The purple-black sphere sank into the body of the White Sand Watcher and swelled outward at once. Space rippled violently, as if a black hole had been torn open before their eyes. In less than a heartbeat, Lunugangka was devoured whole. The void collapsed, and the black hole itself vanished as though it had never existed. Where the Warden once stood, there was nothing—no body, no gravel, not even the faintest dust.
Nilu's eyes widened, her mind blank. The space before them was too clean, so clean it felt as if even the air itself had been swallowed. That part of the world no longer existed. Everything the black sphere touched—guardian, sand, even atmosphere—had been erased.
The three Arrancar children stood frozen, their breath caught in their throats. In their perception, Lunugangka's reiatsu had vanished completely. He was dead.
Yet what unsettled them most was not the Warden's death, but how it had been achieved. The boy's purple-black sphere had nothing to do with water. How could it possibly defeat a creature whose very existence was sand? They could not understand, and so they stared at the empty, spherical void left behind, where the night sky shone with unnatural clarity—absolute purity, stripped of all impurities.
Su Li's gaze lingered there as well, his expression unreadable. To unleash power of this level on a mere gatekeeper… it was like using a cannon to crush a mosquito. But he had no water techniques; this was the only option. That sphere, that purple-black energy, was not born of Hueco Mundo or Soul Society—it was the inheritance of gods from another world.
Destruction Energy.
Where it flowed, nothing survived. It was not fire, wind, thunder, or even elemental water bound by natural law. It was law itself—finality, erasure, death. In another universe, the God of Destruction Beerus wielded it to wipe out half the life on countless planets with casual ease. To call it overkill here was an understatement. Still, if one learned a power, one must use it; otherwise, what point was there?
Drawing his thoughts back, Su Li reached down, gently prying Nilu from his side. She blinked up at him, mind still buzzing. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and snot. With a helpless sigh, he produced a handkerchief and began to wipe her face clean. For all his strength, Su Li's obsession with cleanliness bordered on illness.
Nilu didn't resist. She simply watched him, dazed, as he wiped her down with practiced patience. When her face was finally spotless, he pressed the plain white handkerchief into her hands.
"All right, that's enough," Su Li said softly, his voice calm and gentle. "Stop following me. I have things to do."
Turning, he walked toward the entrance ahead.
Nilu stared at his retreating back, then down at the handkerchief. Her chest heaved. Suddenly she shouted, "Wait! Wait a minute!!"
Su Li halted, puzzled, and glanced back. "Hm?"
"You… you saved us, and now you're just leaving?!" she cried, her childish voice trembling.
Su Li frowned slightly. "What kind of logic is that?"
Her little body shook with emotion, cheeks flushed red, eyes brimming again. "It was the same last time! You saved us then too… but you just walked away like it was nothing!" Her voice broke into sobs. "We… we…"
Tears streamed once more. Peixue and Donde Chaka lowered their heads in silence. The truth stung.
The first time, he had rescued them from Hollows, and they had repaid him with suspicion because he was a Shinigami. The second time, from Lunugangka—and again, they had offered no thanks. Yet through it all, the boy never once harmed them, never demanded repayment, never even reproached them. He simply protected them, time after time, and moved on.
In a world where even "companions" sought to devour each other, such kindness was rarer than life itself.
Their throats tightened with shame.
And before them, Nilu trembled harder, drenched in tears. "Such kindness… such kindness…" she whispered, bowing low.
Then—wham! A flash of yellow light burst out. Nilu accelerated with startling speed, slamming straight into Su Li's stomach. "How could we not repay it?!!" she wailed.
"Ghh!!" Su Li's eyes bulged as he was knocked backward like a ragdoll.
"That's right!! Such great kindness must be repaid!!" Peixue leapt up, shouting with wild fervor.
"Mmm!! Absolutely, absolutely must be repaid!!" Donde Chaka echoed, his body shaking with excitement.
Su Li staggered to his feet at last, face pale. If he hadn't relaxed his stance at the last moment and caught Nilu, her head might have split open from her own reckless tackle. As it was, his stomach churned painfully. Her head—and that mask fragment atop it—were absurdly hard.
Still holding the trembling girl in his arms, Su Li sighed. Her huge, tear-filled eyes stared up at him pitifully. "You…" His expression softened despite himself.
"Well, I suppose I do need a guide," he muttered. "From now on, you'll be my guides through Hueco Mundo. That will settle things."
Slowly setting her down, he straightened.
But Nilu clutched his trousers again, panic flaring. "Why? Why do you have to enter Las Noches?!" Her voice was high with desperation. "There are many there far stronger than Lunugangka! You're a Shinigami—if you go in, they'll kill you!!"
Peixue and Donde Chaka hesitated as well, fear clouding their eyes.
"I'm going in to save someone," Su Li answered simply, ruffling Nilu's hair with a faint smile. "If you don't want to follow, we part ways here. As for saving you—just pretend it never happened."
Breaking her grip effortlessly, he turned and began walking again.
"Wait! Please, wait!!" Nilu cried, racing after him.
"Nilu!!" Peixue and Donde Chaka exchanged grim looks, then clenched their jaws and ran as well.
"I… I'll go with you," Nilu whispered timidly.
"Good." Su Li glanced back, faint approval in his eyes.
"Emm… my name is Nilu. I'm a Hollow…"
"My name is Su Li. I'm a Shinigami."
"I'm Peixue, Nilu's elder brother…"
"…And Donde Chaka, the other one," came the muffled voice.
Together, the four silhouettes vanished into the shadow of Las Noches' gate.
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