The human dropped lifelessly to the ground as their soul was devoured. The hollow let out a satisfying bellow that rang through the streets.
Souls. It cried. The blissful sensation elevated it to no end in its happiness.
The only thing that could compare to the taste of souls were its favorite cookies.
Cookies.
The hollow froze. What was a 'cookie'? It thought as flashes of a dark room entered its mind.
It shook its head and let out a roar that shattered the windows around for several blocks.
Its mind cleared, it looked around. All over the streets, lay bodies. Human bodies lay on the floor by the dozens. Human bodies without souls.
The hollow smiled, then resumed its search for more souls.
Another hollow ran past it, rushing in a direction without sparing it even a glance.
This was strange. The hollow thought. It never met a hollow that didn't attack it, what's so different now?
Another hollow rushed past it, and it decided to follow.
As the hollow trailed behind the other, it noticed a peculiar sight - hundreds of hollows, all rushing in the same direction, their usual bloodlust and chaos replaced with an eerie sense of purpose. The air was thick with an otherworldly energy, like the whispers of a thousand forgotten souls. The hollow's curiosity was piqued, its hunger for souls momentarily forgotten.
It followed the horde, their ghostly forms blurring together as they moved with an unnatural speed. The streets became a maze of destruction, buildings crumbling, and debris scattered everywhere. Yet, the hollows seemed to navigate this chaos with ease, their movements choreographed by some unseen force.
Suddenly, the horde stopped, their collective gaze fixed on a single point. The hollow followed their gaze, its eyes settling on a massive, crack where the sky once was. Another Negación. No, a Garganta. The air around it pulsed with an intense, dark energy, as if the very fabric of reality was being torn apart.
The horde moved again, and the hollow followed close behind.
Then suddenly, the hollow stopped. The hollows leading the horde were being killed by something.
The horde were immediately enraged on their attacker and charged.
The hollow watched the horde slowly thin for a few minutes before she finally saw the figure of the attacker. No, the attackers.
Two of them, the two legged creatures, were killing the hollows ahead.
Then it looked at their souls.
Unlike the others, whose souls shone like faint embers, these two souls blazed like infernos, radiating an intense light. The hollow's eyes fixed on them, its mind reeling with a mix of fascination and anticipation. It had never seen humans like this before. Their souls seemed to pulse with a power that rivaled the darkness of the Hollows.
One of the humans, a tall, orange-haired figure with a sword in hand. The other, a tall dark haired figure with a glowing bow. The humans souls surged and they charged towards the hollows, weapons flashing in the bright light.
The hollow blurred.
/
The skull-like mask leaned in closer, its empty sockets seeming to bore into Ichigo's soul. The air grew thick with an unnatural silence, as if the very presence of the hollow was suffocating the world around them. Ichigo's grip on his Zanpakuto tightened, his spiritual energy surging in response to his will.
"What...the hell?" Ichigo managed to stammer, his voice barely audible over the sound of his own ragged breathing.
The hollow's mask-like face twisted into a grotesque grin, its jaws opening wide enough to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth, and, of course, an inner maw.
Ishida's eyes widened in horror as he realized he was completely paralyzed, unable to move or speak. The hollow's grip on his shoulder seemed to be draining the life from his body, leaving him a helpless spectator to the unfolding nightmare.
The Devourer's gaze shifted to Ishida, its empty sockets seeming to gleam with an otherworldly light.
Ichigo's spiritual energy surged to a fever pitch as he struggled to break free from the Devourer's grasp. His Zanpakuto seemed to hum with power, its blade shimmering with an intense, blue light. The air around them seemed to distort, as if reality itself was bending to accommodate the rise of his spiritual energy.
With a yell, he pulled himself away, raising his Zanpakuto and slicing with all the strength he could muster. 'I don't know how it got behind us, but I can't take any...'
CLANG*
"Eh? " Ichigo let out a dumb sound as his Zanpakuto literally bounced off the hollow's neck. The force of his attack disoriented him for a few seconds and he braced himself for the hollow's counterattack.
