(T/N: Hello everyone! This today's first chapter, 2 more to go!!
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The Menos Grande went berserk after being injured. It stomped wildly, trying to crush the ants beneath its feet.
However, with its spatial perception twisted, it couldn't even get close to Hirako Shinji and the others.
Boom!
The massive Menos crashed into an even larger stone pillar, shaking down sand and gravel from above.
Muguruma Kensei appeared at its side and stabbed with the dagger in his hand.
A sharp wind line flashed past, slicing cleanly through one of the Menos's giant skeletal claws.
Driven into a frenzy, the Menos charged another Cero in its mouth. It didn't aim—it just fired blindly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The random Ceros scattered everywhere, forcing Hirako to limit his spatial distortion ability. Everyone had to dodge swiftly with Shunpo to avoid getting hit.
At that moment, Kobane Jin'emon and Ōmaeda Kishinosuke moved in instead of retreating, appearing one on each side beneath the Menos.
Kobane crouched low, his Zanpakutō already sheathed.
Swish!
His form vanished, reappearing on the opposite side in a flash.
Katori-ryu Secret Art: Shunpo Iaido!
Squelch—
The Menos's left ankle was severed cleanly in half.
"Aaaaargh!"
It let out a pained wail.
Ōmaeda swung his spiked club, slamming it into the creature's right leg.
The two attacks completely threw it off balance, sending it crashing forward.
Azashiro Kana stood directly in the collapsing Menos's path. Her left hand was gripping her sheathed blade, thumb pressed against the tsuba.
Just before it crushed her, a blinding sword light surged upward.
Thud. Crack. Rip.
The sounds of a mask shattering and blades tearing through flesh rang out.
The Menos's massive mask and skull were ripped apart by dozens of precise strikes.
Boom!
Its broken body crashed to the ground, making the earth tremble slightly.
Kensei stepped up to check it. Once he confirmed the Menos was dead, he bragged,
"See? Nothing special about a Menos!"
Kana waved excitedly toward Katori Nanatsuki.
"Sensei! We took down a Menos Grande!"
Whoosh!
Nanatsuki and Saitō Akane appeared beside the group with a flash step.
Nanatsuki smiled.
"Well done. Taking down a Menos Grande as a team proves you've got the strength to graduate early."
He believed their success was largely thanks to Hirako Shinji's spatial distortion ability.
That power had been key.
With their current strength, they couldn't take a Cero head-on from a Menos.
If its perception hadn't been distorted, they wouldn't have won so easily.
Akane still looked stunned. She hadn't expected six yet-to-graduate students to actually bring down a Menos Grande.
"The academy students these days are really something..." she murmured.
"Defeating a Menos Grande is proof enough. I'll be giving you all an excellent rating."
Her words visibly relieved the six students.
If they hadn't hesitated in the Reishi turbulence and gotten caught in the Valley of Scream, none of this would've happened.
That incident had caused Akane to lose some memories, and they were worried it would cost them their grades.
Nanatsuki collected samples of flesh and blood from the Menos corpse, planning to bring them back for research.
After a short rest, they resumed their journey.
But they hadn't gone far before Nanatsuki sensed another Reiatsu fluctuation.
The others hadn't noticed it yet.
"Miss Saitō, there's another Menos ahead... something's off," Nanatsuki said. He had sensed something abnormal hidden nearby.
Logically, they were nearing the Expeditionary Force camp. Menos should be avoiding this area.
Menos Grandes are formed by merging many Hollows. Their minds are chaotic and feral, though they still retain animalistic instincts—like avoiding danger.
With so many Shinigami stationed nearby, they should've been scared off.
But encountering Menos repeatedly here... that was anything but normal.
Only one explanation came to mind—these Menos were summoned by an Adjuchas-class Hollow!
Adjuchas have the power to control Menos Grandes.
"Another Menos?" Akane frowned.
"One is a coincidence. But two in a row? Something's definitely wrong. We need to get to the expedition camp and report this immediately!"
"I'll handle this one. You all speed up," Nanatsuki said calmly.
"Yes, sir!" The six students accelerated at full speed.
As they did, the distant Menos sensed their Reiatsu and began forming a huge red Cero.
Shing!
A blade unsheathed, the sound sharp in their ears.
A blinding streak of light sliced through the stone forest.
Even the massive stone columns that supported Hueco Mundo's desert couldn't block its path.
The light tore through everything—including the Menos's head.
Its skull and half its mask were launched into the air.
The red Cero in its mouth fizzled and exploded prematurely.
Boom!
The Cero detonated inside its jaws. But Nanatsuki never slowed down, not even for a second.
The other seven stared, wide-eyed. Their pace instinctively slowed.
"Keep up!" Nanatsuki called back.
They snapped out of it and hurried after him.
"That was insane—Sensei took down a Menos Grande with a single slash!" Kana exclaimed in awe.
"I'm nowhere near that level... I've got to train harder if I want to catch up," Kensei muttered, sobering up.
He had felt proud after helping defeat the previous Menos. But Nanatsuki's effortless kill shattered that pride and left him in awe.
"You're really a teacher at the Spiritual Arts Academy?!" Akane asked in disbelief.
Since when were the academy's instructors this powerful?!
Even she, a top-ranked seated officer, needed backup to take down a Menos Grande.
Yet Nanatsuki had casually obliterated one with a single swing.
The sight left her utterly stunned.