not crush enemies with brute force.
His war was one of:
precision
timing
attrition
deception
And now, escalation.
He lifted his eyes.
The next move would determine whether they remained hunters…
or became prey.