It never came.
The hollow never moved from its spot, its hand still pressed on Ishida's shoulder as it watched Ichigo curiously. It had even tilted its head as if asking the question 'why'd you attack me?'
Ichigo's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with confusion. Why hadn't the Hollow counterattacked? Was it toying with him, or was there something more at play?
The hollow's gaze shifted back to Ishida, its empty sockets seeming to bore into his very soul. Ichigo's grip on his Zanpakuto tightened.
"Ishida, can you hear me?" Ichigo called out, his voice firm and steady.
Ishida's eyes flickered, his gaze locking onto Ichigo's. He tried to speak, but his voice was barely a whisper.
"I...can't...move..."
The Devourer's grip on Ishida's shoulder seemed to tighten, its fingers digging deeper into his skin. Ichigo's eyes flashed with anger.
"Let him go," Ichigo growled, his Zanpakuto at the ready.
The hollow tilted its head once again, the question hanging in the air. 'Why...should I?'
Ichigo's eyes narrowed, with a swift motion, he raised his Zanpakuto.
"I'll show you why," Ichigo snarled, his Zanpakuto flashing in the dim light as he charged forward...
The hollow's gaze turned upwards, Ichigo followed it and saw that the crack in the sky had gotten even larger. Pieces of the sky falling like broken glass.
He turned back, and the hollow was gone.
Stunned, Ichigo jerked his head left and right, scanning the surroundings for the strange hollow. "Where'd it go? Come on Ishida let's go after it."
Ishida still visibly shaken, stumbled before falling on his butt. "I...I should have never used the hollow bait."
"You just realized that now? Damn it, what now?" Ichigo yelled at Ishida as the sky literally shook with the tear getting bigger.
Then they saw it. Large, and purely white fingers grabbed both parts of the tear sky and pulled them apart. With a pull, 'It' came through.
A large skull, bigger than any any bus Ichigo had ever seen plunged its face into their world, for whatever it was, it was not something that belonged in this world, even he could feel it.
"Wha... What is that..!?" Ichigo stuttered as he stared at what embodied the very form of the word 'monster'.
Ishida slowly stood up, his arm trembling as it held his bow. "It... it's enormous... That thing is hollow too!?"
"H...how would I know!?" Ichigo yelled as he raised his sword.
"Kurosaki Sa~n!" A voice yelled out from behind them. "We've come to the rescu~e!"
He turned around and saw a familiar hat leading a few familiar faces running towards them alongside Rukia. "You're... Rukia's acquaintance, the sandals hat guy."
Around them, the smaller hollows(compared to the giant monstrosity in the ripped sky) surrounded them.
Before Ichigo could move, the group immediately tore into the surrounding hollows. "JINTA HO~ME RUN!!!" The boy swung a wrapped metal club as large as himself into the skull of a hollow.
The girl fired a massive 'gun' wrapped in marked bandages. ~pew pew pew pew pew ~ obliterating several hollows at once.
The large man in glasses and a comical moustache stretched his palms and "MUMPH!!!" Completely erased a hollow's skull with one strike.
"So strong." Ishida gawked. "The amount of hollows are decreasing." Around them, the new comers erased hollows left and right fast."
"Sandal hat guy..." Ichigo called. "Why are you here...? Why do you show up wherever I go..!?" He wanted to yell, but he held himself.
The hat guy chucked, opening a small foldable fan in front of his face. "I told you just now." Behind him, the two kept pounding and shooting down hollows. "We've come to the rescu~e!! I said."
Explosions surrounded the trio, as the sandal hat guy closed the fan. "We'll take on the surrounding small fry." Another explosion appeared close to them, whipping up wind and fluttering the sandal hat guy's coat making him look more mysterious and 'cool'. Ichigo cringed. Sandal hat guy smiled. "In order for you, Kurosaki san." He pointed at the sky behind Ichigo. "To concentrate on fighting that one. Look, this isn't the time for chit chat."
