Deep within the Great Hollow Forest.
Four towering giant trees were twisted together, their branches interlocking to form a strange nest high above the ground.
Roar!
A harsh roar echoed from the nest. A Hollow only four to five meters tall, with a humanoid upper body and a snake like lower body, howled toward the sky. It then turned its cold gaze to the half human half scorpion Hollow beside it and spoke with undisguised contempt.
Ian Grey you worthless trash. How did the two hundred Gillians under your command vanish without a trace. And you dare claim you did not secretly devour them yourself.
As the words fell, the snake body swept violently. The half human half scorpion Ian Grey was sent flying dozens of meters away, hurled straight out of the nest.
Ian Grey scrambled back in a miserable state. Kneeling low, he bowed deeply before the half snake Hollow.
Great Lord Hubert Allen those missing Hollows were not devoured by me. I have already identified the culprit who slaughtered your subordinates. Please allow me to lead a force to hunt him down.
The half snake Hollow looked down at the groveling Ian Grey, clearly enjoying the humiliation.
Very well. A degenerated failure like you whom I defeated would not dare steal my prey. Go. Kill that rebellious inferior creature and bring me his head.
As you command my great master.
Not long after, Ian Grey led a massive group of ordinary Gillians away from the treetop nest. His expression was dark and twisted.
Halfway through the march, Ian Grey suddenly lashed his massive tail backward. It pierced straight through the nearest Gillian. He lunged forward and tore the creature apart with savage force.
Hateful hateful hateful.
After venting his fury, Ian Grey finally regained his composure. The ordinary Gillians behind him were terrified and completely at a loss.
Ian Grey had once been an Adjuchas of the Great Hollow Forest.
He had always been a lone hunter and despised commanding mindless Gillians until the day he encountered Hubert Allen whose strength matched his own.
Though evenly matched individually, Hubert Allen commanded a vast number of Gillians. Under relentless group tactics, Ian Grey was defeated. Hubert Allen deliberately crippled his body, permanently cutting off his path to becoming a Vasto Lorde.
He was then imprisoned, denied the chance to hunt and replenish the spirit particles leaking from his damaged body. As a result, Ian Grey fell from Adjuchas rank and degenerated into a special Gillian.
To ensure absolute control, Hubert Allen implanted snake venom into Ian Grey's body, enslaving him and forcing him to serve as commander of his Gillian army.
Now Ian Grey was leading more than a hundred Gillians toward a specific region of the Great Hollow Forest.
…
Elsewhere.
Yekawa continued his relentless hunt.
Over the past few months, he had relied on Camo to erase his presence, infiltrating Gillian groups and ambushing them from within.
By his own rough estimate, he had already slaughtered more than a hundred Gillians.
His spiritual pressure had increased more than tenfold compared to when he first entered the Great Hollow Forest. His strength had undergone a drastic transformation. Yet despite devouring so many Gillians, his body showed no sign of advancing into a Gillian.
His size remained unchanged at just over twenty meters.
Could it be that devouring Gillians alone cannot push me to Gillian rank. Do I need to hunt an Adjuchas instead.
Yekawa pondered this silently.
From his understanding of the original records, no Hollow seemed to struggle this much when advancing to a Gillian.
But then again, there had never been a Hollow that slaughtered Gillians like livestock before becoming a Menos Grande either.
Thinking of that, Yekawa felt somewhat reassured.
At that moment, he spotted another lone Gillian.
Without hesitation, he drew his blade and advanced. A heavy diagonal slash fell, and the Gillian was split cleanly in two.
Yekawa's tail extended. A dark golden vortex formed at the tip of his stinger as Soul Eater activated, devouring the corpse completely.
Just as he finished consuming it, another lone Gillian appeared ahead to his left.
Heh what a coincidence.
Yekawa immediately sensed the faint outline of a trap.
But he did not care.
With his current strength, even facing an Adjuchas would not necessarily spell defeat.
As for a Vasto Lorde.
If one truly wished to kill him, it would descend directly and end him instantly. There would be no need for such crude bait.
Sure enough, after Yekawa killed the second Gillian, he sensed the spiritual pressure of a third lone Gillian nearby.
Interesting.
Yekawa followed the trail deliberately and devoured the third Gillian as well.
The moment Soul Eater finished its work, Yekawa sensed it.
He was surrounded.
Thump thump thump.
Heavy footsteps echoed as a humanoid Hollow stepped forward. It was only seven to eight meters long, less than half of Yekawa's size. Beneath its humanoid torso were two massive scorpion claws, and a thick scorpion tail dragged across the ground. Most striking was the palm sized gap carved into its crimson mask.
An Adjuchas No this is a special Gillian that degenerated from an Adjuchas.
The moment Yekawa saw him, his fighting spirit surged.
Since entering the Great Hollow Forest, he had encountered only low level Giant Hollows and mindless Gillians. The last intelligent Hollow he had faced was Tilus Sandavici back in the desert.
Seeing another intelligent Hollow now naturally stirred excitement.
Across from him, Ian Grey studied Yekawa's strange movements and the ten meter long blade in his grasp, confusion flashing in his eyes.
A strange Adjuchas Why are you obsessed with hunting such low level Gillians. And that blade of yours why does it resemble the weapons of those invading Shinigami.
Hearing this, Yekawa's eyes narrowed slightly.
He mistook me for an Adjuchas.
That meant one thing.
My spiritual pressure has already reached Adjuchas level.
Yekawa neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply stared at Ian Grey, his eyes brimming with battle intent.
Ian Grey seemed to understand his meaning. He raised a hand, signaling the restless Gillians behind him to remain still.
He intended to face Yekawa head on.