Chapter 3: Hierarchical Suppression
After killing his first Hollow, Sombravida spent nearly a full week wandering the outer fringes of the region.
This place was clearly the periphery of Hueco Mundo—a desolate borderland of pale sand, dead forests, and crumbling stone formations, far removed from the true domains of powerful Hollows. During this time, Sombravida hunted relentlessly. Most of his prey were mindless, beast-type Hollows, along with a handful of malformed, alien-looking stragglers that wandered alone.
By the end of that week, Sombravida had killed dozens.
From those encounters—combined with his fragmented memories of the manga from his previous life—Sombravida gradually reconstructed a realistic understanding of Hollow evolution and hierarchy.
He knew now that Hollows were not divided arbitrarily. Their growth followed a brutal, consumption-based ladder.
Hollow Classification (Sombravida's Understanding)1. Beast Hollows
The weakest existence in Hueco Mundo.
These Hollows possessed no intelligence whatsoever. Their forms were entirely animalistic—cats, wolves, insects, reptiles, birds—and their behavior was indistinguishable from wild beasts. Even though they possessed spiritual bodies, their soul density was abysmally low.
They were fodder.
Most Beast Hollows would never evolve further. Even if they devoured others, their instincts lacked the cohesion required for true growth.
Sombravida had killed more of these than he could count.
2. Ordinary Hollows
Low-tier Hollows that had completed basic Hollow formation.
Their forms varied wildly:
Intelligent humanoid shapes (rare)
Enlarged beasts
Twisted, alien anatomies that defied classification
Most lacked intelligence, acting purely on predatory instinct. Only a small fraction—usually Hollows that retained fragments of their human consciousness—could think or plan.
Sombravida himself fell into this category.
In terms of spiritual pressure, an Ordinary Hollow was roughly three to five times stronger than a Beast Hollow. The gap was massive in actual combat.
Sombravida's greatest advantage wasn't power—it was intelligence.
3. Elite Hollows
These were the true rulers of peripheral territories.
Elite Hollows were usually two to three times larger than ordinary ones and possessed overwhelming reiatsu by comparison. More importantly, many of them could think and communicate.
Sombravida had seen one only once.
A massive ape-shaped Hollow—over five meters tall—had vanished into the depths of the forest beyond a sand dune. The mere brush of its spiritual pressure had made Sombravida's instincts scream in terror.
The roars echoing from deeper within the forest were different from the howls of beasts.
They were deliberate.
Sombravida was certain of it:
from this level onward, Hollows began to reclaim intelligence.
4. High-Class Hollows
(Pre-Menos evolutionary peaks)
Not all of them were giants, but every one of them possessed terrifying soul density. Some were smaller than Elite Hollows yet radiated pressure that crushed weaker beings outright.
Sombravida had never seen one.
But his memories told him the truth—
Elite Hollows avoided these existences at all costs.
The True Divide: Menos Grande
At this point, Sombravida's expression grew grim.
Because everything before this… was still small fry.
Once a Hollow crossed into the realm of Menos Grande, it ceased to be an individual monster and became part of Hueco Mundo's true power structure.
Menos Grande were divided into three evolutionary stages:
Gillian
Towering black-cloaked giants, dozens of meters tall.
They possessed identical masks—white, elongated, expressionless—and almost no individuality. Most were nothing more than spiritual conglomerates driven by hunger.
They fired Cero instinctively.
However…
Some Gillians retained consciousness.
These were anomalies.
Their masks developed distinct patterns, their behavior became deliberate, and—most importantly—they could devour their own kind without dissolving.
Those Gillians could evolve further.
Adjuchas
True mid-level Menos.
Smaller than Gillians, yet infinitely more dangerous.
Adjuchas possessed:
Stable intelligence
Individual forms
Vastly higher reiatsu density
Unique abilities tied to their soul nature
Their strength eclipsed Gillians by an order of magnitude.
However, evolution came with a curse.
If an Adjuchas's mask was critically damaged, it would lose all future potential. Regression meant oblivion.
That was why Adjuchas rarely fought recklessly.
Vasto Lorde
The apex.
Humanoid in size. Divine in pressure.
Their reiatsu surpassed that of Shinigami Captains, and only a handful existed in all of Hueco Mundo.
Sombravida did not even allow himself to think beyond that.
He wasn't delusional.
At his current level, even a Gillian was a death sentence.
Survival came first.
Growth Through Blood
A dull thud echoed through the dead forest.
Sombravida exhaled slowly as a massive spider-type Hollow collapsed, its mask cracked and dissolving into spiritual particles.
"Seventeenth," he muttered.
"Even idiots should've noticed by now."
For days afterward, Sombravida stayed hidden.
He hunted only lone targets—never groups—and always retreated immediately after feeding. Using traps inspired by his previous life and pure hit-and-run tactics, he survived where others would have died.
As his kills accumulated, something inside him changed.
The warmth.
The density.
Sombravida finally felt his own spiritual power.
Spiritual power was the density of the soul itself.
Reiatsu was merely its expression.
He couldn't project it yet—but he could reinforce his body.
After consuming the spider Hollow's mask, Sombravida retreated beneath a stone outcrop and focused.
He clenched his left fist.
Boom.
The rock behind him shattered.
A follow-up slash with his right claw cleaved spinning debris mid-air.
"…Yeah," Sombravida murmured. "That's progress."
He was no longer weak.
The Price of Territory
Sombravida was preparing to leave when the pressure hit.
Crushing. Violent. Absolute.
He leapt—but the explosion still sent him flying.
A colossal humanoid Hollow emerged from the sand, black markings crawling across its body like living scars.
"A mere low-class dares hunt freely in my territory?"
Sombravida coughed, forcing himself upright.
An Elite Hollow.
And one at the very peak.
Submission or death.
Sombravida chose a third option.
Sand flew.
Movement blurred.
His claw struck—but the gap was too wide.
The backlash shattered his own weapon.
The counterpunch nearly tore him apart.
But Sombravida didn't hesitate.
He ran.
Because he understood something the giant didn't.
Power ruled Hueco Mundo—but survival belonged to those who knew when to flee.
And Sombravida intended to live.