Ichigo and Ishida turned around, and they swore they heard air shriek in pain as the already big tear in the sky, ripped even more and the giant hollow pulled itself through. White smoke poured from its teeth.
Ishida felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "...it's coming out..."
Rukia froze, and Kon stopped right next to her. "Wha... W... W... Wha... What is it sis-ter!?" He turned to Rukia, fear written all over his face. "That... incredibly huge hollow!?"
Rukia just stood there, watching the scene before her. "...Ah... That is..." An ominous wind blew around her as she spoke its name. "MENOS..!!"
"Menos?" Kon asked still staring at the sky.
"It's a gigantic hollow, born from hundreds of hollows that pile and mix together." Rukia answered. "However..."
"That thing..." The giant hollow pulled its entire head and parts of its shoulders out of the tear. "Is only something I've seen in an illustration Ina textbook." Parts of its midsection pulled out of a vertical tear that suddenly ripped open. "The great hollow. "MENOS GRANDE"!!"
Sweat ran down Rukia's face as she stared in shock. "An inconceivable story, for that thing to come out. Those are under the jurisdiction of the elite forces. Truly a lone shinigami cannot oppose it."
"It's huge, such a ridiculous bulk." Ishida gripped his bow tighter.
Ichigo grinned. "Hehehe... Something that huge, just makes you laugh... I am doubtful about whether it really is a hollow."
Pitch black, the body of the Menos grande pulled itself further from the tear as its teeth slowly opened.
Blink, and you would have missed it. A white tongue shot out of the large teeth, piercing through several hollows in less than a second, startling Ichigo and everyone watching.
The pierced hollows could not react as they were pulled into the Menos' teeth where they were swiftly devoured in a single bite.
"Wha... It's eating its fellow hollows." Ishida was shocked. "What a guy." He deadpanned.
"Hehehe." Ichigo chuckled darkly.
"What's so funny, Kurosaki?" Ishida asked.
"There's no way we can figure out how to fight against that sort of monster." Ichigo slumped, his figure looking defeated.
"What?" Ishida stared in confusion, was this the same stubborn idiot?
"With this guy..." Ichigo continued. "We'll cut and cut and cut and cut and cut and cut with all our might to take him down!!!" He suddenly yelled. "There's no other way!! Let's go Ishida!!"
Ishida watched as Ichigo ran towards the giant hollow. "Wa... W... W... W... Wait Kurosaki!!!"
"Oraaaaaaaaaa!!" Rukia heard Ichigo yell as he ran past in the distance, running towards the Menos grande.
"Q... Quit it, Ichigo..." She cried. "You can't fight..." She ran after him, but was stopped by an fluttering cloak. "Urahara!!" She stared at the man. "You!! What's the meaning of this? You intend to kill Ichigo?"
The striped hat covered Urahara's expression as he answered. "Of course not."
"Then move aside!!" Rukia tried to push past him but he wouldn't budge. "If you don't stop him... It's not an opponent Ichigo can win against!!
"That's no good." She heard Urahara's voice as he held against her. "I can't do that Kuchiki san." His hand rose. "Please watch quietly." His index finger pointed towards her, and she went stiff, paralyzed. "This battle is a crucial battle." Urahara continued as she struggled to even twitch. 'Is this... A binding spell...!? My body...' she could barely hear Urahara's voice over her own thoughts as he continued. "As crucial to you, as it will be for him."
Rukia could only move her eyes, so she watched as Ichigo ran towards the Menos grande who had already pulled out a single leg from the tear.
"Aaaaaaaagh!!!" Ichigo yelled as he leaped at the foot ahead of him, raising his zanpakuto as the Menos grande took its first step.
Ichigo swung, and his zanpakuto cut into the hollow's leg, almost severing it.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
The hollow shrieked in pain as it kicked out its leg, sending Ichigo flying. Almost immediately, a streak of blue light struck the hollow in the neck dealing no damage.
"Oof" Ichigo crashed a fair distance from the hollow. He was back on his feet the next moment. "This thing isn't even as tough as that earlier hollow. This'll be a piece of cake."
