The black smoke, specifically developed to block perception, gradually spread deeper into the forest toward the cave where Ashido lived.
This batch of Hollows, specially modified by Szayelaporro, displayed immense patience. Without interfering through external force, they allowed the black smoke to spread naturally, using its cover to inch forward bit by bit.
There were evil spirits hidden within the smoke, but Roca and Kōe were still completely oblivious to this fact.
It was understandable that Roca didn't react. She had been Szayelaporro's follower for over a century, and he had even studied her for a period of time.
Szayelaporro's understanding of Roca was even deeper than her own understanding of herself.
As for Kōe, even if he couldn't sense the location where Resen was captured, as the Hollows drew closer, he still should have been able to detect some signs of trouble—even with Szayelaporro's perception-blocking invention.
However, as Roca continuously increased her level of invasion—reaching the current eighty percent—it put him at the exact threshold where he could remain conscious while experiencing the maximum sensation of cognitive resistance. The price for this, though, was that he had to dedicate the vast majority of his mental focus to it.
If they were in the upper levels of Hueco Mundo, such an approach would indeed be far too reckless. But right now, they were in the Forest of Menos, the lower level of Hueco Mundo inhabited mostly by ordinary Hollows and Gillians.
If Kōe had to maintain constant vigilance in a place like this just for them to survive, then Roca and Resen might as well be scrapped and remade, and Ashido could seriously consider committing seppuku.
Perhaps the only thing Kōe had miscalculated was failing to anticipate that Szayelaporro could locate him so precisely and silently.
This was the grand play Szayelaporro had been preparing for Kōe. And now, just as he desired, the curtain was finally about to rise.
The smoke finally drifted to within a kilometer of Kōe. Although it was gradually thinning out, the ever-watchful Roca still intended to step in and disperse it.
*'How can I let such filthy things get near Lord Ao!'*
Just as Roca thought this, a Hollow resembling a pelican suddenly flapped its wings from within the smoke and soared straight into the sky. As it continued to ascend, its lower jaw seemed to grow increasingly bloated.
Like a firework reaching its apex, a loud explosion echoed overhead as the pelican Hollow instantly detonated in midair.
That small body somehow managed to briefly form a pitch-black lake right above Kōe and the others. Then, pulled by gravity, it plummeted toward the ground like a majestic waterfall cascading from the night sky.
"So this is the limit of its effect. Truly imperfect. The materials were just too poor." Szayelaporro pinched his chin and shook his head. Seeing Ashido raise his sword to slash at it on the surveillance screen, he muttered to himself, "He looks quite imposing, but the 'little gifts' I've prepared don't end there."
As soon as he spoke, several wide white bands suddenly shot out from the black waterfall, writhing like headless snakes as they lunged toward Ashido.
Seeing this from the ground, Roca swiped her two front limbs, sending several silk threads shooting straight toward those ambiguous entities in the air, wanting to allow Ashido to cleave the overhead waterfall without interference.
Ashido showed absolutely no appreciation for Roca's good intentions. With a few consecutive swings of his sword, the white bands that were about to bind him were chopped into pieces.
"Nothing impressive."
He had thought these sudden protrusions would be a major hassle, but looking at them now, their bodies were merely at the level of ordinary Hollows—completely unworthy of mention.
Just as Ashido felt a surge of disdain, the severed segments of the bands suddenly spun in midair. Small, circular mouths opened on their wide surfaces, and the bands rapidly shriveled up, as if they were being sucked into their own mouths.
One purple orb of light after another lit up around Ashido. The moment the severed bands completely vanished, the orbs transformed into cannonballs and fired at the midair Ashido.
"Boom!" Watching the purple light suffuse the screen, Szayelaporro spread his arms with a look of sheer intoxication, like an orchestra conductor.
"He... he's here..." Roca was all too familiar with the purple light that had swallowed Ashido. She had thought everything was in the past and that she was no longer afraid.
But when this familiar presence appeared once more, Roca's body still trembled involuntarily. A century-long nightmare was not so easily dispelled.
"Lord Ao, hurry, we must leave!" Roca lowered her head tremblingly, only to find the clearing in front of her completely empty. "Lord Ao?"
"Catch him, Roca!"
A familiar voice rang out from the sky. Roca looked toward the sound and saw a figure plummeting straight down.
Roca reached out just in time, catching the person steadily. It was none other than Ashido, who had just been trapped by the purple orbs of light. "Th-thank you." Although his mask covered his face, his tone revealed a hint of embarrassment.
"Where is Lord Ao?!"
Just as Roca was about to ask, the purple orbs that had already detonated in midair were forcefully cleaved right down the middle. White Reiryoku surged upward, splitting the descending waterfall in two before flying a distance further and finally dissipating.
"Lord Ao, it's Szayelaporro! He's here, he's found us!"
"I know!" Kōe snapped in annoyance.
He had technically crossed paths with Szayelaporro in the laboratory, so he was familiar with his Reiatsu signature. Therefore, it was an absolute certainty that Szayelaporro had already found them.
But to be honest, the timing was absolutely terrible. Because of the experiment, his mental state was poorer than it had ever been.
In truth, Kōe had already woken up the moment that pelican-like Hollow exploded. However, the continuous, uninterrupted experiments had caused him to experience a brief lapse in consciousness. It felt akin to being drunk, where everything he looked at appeared abstract and blurry.
It wasn't until Ashido charged upward that he finally managed to recover his senses. Realizing something was wrong, he hurriedly rushed up to save Ashido.
But that didn't mean he was fine now. In fact, the problem was still quite severe.
Under normal circumstances, breaking through those orbs of light and cleaving the waterfall above would not have caused even a single trace of Reiryoku to leak out. But right now, there was a slight dissonance between his consciousness and his body.
For someone with his combat style, such dissonance had a rather significant impact. Therefore, this was definitely not the time to face Szayelaporro, but it seemed he no longer had a choice in the matter.
Kōe did a quick sweep of the area. Resen was nowhere to be seen; at the very least, he had been captured by Szayelaporro, and the odds were likely against him.
The black liquid falling like a torrential downpour wasn't something a normal Hollow possessed either. It was obviously one of Szayelaporro's creations. Its specific effects were still unknown, other than the fact that it wasn't corrosive.
"Has the main attraction finally arrived? How interesting." Inside the tree hollow, Szayelaporro rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "First, let me see just what kind of tricks you have up your sleeve."
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