A Menos Grande—?!
Hisagi Shūhei's eyes widened in pure horror as he stared at the colossal creature emerging halfway from the black rift of the Garganta, its immense body looming like a nightmare.
Impossible… How could a Menos appear here?!
In the taxonomy of Hollows, the Menos class represented overwhelming might—divided into three escalating tiers: Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde. But even the lowest among them, the Gillian, was leagues beyond what any Shinigami trainee could hope to match. Even among the seated officers of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, few could claim superiority over such a foe.
With a flash step, Hisagi shot forward toward the cluster of stunned students, yelling at the top of his lungs:
"Run! Get away, now!"
He darted from student to student, snapping them out of their paralyzed states.
"Hinamori! Get out of here!"
Hinamori Momo stared blankly, pointing toward the ruined plaza. "But the President, he…"
Shin?!
Hisagi froze as icy panic gripped his spine.
He clenched his teeth, banishing the thought, and seized Hinamori by the arm. "We can't think about that right now—move!"
There was no time to hesitate. No time for grief.
Still gripping Hinamori, Hisagi yanked out his Denreishinki to contact the barrier team.
"Barrier Corps! A Menos has appeared in the training zone!"
But only static greeted him—harsh white noise and no response.
"Damn it!"
Shoving Hinamori toward Kira and Renji, Hisagi barked, "Get her out of here! Go!"
Just then, Aojika appeared beside him, eyes flicking to the horizon. "Hisagi, what do we do?"
What could they do? A Gillian-class Menos was not something they could handle.
Panic swept through the gathered students as they scattered in all directions. The training field, filled with Hollows meant for mock combat, now became a minefield of danger. Weak as they were individually, the sheer number overwhelmed the first-years, many of whom were still dazed. Wounded began appearing almost immediately.
"Where's Kesa?" Hisagi asked, his voice tight.
Everything was unraveling. No support from the barrier team. No reinforcements.
And the Menos—
Could he buy them time if he risked everything?
Before he could act, a lone figure dashed straight at the monstrous Menos without hesitation.
Kesa?!
Hisagi's heart lurched.
The Gillian's towering body had only partially emerged from the Garganta. Kesa charged straight toward its outstretched arm, blade in hand. But her asauchi—standard, unawakened—clashed against the Menos' hide with a dull clang, bouncing off harmlessly. The backlash numbed her arms.
The beast stirred, irritated.
With a guttural roar, it raised its massive hand and brought it down—huge enough to block out the sky.
Kesa looked up, frozen as it descended.
Hisagi flash-stepped forward, eyes wild. "Kesa! Get—!"
He couldn't finish.
A blinding white arc tore through the dark.
SLASH!
The enormous hand was cleaved clean in two, a deafening impact shaking the entire plaza. The sundered limb crashed beside Kesa, missing her by a hair's breadth.
The Menos shrieked, rearing back in agony.
From the cratered earth, a lone figure rose—slowly, calmly.
Shin.
Kesa and Hisagi blinked, stunned—then relief bloomed.
"Shin!"
Still gripping his blade, Shin exhaled and stood tall. Though he'd been driven into the ground, not a speck of dust marred his uniform.
"Shin! Thank the gods you're okay!"
They flash-stepped to his side.
Hisagi wasted no time. "The barrier team's not responding—we're cut off! We're on our own!"
Shin's expression didn't change. "You two—get the students to safety. I'll handle this."
"Alone?" Kesa blurted.
But she remembered the brilliance of that last swing. That sword pressure—tangible, slicing through the Menos with terrifying ease.
"Go. Now."
Shin's voice was calm, unwavering. He turned toward the fully emerged Gillian.
The entire gargantuan frame now loomed in full view. Standing like a walking monolith, its presence overshadowed the entire seaside city replica.
Its glowing crimson eyes locked onto Shin—burning with rage. That human had sliced its hand.
The Gillian bellowed, a low, guttural growl that shook the earth. Its mouth opened wide as a massive sphere of condensed spiritual energy began to gather.
A Cero.
Shin didn't move. Not yet.
He surveyed the battlefield. The flow of reiryoku was in complete disarray. The Menos' oppressive reiatsu blanketed the town, smothering everything.
No students had died yet—but elsewhere, another Hollow had appeared. Its reiatsu was just as strong as the one he had felled earlier.
Could Hisagi and the others handle it?
He frowned.
His grip tightened on the asauchi. Quietly, he slid it back into its scabbard.
Then—he moved.
With a single step, reishi coalesced beneath his feet, lifting him into the air. He rose to eye level with the Gillian in an instant.
So this one's my test, huh? Fine. Quite the gift you sent me.
Their eyes met. In the dark, a faint smile curled on Shin's lips.
SHING—
The blade sang as it left the sheath. In a flash of silver, a cold light streaked through the night.
The edge tore into the Gillian's mask.
The strike split its face in half. The head cracked wide, the blow traveling deep through the skull.
Before the creature could collapse, Shin vanished—leaving only a whisper of his presence behind.
Elsewhere.
Hisagi, Kesa, and Aojika were fighting a second giant Hollow—not a Menos, but one nearly as dangerous. Though not as overwhelming, its spiritual pressure matched the earlier aberrant Hollow.
Despite fighting together, they struggled.
Then Renji, Kira, and Hinamori arrived to help.
"Damn it—why is it this strong?!" Hisagi was slammed back by a strike, coughing up blood.
"This is beyond our level!" Aojika shouted. "This shouldn't be in the simulation!"
But that wasn't what Hisagi meant.
Shin could kill something like this with a single blow.
They were barely holding their ground, despite outnumbering it.
Where's Shin?
He glanced toward where Shin had been—and saw the Gillian collapse in the distance.
BOOM!
Its enormous body crushed everything beneath it. The explosion of impact silenced the town.
Then—a blinding arc of sword pressure soared overhead.
FWOOOM!
It cleaved through the air, struck the Hollow they faced, and passed through cleanly—severing it in half.
"Yasha Shunkū," a voice murmured.
The beast was bisected mid-charge.
Shin landed before them, blade still drawn. He looked over each face—Hisagi, Kesa, Hinamori, Kira, Renji.
Then he clapped a stunned Hisagi on the shoulder.
"Good. You're all still alive."