The journey from the eastern territories of Hueco Mundo to the Central Region required time.
Even with Sombravida's mastery over spatial displacement, mass transport was not feasible.
Opening a Garganta for himself was trivial.
Maintaining stability for hundreds of Sub-level Hollows?
Impossible — not without constructing a large-scale spatial matrix anchored by multiple high-density reiryoku cores.
His current reserves could safely move perhaps ten Adjuchas at once before dimensional shear became unstable.
If spatial layering collapsed mid-transfer, fragmentation would scatter units across Hueco Mundo.
That was unacceptable.
So Sombravida and Barragan continued through conventional Garganta staging — short-range crossings followed by rest cycles.
Barragan's forces were numerous.
Nearly five hundred Sub-class Hollows under his banner.
This expedition included roughly two hundred.
Unlike Sombravida's disciplined faction — fewer than three hundred — Barragan ruled through overwhelming military dominance.
If spiritual pressure dropped too low during continuous travel, disorder would spread.
Thus camps were established repeatedly.
Progress slowed.
Over two months later, they reached the outskirts of the Central Region.
For Hollows, such time was negligible.
During that period—
Bawabawa awakened.
Its evolution completed.
Now clearly Adjuchas-class.
Its appearance remained eel-like — deep blue hide, white underbelly — but its mask now bore two forward-curving bone protrusions.
Its dermal layer hardened significantly.
More importantly—
Its reiryoku density stabilized at early Adjuchas tier.
Not high.
But stable.
Its size-manipulation ability improved drastically.
Expanded state: sixty to seventy meters.
Compressed state: shoulder-sized.
Efficient reiryoku compression.
Sombravida was satisfied.
Further experimentation revealed more.
Bawabawa possessed a devouring ability distinct from Nel's absorption.
Nel absorbed dispersed reishi and refined it.
Bawabawa directly consumed Hollow bodies.
Complete ingestion.
Minimal leakage of spiritual residue.
However—
Accumulation plateaued at mid-Adjuchas threshold.
Beyond that, saturation occurred.
This reminded Sombravida of Yammy Llargo.
Yammy's ability — Ira — allowed reiryoku amplification through rage and consumption, scaling beyond standard limits.
Was Bawabawa a primitive branch of a similar law-structure?
Perhaps.
But speculation remained speculation.
Finding Yammy in the current era would be nearly impossible.
Hueco Mundo was vast.
And timeline displacement complicated matters.
Sombravida filed the thought away.
Expansion continued during travel.
When encountering weaker factions, Barragan enveloped them in Respira's outer aura.
Unlike exaggerations—
Respira did not always instantly erase masks.
It aged matter rapidly.
Bone, flesh, reiryoku constructs — all decayed under sustained exposure.
To preserve spoils, Sombravida and Harribel delivered finishing blows after Barragan corralled targets.
Spoils division remained 80/20.
Barragan fed two hundred Sub-class subordinates.
Sombravida fed Nel and Bawabawa.
Harribel rarely participated in devouring.
She preferred combat necessity over predation.
Sombravida did not force her.
Vasto Lorde could slowly accumulate reishi through passive absorption in Hueco Mundo.
Her growth would not stagnate.
Upon reaching the Central border—
Barragan established camp.
Sombravida, Barragan, Harribel, and Nel departed south toward the Illusory Forest.
Sombravida could transport small groups through spatial matrix resonance.
Four individuals posed no risk.
Half a day later—
They arrived in the southern basin.
The Forest of Illusions.
A vast depression spanning hundreds of kilometers.
Dense dark-green canopy.
Reishi density higher than surrounding plains.
This was no ordinary woodland.
Spiritual interference lingered.
Sombravida extended sensory threads.
Multiple Adjuchas clusters.
Several peak-Adjuchas signatures.
But only one Vasto Lorde-class presence.
Deep.
Suppressed.
Cold.
They encountered a perimeter tribe.
Winged tiger morphology.
Peak Adjuchas leader.
Terrified upon sensing three Vasto Lorde signatures simultaneously.
He knelt immediately before Barragan.
"Your Majesty… Tiberchiev greets you."
Barragan ignored ceremony.
"The Vasto Lorde within the forest. Speak."
Tiberchiev complied quickly.
Over a century ago—
A dominant Vasto Lorde tribe ruled the forest.
Their leader — bat-like.
Enormous.
That description aligned.
But—
That was not Ulquiorra.
That was another.
The bat-like tribe collapsed.
Internal slaughter.
A pale, silent outsider Vasto Lorde annihilated several members.
Retreated deeper into the basin.
Since then—
No emergence.
Occasional roars.
Occasional eruptions of green energy from the forest's center.
Not lightning.
Not natural phenomenon.
Compressed reiryoku discharge.
Sombravida narrowed his eyes.
Green.
Not blue.
Not gold.
Green.
That aligned with Ulquiorra Cifer's canonical reiryoku coloration.
"What is his pressure like?" Sombravida asked.
"Higher than mid-Vasto," Tiberchiev answered honestly. "Oppressive. Dense. It suffocates from a distance."
Barragan's skull tilted slightly.
Sombravida did not immediately respond.
In canon hierarchy—
Ulquiorra, pre-Arrancar, should not surpass Barragan.
However—
This was pre-Hōgyoku.
Pre-ranking.
Power perception from Adjuchas was unreliable.
Compression density could feel overwhelming without being numerically superior.
Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure was known for extreme concentration and cold purity.
It would feel sharper than Barragan's decaying field.
"Kid," Barragan said, "we enter now or delay?"
Sombravida thought carefully.
If Ulquiorra engaged seriously—
His signature technique would not be lightning.
It would be high-velocity movement and Cero variants.
The so-called "emerald lightning" was likely misinterpreted Cero discharge or energy resonance bursts.
True lightning-based abilities were never shown in canon.
Sombravida spoke calmly.
"We rest. Observe fluctuations overnight. We approach tomorrow."
Barragan did not object.
They accepted Tiberchiev's hospitality.
Night fell.
Within a cave, Sombravida ignited a mortal-world flame.
Real wood.
A rare warmth in Hueco Mundo.
Nel built a nest beside him.
Harribel sat opposite.
"My lord," Nel asked softly, "you are cautious."
"Ulquiorra is not ordinary," Sombravida replied.
"His pressure should not exceed Barragan's. Yet the local perception claims otherwise."
"Perhaps exaggeration," Harribel said.
"Perhaps compression," Sombravida corrected.
"Dense reiryoku feels greater than vast reiryoku."
He continued quietly:
"In my intelligence, Ulquiorra's strength lies not in overwhelming magnitude, but in purity. Speed. Precision. And emotional vacancy."
He did not mention Segunda Etapa.
That was future.
But even pre-Arrancar Ulquiorra was not simple prey.
"Nel," Sombravida said, "you will not engage tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Ulquiorra's speed exceeds standard Vasto movement. If battle escalates, I cannot divide attention protecting you."
Harribel's gaze sharpened.
"My abilities are not lightning-based," Sombravida clarified calmly.
"The forest's 'lightning' is likely compressed Cero discharge. Still, if you find yourself pressured, withdraw. Protect Nel."
"…Understood."
The fire crackled softly.
Outside—
The forest remained silent.
Deep within—
A single cold presence pulsed faintly beneath the canopy.
Tomorrow—
They would meet him.
"…Yes, sir."
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