Chapter 87: The Destruction Of The Expeditionary force
Koral emerged once more from the icy depths, the frigid air quickly amplifying the scars etched upon his face. Reinhard who leapt from behind him quickly dealt with Nishida and Yuta.
"It would be a shame to waste these two," Reinhard said as he looked at the two dead shinigami before dragging their corpses away to feast on them, completely ignoring the frightened Koral.
...
Koral sat alone in the cave, staring blankly at the ceiling, and effortfully steadied his racing heart. Just as Fiander had mentioned, if he dared to escape, there was no need to utter the tale of his ordeal; Koral understood the ruthless and sly nature of Menos Grande all too well.
Moreover, since the events had already unfolded, notions of right or wrong had lost their significance; the priority now lay in ensuring his survival.
After regulating his breath, Koral inflicted multiple scars on the left side of his face with his Zanpakutō to amplify the appearance of having endured severe wounds.
To disguise them as knife wounds, he employed Kidō to create a more authentic look.
"~~~! ! ! " Drawing a sharp breath, Koral contorted his expressions to appear more convincing.
Minutes later he arrived at the Shinigami camp with blood smeared across his face and pleading for assistance.
"Help! Everyone, help! "
The two officers, Asido and Kosuke, quickly reacted; one began assembling a team while the other approached Koral to ascertain the situation.
Upon seeing Kosuke, Koral instantly recited the rehearsed lines in his mind, fabricating a story that he and the captain Jijima had been ambushed by nearly a hundred Gillians during their venture into the Menos Grande forest and that he had managed to flee for help.
Captain Jijima was heroically battling while carving a bloody path for him. Meanwhile, he was still ensnared within Gillian's grasp, with his fate hanging in the balance.
"Kosuke, we must hurry to his aid; Captain Jijima may not survive much longer! "
Kosuke , meeting Koral's earnest gaze, contemplated for a moment. Together with Asido, they realized neither of them was sufficiently strong to lead a sizable group, so they ordered everyone to move towards the Menos Grande forest to support Captain Jijima.
Their destination was already clear, and with this revelation, the rationale for camping here no longer held weight.
Once the expedition team assembled promptly, they, guided by Koral, proceeded towards their presumed "burial ground" with determination.
After sprinting for over thirty minutes, they arrived at an eerily quiet forest.
Noticing the peculiar silence surrounding them, Kosuke inquired, "Wasn't it indicated there were nearly a hundred Menos Grande? Why is there nothing here? "
"I. . . I don't know, we've been traveling for quite a while, after all,"
"What misfortune might have occurred, we cannot tell! "
Koral faltered and clarified, his entire body so rigid that sweat started to trickle down his spine.
"Should we search individually? " Kosuke inquired to Ashido.
"No, the location of Captain Jijima remains uncertain, and a disjointed search might lead to even more complications right now." Once Asido finished his statement, he leaped into the air to survey his surroundings.
Suddenly, tall, dark silhouettes began to emerge from behind the surrounding white trees.
It was the familiar Gillian species found in the Menos Grande Forest.
"They're coming! "
As Asido's words echoed, the team members swiftly regrouped, eyeing the numerous Menos Grandes with heightened vigilance.
"Are these the ones? Koral? " Kosuke attempted to question Koral further.
But as he snapped back to reality, he realized Koral had mysteriously vanished from the group.
"This is bad! Something has gone awry! "Kosuke understood that Koral had deceived them, leaving him to ponder the motives behind this betrayal that lured them to such a place.
Before he could dwell on it too much, a series of sharp claps broke the tension of the moment.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
''Hey, there are quite a few of them, over thirty! "
Fiaimder perched atop a Gillian, leisurely approaching the expeditionary force.
"Is that. . . Adjuchas? Is he in charge of this band of Gillians? "
Upon witnessing Fiander's sudden arrival, Kosuke fixated on him, realizing the overwhelming pressure of Reiatsu radiating from the opponent.
"Be cautious; something might have happened to Captain Jijima! "
"Koral must have turned against us! "
As they voiced these concerns, everyone drew their Zanpakutō, facing each other with none willing to make the first move.
At that moment, Fiander materialized behind the expedition team, grinning as he said, "Welcome to the Menos Grande Forest!"
Upon hearing the voice from behind, Asido and his group instinctively slashed their weapons backward. In an instant, Fiandee maneuvered to touch Asido's shoulder and balanced mid-air, upside down.
"Why the rush? The one before you guys was much calmer. "
"Unfortunately, he was killed by another before he could act. Speaking of which, he must have led you here! "
After Fiander spoke, a plume of black smoke surged from his hand and fused into Asido's body, vanishing in an instant.
"Ahhh~~"
Less than ten seconds following the smoke's entry into Ashido, he began to cry out in agony as half of his body began to decay, revealing scarlet bones to the open air, while one side of his face was consumed by the dark mist, with black blood oozing from his eyes.
"This shouldn't be; there's less than 10% of the dark source energy. How could it affect him so abruptly? "
Observing Asido's drastic transformation, Fiander murmured, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.
"Many Menos Grande have previously managed to endure at least 30% of the dark energy. Could it be due to insufficient compatibility of the soul? "
Fiander, who has spent decades in this realm, is on the verge of healing his soul's wounds; however, he has yet to make any progress in strength, which has been stagnant at a certain plateau for the last ten years.
To regain his power and escape this world, Fiander conducted numerous experiments across various hollows, utilizing the darkness law he had mastered in his past life by infusing it into the bodies of test subjects and observing the resulting changes.
After countless trials over the years, ranging from Gillians to Adjuchas, Fiander discovered that the law of darkness only facilitated the physical upgrades of the hollow's body, allowing the acquisition of new powers, but did not alter the life level, which remained static, lacking any evolution.
For instance, Gillian's advancement to Adjuchas and Adjuchas' promotion to Vasto Lorde represents a true evolution in life level, similar to the transformation from Shinigami to Hollow, as well as the shift from Hollow to Shinigami.
Such evolution indicates a soul that has ascended to a higher plane, rather than merely a straightforward enhancement of strength.
Fiander once encountered a group of Quincy passing through Hueco Mundo, but their escape was so peculiar that he couldn't capture them, leading him to conclude they hailed from the invisible empire.
Thus, Fiander is in desperate need of a Shinigami soul to advance his experiments.
"Ashido, what's happening? "
Noticing the alterations in Ashido's form, Kosuke promptly employed Kidō to heal him, yet Kidō proved ineffective in halting the ongoing upgrade, and the deterioration persisted.
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