Episode 22: Evolution IV
Impressed with my new body, I decide it's time to reunite with Shrieker's group for a while.
My fresh reatsu is enough to melt some of the smaller hollows that reside in amongst the trees, like little animals. When I smell the intoxicating scent of strong hollows nearby I know I have reached my destination.
Among the clearing are several Gillians. Immediately I glare at Shrieker who seems shocked at my rapid transformation. The others shuffle away cautiously. "It's alright..." I speak out to them. "I mean no harm to you...I just wish to speak with Shrieker."
Shrieker steps forward from the group. "I am impressed Banzai...I really have underestimated you."
"That's okay...I'll forgive your insolence."
"You do realise you could kill us all and we would barely be able to resist?"
"SHRIEKER NO!" One of the Gillians (who I assume is Numb Chandelier due to her feminine voice) screeches.
"Again I do not wish to devour any of you...I was actually hoping you had all become Adjuchas as well so we could join together again..." I sigh deeply. "But since you have not convinced me of your worth I must wait till you have become stronger." I walk past Shrieker and the others. "Goodbye comrades, please don't eat each other before we meet again." And so I left my group of saviours to fend for themselves. They had saved me when I was left for hollow scraps and twice more after that. In a way, I am indebted to them all. However for me to aid them would only weigh myself down to achieving my true ambitions. I may even be tempted to eat them eventually. So it's for the best that we part until I have reached a more stable status of hollowfication.
And shortly after leaving the group I hear them again. It seems they only become louder as I become stronger. I try and press against my horns to silence the noise but it only amplifies.
"DAMIT SHUT UP!"
The voices are suppressed when my adrenalin kicks in. I'm now dodging several beams of red energy blasts. The heat is intense and as a result the skin on my body starts bubbling and forming blisters.I face the army of Gillians aligned in an organised row, like an army's battalion.
"GGGGRRAAAAOOOWWWW!" They all sing a chorus of howls. This display briefly intimidates me before I recall Shrieker's remark.
"You could kill us and we would barely be able to resist."
I stand firm and raise my claws. "Humph...bunch of Gillians won't bother me." I glide over to there position and raise my claws like a lance, stabbing into the group. However I'm shocked to see that the wall of Menace bends away from the strike, the wall peels back to reveal a significantly smaller hollow which seems to resemble an insect. However his reatsu tells me he is anything but insect strength.
The Gillians now surround me and the other hollow. They all peer down upon me in unison as if there following some sort of orders.
"You have not been an Adjuchas for long have you?" He speaks in a buzzing tone.
"So you're an Adjuchas too?" I ask though the answer's clear.
"As an Adjuchas I can command these stupid Gillians to perform my bidding. It makes fighting hollow so much easier." He lifts his finger and forms a small red orb of energy. "If you still aren't convinced, then let me prove it to you through my powerful cero attack."
Cero...so that must be the name of that attack...
He fires the deadly cero but I manage to contain it within my hands. I throw the cero blast onto the crowd of Menos footsoldiers, obliterating the upper halves away from several of them. The insectoid Adjuchas curses under his breath and utters one simple command.
"DIE!"
I jump away from my current position, evading a chorus of cero blasts. I use the flat edge of my hand as a sword and decapitate one of the Gillians. As I descend I use my claw extension to fill another one with holes. As I wrench out my first hand I produce my other claws, severing two more Gillians before throwing them into the final few. Whilst they are stunned I rake away at there flesh, nibbling at any loose scraps of flesh to satisfy my lingering voices.
"Hehe, so what...I don't require Gillians to kill you...I'll just do it myself." A large stinger extends from his tail, dripping acidic venom. He lunges towards me with his stinger raised in aggression. He stabs forward with the pointer but I manage to dodge them all until he latches on to my left arm and inject the venom into my arm.
"HAH! Once this enters your whole body you'll turn into a fine pulp for me to digest."
Normally I would panic and accept the inevitable, but I remembered a very important aspect of becoming a hollow.
"So you are willing to sacrifice your own arm then?" He smirks after I slice off my limb. I step back and allow the body to repair itself. The fresh new limb bursts out from the rotted flesh with plenty of gore splattered nearby.
He continues with the stinging attack until I manage to catch the butt end and break it off.
"KYAAAHHH!" He squeals like a dying pig (which is odd for an insectoid). "You'll pay for that." Suddenly his reatsu levels flare, producing several smaller stingers. He begins firing the small barbs down towards me. I manage to roll out of the way. The barbs make a sizzling noise once they impact the ground, the highly corrosive venom leaves large holes in the ground. I can't use my special attack whilst he is firing those deadly stingers.
SHIT! One of them hits the back of my left leg. I fall awkwardly and desperately try to sever the limb before it can cause significant damage. I'm now a sitting duck. He nabs one in my right arm this time. Left with half of my normal limb count, I hop away from the stream of acid bullets. I need more power, I must...win!
Hiding behind a tree for refuge, I focus all my reatsu in my left arm. I'm hoping to channel all my energy into a powerful cero attack. However I notice as I try this that the red orb does not only form into one spot, but the power is distributed to my other three fingers, making a claw of cero in a way.
The flying stingers pierce the tree leaving me vulnerable. I must use this now.
"It's useless." He boasts from behind the tree. "You're cornered now...You'll end up like a giant pin doll."
Emerging from the tree I raise the back of my fanned hand towards my face. The four orbs of destruction are fully charged. He stammers when he sees that I'm able to form several at once. Somehow I come up with an awesome name for this attack. These will be the last words he ever hears. "JUICIO CERO..."
With that phrase, the four beams of cero fan out, increasing the area of vaporisation. The Adjuchas was not spared from the ferocious destruction. He tried to fly away but lost his lower body.
His vital organs stream across the ground as he tries to drag his body away from me. In his pathetic display of survival I stand in front of him, looking down in reflection. "You have been judged...as a worthy opponent...I shall end your suffering...hollow..." With that I quickly finish his life impaling his head. It would be a shame for his soul-rich body to go to waste...so I devour him before he dissolves into spirit particles.
He tastes so rich. I've never eaten such a potent concentration of hollow before. It is at least a million in one. The body has provided me with enough energy to fully regenerate my arm and leg. However I'm still bothered by the slight difference in the new limbs. The scales are no longer there but a thick white skin has developed instead. As long as I can savour my new power, I will accept any new skin shed.
My solitude is brief as I'm disrupted by the call of a plague of Gillians. They sway in the shadows like trees caught in a gale. I charge up my fingers for another Jucio Cero but am put off by the static sound of several Adjuchas. I now they have to be Adjuchas as no other hollow can perform that flash step skill.
"Your the one who killed Mosquis...this won't go unpunished."
"Hold on..." A familiar sounding Adjuchas emerges from the group. He is same one I fought and as a hollow; if it wasn't for the others in my group I would have been toast. "I would like to see how much this lowly hollow has improved since last we met."
A new power...a new staple of food - Adjuchas! I might not have the stomach for this many though...Will I beat my opponent for round 2? I wonder what he will think of my Juicio Cero? By the way don't be fooled by the name, it's not a new type of drink, it's spanish for 'Zero Judgement'. What do you thik of my kinky power? Let me know in a review perhaps...