IGNITE.
Chapter 2. Evolution.
A handful of centuries after Naru met Rapaz and Juan…
In a very unwelcoming hill of jagged rocks, a small humanoid form emerged from the shadows of a cave. The being calmly walked to one of the dangerous looking cliff of the hill.
Naru Bellarosa contemplated the desert of Hueco Mundo from a cliff in the Duna de Los Ganchos. The extreme east part of Hueco Mundo was one of the worst parts of the already dangerous world in which Hollows lived.
In this part of the desert, the hollows were even more aggressive, because of the rarefication of the reishi in the atmosphere, meaning Adjuchas felt even more the need to eat. That place was in a way, similar to the lowest sectors of Rukongai. The lesser Hollows were the unfortunate easy preys of the hungry Adjuchas who wandered the area. However, amongst these Hollows, three of them were without contest the alpha predators, thus the rulers of the block: Juan, Rapaz and herself.
After meeting the two others Adjuchas, Naru's power grown day after day. Hunting and surviving was easier in group, and they were successful every time in their hunt. Naru had more time experimenting with her powers, enabling her to discover her ability to heal her fellow Adjuchas with her flames. She became a top-notch fighter after many confrontations with bigger and stronger Hollows. No hollow in the east-Hueco Mundo could even dream of scratch her.
They used the Duna de Los Ganchos as a headquarter and a shelter, the natural sturdiness of the jagged rocks that formed the hills were dissuasive enough to drive away the stupidest Hollows. The smarter ones or braver ones who dared to come risk themselves into it, well, were eaten. Soon, other powerful and sentient Adjuchas joined them, and their small community became stronger with time.
But their ascension as the undisputable rulers of East Hueco Mundo began approximately 200 years ago, at her evolution as a Vasto Lorde.
She was now about the size of a young pre-teen human girl, with a mane of blond hair on her head and a mask that now allowed the lowest part of her face to be visible, revealing a tanned skin, whisker marks on her cheeks and pointy canines. Her body was still mainly white/grey with blue tribal markings, and she was now bipedal. Her tail flailed slowly behind her.
She was the Hollow n#1 in these parts of Hueco Mundo, and she knew it. Any Gillians entering in a perimeter of nearly fifteen kilometers were mere lapdogs to her, completely dominated by her tremendous power. The Duna de Los Ganchos, under the command of her and her friends, was strong of nearly 300 Adjuchas, and twice in normal Hollows, without forgetting the Gillians that patrolled around the area.
In all and whole, their community was the most powerful behind the kingdom of Las Noche.
Speaking of which, the faction led by Barragan Louisenberg truly worried her lately. Barragan was a powerful Vasto Lorde, and his forces were equal to her own. Although there were a mutual respect for each other strength, the relation between Las Noche and Duna de Los Ganchos were strained at best. Naru and Barragan were real powerhouses in Hueco Mundo, but that didn't stop Barragan from leading aggressive attacks at the borders of her territory. The skeleton Vasto Lorde was a prideful Hollow, and things never went smoothly when he wanted something.
Truth to be told, Barragan only ever had respect for the three Hollows who were as powerful as him. Naru Bellarosa, the chief of the Duna de los Ganchos, Caraka Caracuela, who controlled the reishi caves, and Cuervos, the ruler of the southern parts of Hueco Mundo, including the only lake of the entire dimension.
He and those three were the Cuatro Gran Rey. The Gods of Hueco Mundo. The most powerful Vasto Lordes in existence.
Naru sighed and prepared herself to go and catch her meal of the day. Lately, her urges to eat had slightly regressed, allowing her to spend more time studying her abilities. She needed it, as her power was one of the major factors of the unity of Duna de Los Ganchos.
There. A lone hollow, a big one at that.
She crouched, waiting for the hollow to approach her more, hiding behind some rock. Her prey was almost there…
Swft. CRUNCH.
