CH 62: GRAND ENTRANCE
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A few minutes ago, in a hidden cavern, below a very large tree, red tentacles could be seen wriggling while a masked six-limbed green monster was crawling around, munching on the remains of a corpse.
All around him, heaps of body parts could be seen, some half-eaten, discarded all around.
Counting the number of victims would be difficult, but there was no denying that this number was large, very large.
Spitting the small hand, clearly that of a child, that was in its mouth, the spider-like monster raised its masked face covered in flame patterns and began to sniff.
After a while, a red glow shined in the empty socket where its eyes should have been, and it murmured,
“Fresh meat. Two of them don’t smell too bright though! But the third one…”
Letting out a creepy laugh, it began to salivate at the prospect of eating such rich spiritual food.
Then, without further ado, it left the cavern, stepping on the detached head of a young boy, his face fixed in an expression of horror, demonstrating the pain and suffering he must have felt as he was slowly eaten alive.
Glancing at that face, the hollow felt a sense of twisted satisfaction filling the hole that was his heart. He felt even more pleasure when he thought about its future victims.
‘I can’t wait!’
Slowly blending in the shadow and hiding all its Reiatsu, it rushed with glee towards its target.
‘This is going to be fun!’
It thought in excitement.
---
A few minutes later, observing its prey from the shadows, the hollow rapidly keyed in on his main target.
It was a black-haired woman with a child-like body. She stood between two others. One man and a woman.
What it could not understand was why the strongest out of the three was being protected.
But it did not matter.
He would end the two weaker ones swiftly and then bask in the cries of pain and despair of the third one.
Chuckling to itself, he put himself in the best position and waited.
---
Rukia felt uneasy.
She did not know why, but since a few moments ago, she felt as if she was being stared at by a starved beast.
She could not say whether this stress was the result of her fear and lack of experience, or really the result of her catching the trace of an enemy, but she did not wish to be careless.
She understood very well that this was her best chance. If she did not manage to show off a little, she would most likely be put in the reserve for 3 or 4 decades then sent to some forsaken city in the human world.
A cushy job with almost no responsibility.
Tightening her grip on her sword, she looked warily at her surroundings.
She wasn’t the only one, both the squad leader and Muhei were prepared to react at any moment.
Compared to her though, they were clearly much calmer and at the same time did not look left and right like her.
For shinigami, using their own eyes to search for their enemies was proof of a lack of experience.
Battles between high-ranked shinigami were all at a speed surpassing that of sound and could span tens of kilometers.
If scrubs like them relied on their eyes to follow the fight, they would get killed without even understanding what had happened.
This was why they needed to rely on their abilities to feel Reiatsu more than anything else.
This was the consensus between most shinigami.
This was also why the only one who managed to see it was Rukia.
All the hair on her body suddenly stood as terror gripped her. A red tentacle rushing at a speed so high they could not react, while cleverly placing itself at the blind spot of her squad leader.
Despite this, there was absolutely no leakage of Reiatsu, showing how powerful the stealth ability of the one attacking was.
Rukia moved more by instinct than rational thought, the years of training under Kaien Shiba, showing its results.
“Bakugo #8: Seki”[1]
A small blue orb formed between her squad leader and the tentacle that had threatened to skewer her.
This was a low sequence Hado with limited use. What’s more, with her current level and the lack of incantations, Rukia understood very well that it could not completely stop the attack.
As she thought, the moment the tentacle hit the orb, it was barely stopped for one second.
But, one second was more than enough.
The other two immediately reacted.
Using Shunpo to move as fast as possible, the squad leader avoided the attack while taking out her sword and swung it hard.
“Roar! Shishi!”[2]
*BOOM*
The slim katana immediately changed into a large greatsword and cut the tentacle in two while creating wide cracks on the ground after the impact.
Meanwhile, using the cover of the dust that was raised, Muhei released his hell butterfly and hid it so that it could record the fight as much as possible without getting discovered in case none of them managed to escape.
At the same time, he took a black stick out of the backpack on his back and filled it with Reiatsu.
*FSSHH*
A red flare flew out of the stick and went higher and higher until it exploded, thereby warning all the other teams about the presence of the hollow in the vicinity.
Rukia, on the side, wasn’t idle,
“Dance! Sode no Shirayuki.”
The moment her sword changed into its crystalline appearance, Rukia pierced the sword in the direction of the enemy who still didn’t appear.
“Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren.”[3]
A torrent of snow formed at the tip of her sword and rushed in the direction she pointed at.
Seeing her attack, the squad leader couldn't help but curse as she used her shunpo at max power.
She had created that smokescreen to give some time for Rukia to flee. Not attack in an obviously wrong direction.
As she thought, the moment she rushed, she could see another tentacle attacking Rukia
“Rukia! Behind you!”
Rukia heard her squad leader scream but had no time to react. She had just released her technique, her body was still in what could be called a cool-down period.
Normally, she would only need an instant to be able to move again, but the enemy clearly had an accurate grasp on the timing.
Moreover, from the direction of the attack that was completely opposite to the first one, it was clear that the first attack had just been a feint.
‘I have been too rash.’
From the corner of her eyes, she could see her squad leader running to help her.
She could also see Muhei trying to prepare a Kido.
But all of this would be useless.
Determination grew in Rukia's eyes, even though she could barely move, she tried her best to shift her body as much as possible.
This attack wasn't aimed at any fatal spot but she would have been pretty much rendered helpless if it landed.
That’s why – she was ready to sacrifice an arm.
But, just as the attack was about to land.
*Whoosh*
She was blinded by a curtain of light. It was then followed by the sound of an explosion so loud she felt as if her ears were about to fall off.
This state lasted a few short seconds before she could finally see and hear again.
The situation in the forest though was completely different.
A deep trench could be seen now in front of her.
"Sigh...I initially wanted to let you get some experience. But your brother would hunt me to death if I let you get killed."
Just as she was getting more confused about the situation, a bored voice she could easily recognize sounded next to her.
"Gojo?"
"The one and only."
There, right next to her, she could see Gojo standing.
This time, his face was not covered by a blindfold, and she could not help but become mesmerized by his shining blue eyes.
Just as she was about to ask her what was going on,
"Who are you!?"
A guttural voice sounded a little farther from the bush as a disgusting spider-like monster crawled out of the bush.
Looking at that monster, Rukia could not help but feel a chill.
Now that the monster wasn't hiding anymore, she could feel the incredible pressure it was emitting.
Clearly, he had just been playing around with them previously. It could have wiped them out without resorting to any tricks.
Gojo, clearly unimpressed by the hollow, yawned,
"Me? Haha. Let's just say that I will become your worst nightmare."
[1]: Seki = Repulsion
[2]: Shishi = Lion
[3]: Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren = Next dance, white ripple