"Seth, move your legs like your life depends on it!"
"I'm still not used to it, but I'll do my best!"
Seth, who had already reached his limit, evolved into an Adjuchas after devouring a Gillian. However, having just evolved, he wasn't quite used to his new body yet, making his movements look somewhat stiff.
Normally, this would be fine, but right now they were running for their lives! Couldn't he show a bit more will to survive?! Seth's dragging performance was driving Resen, who was at the front of the group, a little crazy.
But he wasn't the only one dragging them down. Turning his head to look at the other person who was looking over her shoulder every three steps, Resen continued to shout, "Boss lady, stop looking back! Lord Kōe will be fine!"
"You're still talking? If it wasn't to save an idiot like you, would we be in this mess?! If anything happens to Lord Ao, I'll never forgive you!..."
Roca was like an ignited powder keg, unleashing a torrent of scolding and threats at Resen without pausing for breath.
Listening to Roca's words, Resen couldn't help but shrink his neck. In just a few seconds, more than ten different ways for him to die had already come out of her mouth, each arranged with crystal clarity.
'But is something like that even possible?' Resen thought, somewhat dismissive. Unlike Roca's worry, he had absolute confidence in Kōe.
'That lord's decisions are never wrong. Since he told the boss lady to save me, he definitely had his reasons. She doesn't need to worry about his safety at all!'
'As for Baraggan? The title of King of Hueco Mundo sounds intimidating, but wasn't he just played for a fool by the lord and me earlier? There definitely won't be any accidents this time. The boss lady is just worrying over nothing!'
Resen shook his head and looked at Ashido beside him, who also had a calm expression. See? It was obvious that the other guy thought the same way he did. The boss lady was definitely worrying over nothing...
This time, Resen was actually wrong. Ashido was just a bit bewildered right now. A Shinigami was actually running for his life alongside a group of Menos? This scene was simply too bizarre.
Especially this inexplicable feeling between these Menos. Comrades? Bonds?! Such emotions could actually appear in cold-blooded Hollows?
If not for the difference in appearance, he wouldn't think they were any different from his fallen comrades. Even now, he didn't feel any distinct sense of alienation in his heart. What a strange feeling.
'Is the barrier in my heart slowly disappearing?' His fingers subconsciously traced the hilt of his Zanpakutō. Ashido didn't know if this was a good thing or...
"You look a bit distracted."
The sudden voice made Ashido's heart tighten. He turned his head as he drew his blade, only sliding the half-drawn Zanpakutō back into its sheath after clearly seeing the figure standing on Resen.
"My lord!" Resen and Seth stopped in their tracks and shouted in unison. Roca was initially overjoyed, but upon seeing Kōe's condition, her face filled with heartache. She wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to speak.
The originally spotless navy-blue robe was now mostly torn, though fortunately, no wounds were visible on his exposed skin.
However, his blood-soaked right hand, swinging erratically as if it had lost all its bones, could not be hidden. It was the kind of pain that stung the skin just by looking at it; one could only imagine the sheer torment it inflicted on the person actually enduring it.
"I... was just spacing out a bit..." Seeing his condition, Ashido changed his words at the last second. Saying things like Hollows and Shinigami should be enemies felt a bit inappropriate right now.
"Then you need to stay alert. After all, my condition isn't exactly great right now. I'll need you all to look out for me." The physical pain was one thing, but his sluggish, exhausted spirit was the biggest factor tormenting Kōe.
'I really want to just pass out and sleep!' But such a thought was nothing more than a luxury at this moment.
Kōe looked up at the vast night sky, which held only a single crescent moon, and said slowly, "After all, this is the upper layer of Hueco Mundo."
The most dangerous place is the safest place. Baraggan probably never imagined that the little ants who escaped would run to a place even closer to him.
"Though it's not exactly safe here either." Thinking of this, Kōe let out a heavy breath of stale air.
His immortal garment was damaged, meaning Kōki wouldn't even be able to achieve Shikai for a while. As for his other blade, which was sealed by the Reikenchū, he either had to leave it alone and wait for the Reikenchū to die off naturally, or interrogate Szayelaporro for a way to control them. However, neither of these solutions could be accomplished in the short term.
His energy was still continuously dropping, and both his Kidō and Reiatsu perception were restricted. As far as he could remember, his weakest moment had been during his first sparring session with Old Man Yama, which left him paralyzed in bed for a week.
Compared to that time, his current situation wasn't much better—in fact, it was even worse. After all, he wasn't currently resting in Squad 1 under Yamamoto's watchful eye.
He needed to rest! Never mind sleeping like the dead for days; he at least needed a place to settle down and meditate.
"Let's head over there." Kōe pointed toward the right. There was a valley there, which stood out prominently in the desert landscape of the upper layer of Hueco Mundo.
"But we haven't gone very far," Ashido voiced his concerns. "Plus, there's a high chance that there might be..."
"It's fine. The Adjuchas in the upper layer of Hueco Mundo don't have the patience to stay in one place," Kōe interrupted Ashido, continuing, "We don't need to go too far either. This position is perfect. If there's any commotion, it means Baraggan assumes I'm in the upper layer, and we can just head back down to the lower layer."
Compared to the completely exposed desert, a place with cover was much safer. Even if there were Adjuchas inside, Kōe could still handle them in his current state. But if he dragged this out any longer, he couldn't make any guarantees.
As for Vasto Lorde-class Menos, there were no more than ten of them in the entirety of Hueco Mundo—perhaps even fewer than five. Kōe highly doubted he would be unlucky enough to bump into one by pure coincidence.
As for whether Baraggan would guess his intentions? Maybe, but highly unlikely. At the very least, during his rush to catch up with Roca and the others, he hadn't sensed the Arrancar's Reiatsu at all.
The lower layer of Hueco Mundo was probably the place being thrown into utter chaos right now.
...
In the Forest of Menos, Baraggan stood quietly on the grayish-white sand. This circular patch of sand, roughly five miles in radius, was a full hundred meters lower than the surrounding ground.
At this moment, the golden crown atop Baraggan's head was covered in dense scratches, and his already unpolished body looked much rougher than before.
The [Hadō #90・Kurohitsugi] that Kōe had suddenly unleashed had still managed to injure him. Although it wasn't severe, it was a genuine injury.
"That cunning rat!"
This sudden move also made Baraggan realize that Kōe's previous behavior had been nothing but a deception—he had been played for a fool once again!
"I must kill him!"
But by the time Baraggan broke through the hundred-meter-thick rock above his head, there was no sign of Kōe anywhere. He couldn't even sense the Shinigami's Reiatsu anymore.
Frantically releasing his Reiatsu, his aura rampaged in all directions. Countless Hollows in the forest were terrified and scattered in panic, though a portion of them still couldn't escape the fate of death.
However, this couldn't change the fact that Kōe had already vanished. Just like the last time in Las Noches, he had left him with nothing but humiliation before disappearing without a trace.
"Flee? No matter where you run, I will find you!"
Baraggan's eerie voice echoed through the Forest of Menos. The already restless lower layer of Hueco Mundo was destined to usher in an even more chaotic period.
But this wasn't the only place being turned upside down. The impact Kōe had brought about was far greater than he could have ever imagined.
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