"Crunch… crunch…"
In the boundless silence of Hueco Mundo, the grating sound of chewing echoed endlessly across the pale dunes.
Not long after, the two-meter-long Lizard Hollow had been completely devoured by Raizen Kō.
Yet, astonishingly, he felt no sense of fullness at all.
On the contrary—it was as though he could swallow another hundred such Hollows and still feel unsatisfied.
As the final fragments dissolved within him, Raizen Kō clearly sensed the change.
His spiritual pressure rose.
Not dramatically… but unmistakably.
Roughly one-twentieth stronger than before.
At the same time, his massive centipede body expanded ever so slightly, the bone plates along his segments thickening, their edges becoming sharper and more refined.
During the feast, Raizen Kō discovered something crucial.
Less than forty percent of the spiritual power he gained came from the Hollow's flesh itself.
More than sixty percent… came from the shattered fragments of its mask.
"…So the core of a Hollow's power truly lies within the mask…"
He slowly chewed another fragment, feeling its dense reishi dissolve into his own spiritual pressure.
"The texture is strange… like a compressed biscuit made of bone."
A satisfied expression spread across his pale, monstrous face.
In Hueco Mundo…
Masks were the true vessels of evolution.
…
The days that followed passed in relentless wandering.
Raizen Kō roamed the endless desert, advancing steadily deeper into Hueco Mundo's vast interior, constantly searching for prey.
Half a month passed.
Gradually, the number of Hollows increased.
Yet almost all of them resembled the Lizard Hollow—mindless beasts driven purely by hunger and instinct, incapable of speech or reason.
A creature like Raizen Kō, who retained human consciousness…
Was a rare anomaly.
On this particular day, Raizen Kō concealed his entire body beneath the sand, leaving only the upper half of his masked head exposed as he moved silently forward, using the dunes as natural cover.
Suddenly—
"GRAAAAAH—!"
A piercing roar tore through the stillness.
A beam of black-red light erupted from the distance.
The air itself ignited.
Carrying terrifying heat and compressed spiritual pressure, the beam skimmed past Raizen Kō's hidden position and slammed directly into a gigantic earthworm Hollow more than forty meters long.
BOOOOM!
The creature screamed in agony as its massive body was cleaved cleanly in two.
The shockwave blasted the sand skyward in a towering cloud, the heat washing over Raizen Kō's concealed form and making his entire body tremble.
"…This… is Cero…"
Even though he had witnessed this signature technique countless times in animation during his previous life…
Seeing it in reality was on an entirely different level.
That destructive power was not merely an attack.
It was annihilation.
Following the trajectory of the beam, Raizen Kō slowly lifted his gaze.
What he saw caused his breath to freeze.
In the distance stood a towering giant—nearly one hundred meters tall.
Its body was pitch black, towering like a walking mountain of shadow.
Around its neck grew a thick ring of pale bone spikes, and from that ring extended a long white horn fused directly into the pure white mask covering its face.
Its spiritual pressure poured outward like an ocean.
The surrounding dunes trembled beneath its mere presence.
"…A Menos…"
"No…"
"This is a Gillian."
Raizen Kō's pupils shrank.
But a moment later, cold realization followed.
"No… this isn't an ordinary Gillian…"
During his exploration, he had already seen Gillians from afar—three days earlier, he had witnessed a group of them slowly marching toward the distant region known as the Great Hollow Forest.
Those Gillians were uniform in form.
This one…
Was completely different.
It was larger.
Denser.
And its mask structure was fundamentally unlike any standard Gillian.
"…An anomalous Gillian…"
Raizen Kō instantly understood.
In Bleach lore, Gillians were born from the fusion of countless starving Hollows devouring one another.
During that chaotic evolution, most individual consciousness was erased.
The resulting Gillians became nearly mindless giants, driven only by instinct.
However…
A tiny minority retained their original ego.
Such Gillians possessed intelligence.
They knew how to hunt.
They knew how to grow.
And more importantly…
They possessed the potential to evolve further—into Adjuchas.
Or even…
Vasto Lorde.
Raizen Kō felt his heart pound violently.
At his current stage, he was nothing more than prey.
Even the earthworm Hollow before him was only an appetizer to such a being.
Just then—
The upper half of the severed earthworm Hollow suddenly convulsed.
With desperate instinct, it plunged into the sand and fled frantically—directly toward Raizen Kō's hiding place.
"…No… don't come here…"
Raizen Kō's entire body stiffened.
If this creature led the anomalous Gillian to him…
There would be no escape.
From the distance, the Gillian watched calmly.
A trace of mockery flickered beneath its massive mask.
Then—
WHOOSH.
The desert distorted.
In the blink of an eye, the towering giant vanished from its original position.
And reappeared instantly in front of the fleeing earthworm Hollow.
Raizen Kō's mind exploded.
"Sonído…?!"
Impossible.
Sonído was a high-speed movement technique mastered only by Adjuchas-class Menos or Arrancar.
Yet this Gillian…
Had already learned it.
The giant's enormous hand closed around the writhing earthworm Hollow.
The prey shrieked in terror.
The Gillian opened its gaping maw—
And swallowed it whole.
Chewing slowly.
Casually.
As if savoring a snack.
In just a few bites, the massive creature was completely devoured.
Without another glance, the Gillian turned and began to walk away.
Raizen Kō remained motionless beneath the sand.
Only after several breaths did he realize…
He was still alive.
"…That was… close…"
Just as relief washed through him—
The departing Gillian suddenly stopped.
It turned its head.
And looked directly toward Raizen Kō's hiding place.
Through the vast distance…
Their gazes met.
Beneath the pale mask, a clear expression surfaced.
Contempt.
Disdain.
Then, without a word…
The giant turned away and vanished into the depths of the desert.
"He…"
"He noticed me…"
"But… he thinks I'm not even worth eating…"
Humiliation burned in Raizen Kō's chest.
Yet intertwined with it…
Was gratitude.
At least…
He had survived.
"…Fine…"
"…Enjoy your pride while you can."
"One day, when I reach Adjuchas… or even Vasto Lorde…"
"I'll make you remember today."
Only after waiting several hours, fully confirming the Gillian's departure, did Raizen Kō finally crawl out from beneath the sand.
His gaze immediately fell upon the remaining lower half of the earthworm Hollow.
The upper body—along with the mask and most of its spiritual core—had already been consumed.
But the remainder…
To a Menos…
Was worthless scraps.
To him…
It was treasure.
"Thank you for the donation… Gillian-san."
A grin slowly spread across his masked face.
And without hesitation…
Raizen Kō began to devour his reward.