"Kurosaki." Ishida called as he fired more arrows at the giant hollow. "How are you planning to take him down. I can't do any damage at this point and as much as it pains me to say it, you can. You were even able to move against the earlier strong hollow."
Ichigo had a maniac grin in his face, as he turned to Ishida. "Oh yeah, I've got an awesome plan." Ishida stared at him with all seriousness as he continued. "I'm gonna cut his feet and work my way up, then when the head falls, we finish it."
"Like Jenga huh?" Ishida deadpanned, before shaking his self back to seriousness. "Geez... How was your brain constructed. We need to think of an actual battle plan!!"
A sudden chill permeated the air, sending shivers down the spine of the Soul reaper and the Quincy as the surroundings suddenly grew brighter by the slightest margin.
'What's this?' Ishida glanced at the Menos. 'His spiritual pressure is rising!?'
'Sero!?' Rukia, still frozen and unable to move on the floor, cried within her mind. 'He is going to use Sero!!' Her eyes moved to Ichigo. 'Hurry!! Run!! If that thing hits you, you'll be destroyed!! Run Ichigo!!'
Ichigo looked up at the head of the giant hollow, his heart beating loudly as his instinct warned him of impending danger.
"Something's coming Kurosaki." Ishida yelled.."we sho..." He turned to see already charging the Menos. "...uld" 'Idiot...!! Without any plan, running into your enemy, using only your overwhelming power is still just suicide. This isn't going to be a fight, you're like a child in comparison.' he narrowed his eyes. 'He won't let you hit him a second time... Kurosaki!!'
Ichigo slowly closed the distance between him and the Menos grande as he charged. With its body now visible, Ichigo could now see that it had a massive hollow hole. Even with his shitty sensing, he could still feel the amount of power being gathered at the hollow's teeth.
A slightly blue ball of bright light, gathered at the hollow's face, and it fired.
WHOOOOOOOOOOM
Ichigo raised his zanpakuto, and blocked it. The ground trembled as Ichigo pushed his zanpakuto against the blast. "This... This is nothing." He grit his teeth as his knees buckled under the weight of the attack.
Ishida raised his arm, to shield his eyes. "He repelled it." Looking at my Ichigo who was still pushing back against the attack he suddenly noticed. 'What's this... This resonance... What the hell is this strong spiritual power..!? Kurosaki's power is increasing rapidly. Just like earlier against that strange hollow.'
"I..." Ichigo said, mostly speaking to himself. "...can still stand..." He raised his zanpakuto and slowly took his stance. "This is nothing!!"
He swung.
KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Menos grande shrieked in pain as a slash ran up its body vertically.
"What!?" Ishida yelled in shock. Ichigo leaped into the sky and swung again.
KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The Menos grande stumbled as it grabbed the tear and retreated, closing it like a curtain.
Ishida gasped. "The hollow is leaving."
Rukia, no longer held by the binding spell, dare not move, tranced by the scene playing out before her. "How... How is this possible... Ichigo... He cut the hollow in half!!"
In the distance, within a tall building, in one of the rooms, two figures watched as their close friend did the impossible.
Urahara however, watched the display with a slight frown. "He's stronger than I expected. Much stronger than he was the last time I saw him."
An arm was raised.
"VIC...TORY!!!!!!!!!" Ichigo yelled at the top of his voice as he gave a v sign.
Ishida stared at him in shock. "...So... So scary... He scared that monster away." He gulped. "...too scary..."
The tear slowly mendes until it was only a large crack in the sky.
The Soul reaper and the Quincy stood opposite each other.
"Hey." Ichigo called.
"Ichigo." Ishida answered.
"What, you're not going to thank me for this?" Ichigo frowned. Ishida looked confused so Ichigo continued. "I helped you out there, you should thank me."
Ishida sighed, about to answer when Ichigo fell flat on his face. "Gah." Ishida yelled. "Ichigo!!! What... What are you doing!? This is not funny."
