After settling the two Wolfmen, the five followed the residual Reiatsu trail left by the Dragon, pursuing it eastward.
The trail was not a straight line, but rather a twisted, winding path, as if it was searching for something. It skirted cities, crossed wilderness, and ultimately stopped at the headquarters of the Church.
When the five descended upon what should have been a magnificent cathedral and sacred square, all they saw was ruins.
Corpses littered the ground amidst broken walls and rubble.
And in the center of the Church, an enormous 'evil dragon' stood atop the corpses, roaring loudly, seemingly venting its inner joy.
Aizen spoke slowly, his voice carrying a scholar's curiosity. "This Menos Grande does not seem to have advanced by devouring its own kind. Its Reishi structure is looser, more chaotic, more like an aggregation of countless negative consciousness entities."
He surveyed the ruins. "And the dominant negative consciousness among them seems mostly to come from the heretics hunted and killed by the Church."
Arthur's body trembled slightly, a wave of lingering fear filling his heart.
"So that's it. Fortunately, Reverse London only expelled those dark creatures and did not conduct large-scale 'purification' like the Church. Otherwise, this 'Dragon's' primary target of hatred would probably be us."
Yoruichi was eager to try. "Setsuna, let me deal with this Menos Grande first."
Komamura also stepped forward. "I also wish to fight it."
Setsuna looked at the two and nodded. "Go ahead. But this Dragon is no ordinary Menos Grande. Be careful."
"Understood!"
Yoruichi and Komamura charged out simultaneously, transforming into two streaks of light shooting into the depths of the ruins.
Yoruichi's talent was already formidable, and after being 'coached' by Setsuna, her Reiatsu had risen to the limit of 4th-class Reiryoku.
Although Komamura only had 6th-class Reiryoku, he did not impose self-restrictions, so his Reiryoku was actually not much weaker than Yoruichi's.
Moreover, his combat experience was extremely rich.
To repay Yamamoto's kindness to him, he was most often at the forefront of battle.
The two fought together, and for a time, they actually had that Menos Grande struggling, unable to cope.
"So strong!" Arthur's pupils contracted sharply. The Directors of the Top of Horns might not be inferior in Reiatsu, but in terms of combat, the gap was truly immense.
Setsuna observed their battle, but his thoughts wandered.
He thought of the Omega Shenron within himself, the ultimate monster formed from the aggregation of negative energy in the Dragon Ball GT World.
That was also an 'aggregation of negative consciousness', even an aggregation of negative consciousness from an entire 'universe'.
'Could I treat Omega Shenron as a 'Hollow' within me?' This idea flashed through Setsuna's mind like lightning.
Omega Shenron was rooted deep in his soul. Even if he could defeat Omega Shenron in the future, it would be difficult to completely eliminate this monster.
But if he regarded Omega Shenron as the 'Hollow' within him, and then, through Shinigami Hollowfication, took control of that power...
'Then, I might be able to fully control Omega Shenron's power.' Setsuna's eyes burned brightly. He had already tested in the Saint Seiya World that the soul was indeed Omega Shenron's weak point.
Although this weakness was only relative, it could indeed serve as a line of thought.
Setsuna thought to himself, 'It seems I still need to guide Aizen onto the path of researching the Hogyoku.'
With this in mind, he turned to look at Aizen.
Aizen was currently focused on observing the battle erupting in the depths of the ruins. Yoruichi's Shunpo was like a phantom, Komamura's slashes were like avalanches, and the Dragon let out earth-shaking roars, spouting pitch-black breath that seemed to condense countless resentment.
"Aizen," Setsuna used soul transmission. "Do you think breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows could lead to surpassing the Soul King?"
Aizen's body shook violently. His heart was extremely agitated.
'I had only just conceived this idea, and Setsuna-nii had already thought of it with me. The ideas of geniuses truly aligned!'
Aizen took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm. "I think experiments can be conducted. But this is a colossal project, requiring theoretical breakthroughs, technical accumulation, and... a large amount of research material."
Setsuna smiled slightly. "For theoretical breakthroughs and technical accumulation, I know someone who might become our assistance. As for research material, we can just secretly capture some nobles for research."
Setsuna said lightly, "For those parasites, being able to sacrifice themselves for the great cause of 'surpassing the Soul King' is their honor."
Aizen smiled. "Setsuna-nii is right. I will prepare well."
In the center of the Church ruins, the battle had reached its climax.
Yoruichi's figure was like a phantom, weaving at high speed among the broken walls and rubble. Each flash was accompanied by a silver-white slash.
That was the prototype of her [Shunko], combining Kido and Hakuda to their extremes.
The slashes landed on the Dragon's pitch-black shell, seemingly condensed from countless resentful souls, splashing dark red Reishi sparks. But the wounds were quickly filled and healed by more resentful souls.
Komamura chose a frontal assault.
Although he could only achieve Shikai, his offensive power had already reached the Lieutenant-level.
Each slash carried the momentum of an avalanche, tearing huge gaps in the Dragon's body.
However, those gaps also healed rapidly, and the healing speed grew faster and faster.
"It's not right." Komamura's golden pupils contracted slightly. "Its Reiatsu is increasing."
Yoruichi also sensed the anomaly.
She backflipped onto a broken pillar, panting as she looked at the Dragon.
What was originally Adjuchas-level Reiatsu was now expanding like a snowball, wildly swelling. The resentment, hatred, despair... all negative emotions permeating the air were wildly rushing towards its body, like iron filings attracted to a magnet.
"It's absorbing..." Yoruichi's voice carried gravity. "The 'resentful souls' of those who died miserably in the Church ruins."
Before she finished speaking, a sudden change occurred.
The Dragon raised its head and let out an earth-shaking roar.
The ground of the Church ruins began to crack. Strands of pitch-black mist, seemingly composed of pure malice, surged from the cracks and merged into the Dragon's body.
Within that mist, one could vaguely see distorted human faces, struggling arms, and countless eyes filled with hatred.
"No, don't!"
"Save me, O God..."
"Bullshit deity!"
The wails of the resentful souls surged like a tidal wave.
Arthur's face instantly turned deathly pale. He staggered back two steps, the investigator's short staff in his hand nearly slipping from his grip.
His voice trembled. "This monster... can still become stronger?"
He could sense that the Dragon's Reiatsu was wildly climbing at a geometric rate.
From the peak of Adjuchas, it broke through a critical point and entered the level of Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande.