That's... a Menos?!
Hisagi Shūhei stared wide-eyed at the massive creature emerging halfway from the black void, his face stricken with shock.
Impossible. How could a Menos appear here?!
Menos—a collective term for powerful Hollows. Among them, there were three ascending classes: Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde.
But even the lowest rank, the Gillian-class, was far beyond what any of them—mere Soul Reaper cadets—could handle. Even within the Gotei 13, those capable of defeating a Gillian were few.
He rushed toward the students and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run! Get away from here, now!"
Moving fast, Hisagi darted from one frozen, terrified student to another, snapping them out of their daze.
"Hinamori! Run!"
Hinamori Momo stared at him, then pointed toward the ruins. "The President, he..."
Nobu?!
A chill shot down Hisagi's spine as a wave of dread crashed over him.
But the thought lasted only a moment. He clenched his jaw and forced himself to stay calm, grabbing Hinamori by the arm. "Go!"
There was no time to worry about anything else.
He dragged Hinamori away while pulling out his communication device.
"Barrier Squad! This is urgent—we have a Menos here!"
But all he got in return was a burst of static. No response.
"Damn it!"
He handed Hinamori off to Kira and Renji. "Take her and get out of here!"
Seika arrived just then and asked, "Hisagi, what do we do?"
What could they do? A Gillian-class Menos was completely beyond their capabilities.
The students were scattering in panic, chaos erupting everywhere. But this was a special zone created for training—there were Hollows all around. Though not strong individually, their numbers were considerable. The students, still shaken, couldn't react fast enough. Wounded began to appear.
"Where's Kanisawa?"
Hisagi's thoughts were in complete disarray. With the Barrier Squad unreachable, how were they supposed to call for backup?
That Menos... that thing...
If I went all in, could I buy some time?
Just as that thought passed through his mind, someone rushed toward the Gillian without hesitation.
It was Kanisawa!
Hisagi's heart lurched the moment he recognized her.
The Gillian's massive frame had only emerged halfway from the Garganta.
Kanisawa charged, blade in hand, slashing at its arm—but her Asauchi couldn't even scratch it. The creature's hide was so tough that the recoil left her hands numb.
The Menos, enraged, raised its palm and brought it down on her. The hand was so enormous, it felt as if the entire sky were collapsing.
Kanisawa looked up, stunned, at the descending shadow. From a distance, Hisagi dashed forward, trying to reach her, but he could tell he was too late.
"Kanisawa! Get—!"
Before he could finish, a brilliant flash of silver erupted into the sky, slicing the Menos's giant hand clean in two.
Boom!
The severed half of the hand crashed to the ground beside Kanisawa. The Menos let out a pained, guttural howl.
From the shattered ruins of the training ground, a figure slowly rose to his feet.
Kanisawa and Hisagi both froze—then their faces lit up in relief.
"Nobu!"
Nobu exhaled lightly, blade in hand. Though the ground beneath him was torn to pieces—he had been driven into a crater by that blow—his uniform was unruffled, not even torn.
"Nobu! Thank god you're okay!"
Hisagi and Kanisawa flash-stepped to his side.
"Nobu, we can't reach the Barrier Squad—we're completely cut off!" Hisagi quickly explained.
Nobu's face remained calm. "You two focus on evacuating and protecting the others. Leave this to me."
"Alone?" Kanisawa blurted. She wanted to remind him this was a Menos, but the memory of that sword pressure—so tangible it had cleaved through the Menos's hand—stopped her.
"Go."
Nobu's tone was crisp, and he turned to face the creature.
By now, the Gillian's full body had emerged from the Garganta. Seen up close, its sheer size was overwhelming—it dwarfed everything in the coastal town around them.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto Nobu, full of fury at the one who had dared to maim it. With a thunderous roar, it opened its vast mouth, spiritual energy rapidly condensing in its throat.
Nobu didn't rush to attack. He was sensing everything around him.
The spirit network in this zone was a mess, and the Gillian's overwhelming pressure cloaked the entire area.
Fortunately, Nobu confirmed that none of the students had died yet—but elsewhere, another Hollow had appeared with spiritual pressure on par with the one he'd slain earlier.
Can Hisagi handle it?
He frowned, thinking. His grip tightened around his Asauchi, then he slowly sheathed it. When he looked up again, he saw the red glow of the Cero nearly complete.
Just as the blast was about to fire, Nobu leapt into the air. Reiryoku surged beneath his feet, forming footholds. In the blink of an eye, he was at eye level with the giant Hollow.
They sent this thing just for me, didn't they? Quite the gift...
Two sets of eyes met in the dark—his calm gaze and the Menos's burning ones.
Then, suddenly, a smile appeared on Nobu's lips.
Shiiing!
His blade left its sheath, flashing like lightning in the night—and slashed straight at the Menos's face.
The strike cleaved its mask open and split its skull, launching the entire head far into the air.
Nobu landed lightly, not waiting for the beast's body to fall before vanishing with a flash step.
Elsewhere, Hisagi, who had been covering the students' retreat, was in serious trouble. A huge Hollow—though not on the level of a Gillian—was pressing them hard, its spiritual pressure comparable to the one Nobu had defeated earlier.
Hisagi, Kanisawa, and Seika fought together but struggled to hold their ground. Soon, Renji, Kira, and Hinamori joined in.
"Damn it! The gap in power is ridiculous!"
Hisagi was knocked back by a heavy blow, the impact jarring his insides. He grit his teeth in pain.
Seika called out, "We can't take this one down!"
But that wasn't what Hisagi meant. It wasn't just the gap between them and the Hollow—it was the gap between them and Nobu. That kind of Hollow? Nobu had killed it in one blow. All of them together were still losing.
How's Nobu doing...?
He couldn't help glancing back toward where Nobu had been—just in time to see the Gillian crash to the ground.
BOOM!
The massive body collapsed, crushing countless buildings beneath it. The thunderous noise drew everyone's attention.
That's...!
At the same moment, a white blade of energy tore overhead—a sword pressure flash! It struck the massive Hollow they were fighting dead-on, piercing straight through its body.
"[Yasha Senkū]!"
The Hollow was sliced clean in half.
Nobu flash-stepped into view, landing in front of Hisagi. He glanced at Kanisawa first, then at Hinamori, Kira, and Renji.
He patted Hisagi's shoulder, who still stood frozen in disbelief.
"All alive. That's what matters."