"Hurts." Ishida heard Ichigo's voice and his eyes widened. Ichigo still struggled to speak. "Why the hell... Can't I move?" His hand holding the zanpakuto rose and then.
Skrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Ichigo's zanpakuto started distorting and shrieking in the process.
'His zanpakuto... It's changing form.' Ishida thought as he watched. 'Releasing that amount of spiritual power not once but twice in one day. His spirit is lose now. Maybe he's lost control of it '
'I need to do something.' Ishida ran up to Ichigo. "Ichigo..." His words were halted however, when his bow immediately activated and grew in size nearly triple his height. "Wha...!?"
'My spirit weapon... Is reacting to his spiritual power!? It makes sense, Soul reapers use inner power while quincies gather power from the surroundings. My bow is gathering the power his sword is releasing." Ishida struggled to contain the bow as it doubled in size, now more than five times his height. 'This is bad... My spirit weapon will be destroyed... It's going to explode.'
An idea rushed into his mind and he immediately drew his bow, firing a shot into the sky. The pain in his arm lessened for a fraction of a second, before rising to the same fever pitch.
"Right." Ishida fired another arrow into the sky. "I can do this." He fired another. 'Ichigo can't control the spirit... I will take over the spirit and stabilize it and then return it to Ichigo...' He fired another arrow. '...Continuously one after another...' Ichigo yelled in pain behind him. 'until Ichigo calms down.'
And so several minutes went by, with Ishida firing arrow after arrow into the sky. His arms bled as the excess spiritual power ran rampant within his bow and every time he drew, his skin was flaked off.
Ichigo felt his pain lessen considerably and turned to see Ishida standing beside him, shooting arrows into the sky. It didn't take long to realize what he was doing. "Wha..."
"Shut up...!!" Ishida yelled, cutting off what Ichigo was about to say. "want me to thank you? Don't even think about it." He fired another arrow as his fingers bled. "You better live Ichigo Kurosaki so I can beat you." 'After this, just a little more, a little... If Ichigo total control of his spirit, it'll destroy him. If that happens, then everything will be your fault Uryuu Ishida.'
Urahara watched as the two teenagers dealt with the massive rampant spiritual power, until the Quincy fell on his knees.
Ichigo sighed. "How can I beat him when he's looking like this?"
"Hey kid." Ichigo turned to see a familiar hat standing next to them. "Hey it's you sandal hat guy."
Urahara smiled. "Good job."
Ichigo smiled. "It was nothing. It only looked strong."
Urahara raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean it only looked strong?"
Ichigo shrugged. "Compared to that earlier hollow, it wasn't as tough. I only fought for a single second, but every fiber of my being were screaming at me to run or I would die."
Urahara hid his frown. "Must have been a really strong hollow. How did you defeat it."
Ichigo slowly sat up. "You're right, it was strong. I've faced a ton of hollow but that was the first that made freeze with just a touch, like my life was in his hands. It was really scary, I mean my zanpakuto bounced off its skin when I cut it, that's never happened before. And no, I didn't defeat it. It disappeared just as you guys showed up."
Urahara opened his fan again. "Hmmm, a curious hollow indeed." 'So it knew to run, when it sensed me? But I didn't sense a hollow that powerful when I showed up. By all accounts the only powerful hollow was the Menos grande and yet. Ichigo survived an attack from a hollow more powerful than a Menos grande.'
He turned away and started walking. "Curious indeed."
So hi guys, I'm sorry for taking so long. If I'm being honest, I almost quit on this. It was just supposed to be a way for me to know if I could make it work. I made it work apparently from the reviews I got.
But now I'm greedy, so I'm holding the next chapter hostage. Gimme lots of reviews or you'll never see a next chapter again.
no really guys, I need your encouragement as this is my second fanfic and the I want it to be as popular as the first one.
in case you're wondering, my first fic is called. Bofuri in another world (I'm the final boss) you can find it in scribble hub or webnovel. feel free to check it out.
Send me reviews, and if you have questions drop them in my PM I think. I'm new here so yeah.
until Next week hopefully.