Much to her shock, a panther Adjuchas leaped out of nowhere and killed her prey. Soon, four more Adjuchas plus one Gillian appeared, surrounding the corpse of her prey. Naru seethed. Those Adjuchas DARED to hunt on her territory! With a growl, the tiny fox Vasto Lorde prepared herself for the slaughter… When she noticed another shadow creeping towards the intruders.
"Good job Grimmjow!" Cheered one of the Adjuchas. The panther Hollow acknowledged him with a grunt.
"Let's hurry." He ordered. "That area is not safe. I've heard that a Vasto Lorde lived nearby."
"It's only a rumor." Scoffed an Ox-like Adjuchas. "It's true that there's a lot of Adjuchas in those parts of Hueco Mundo, but a Vasto Lorde… They're all dispersed; it's not like if they were going to drop here all of sudden."
Growl.
The six hollows stopped dead on their tracks. They slowly turned their head at the source of the growl… only to discover with horror that an enormous Vasto Lorde was towering them. He was standing on his hind legs, had a bulked constitution, and a ram-like head with demented eyes and jagged teeth pointing out of a mouth dripping with saliva.
"Shit!" Panicked the panther Adjuchas "Everyone, back off!"
No one had the time to move. Because the large ram Vasto Lorde immediately charged. Only to be tackled mid-charge by a white-grey blur. He rolled a few time before he stood back, with the white blur identifying itself as another, although smaller Vasto Lorde, which was mostly white with blue marking, and a fox mask.
The hollow, a female, was snarling savagely at the biggest hollow, showing her pointy teeth. Her tail was flailing wildly and her fur was standing in spikes.
The two hollow wasted no time and lunged at each other, roaring. Claws, fangs, horns and energy blasts were exchanged between the two beast-like warriors. The fight reminded the six petrified Adjuchas of two rabid attack dogs fighting over a piece of meat.
Grimmjow was the first to regain his bearings and order the others to run away from the fight.
Vasto Lorde were territorial creatures. They tended to avoid each other. But when two met, and that there was a prey involved, then a fight was inevitable. And always resulted in the death of one of the protagonists.
Naru continued to dodge the wilds strikes of her foe while slashing ay his knees with her claws in hope to cut his tendons. Unfortunately, his hierro was particularly resistant. The fight had already lasted several minutes, and the biggest Vasto Lorde had managed to land a few strikes that heavily damaged the fox Hollow. Ducking under another flailing clawed hand, she crouched and jumped on his shoulders, savagely biting and slashing his neck and back. She even managed to effectively wound her foe. Said ram hollow howled and tried to shake her off. Blood splashed in the air, but it wasn't enough. Naru clamped her jaws on one of his bulky shoulder, furiously shook her head, did a death roll…and severed the entire arm from the shoulder. A fountain of blood erupted from the stump, and the carnage was far from over. The ram hollow, enraged, finally got a firm hold on her mane of hair, making her growl in discomfort, before brutally slamming her into a rock. Before she could react, he rammed his knee into her gut making her cry in pain, and then he threw her at another rock, with shattered on impact, creating a large cloud of dust. The ram Hollow made a pause to see if his opponent had survived or not. And for a second, he dropped his guard.
Big mistake.
A thin beam of condensed white-hot flames shot out of the dust, searing the ram Hollow intact shoulder, completely obliterating it. The large Vasto Lorde roared in pain, but his screams were muffled when a set of deadly razor-sharp fangs sunk into his throat. He tried to shake his head, but not to avail.
A sickening squelching noise could be heard, before the agonizing gurgles of a beast, and then the loud 'thump' of a body falling in the sand, followed by a fainter one, signaling that the victor has landed safely on the sand. A roar, a earth-shaking one, resonated in the desert, but was soon replaced by the savage chewing sounds of a predator feasting on his prey's body.
There were blood everywhere. The power and the blood soaked every cells of her body. A fire ignited in her body, coiling like a perverse, yet sensual snake of warmth, spreading in her limbs, her senses, moisture appearing in her skin, her body shaking with maddening sensation.
Then it exploded, like a sun igniting in her loins before invading her mind going blank. Her clawed hand reached…
And ripped her mask off.