Ren made a sharp sound as he vanished in an instant, reappearing several hundred feet behind the massive Gillian. His towering frame, nearly a hundred meters tall and twenty meters long, loomed over the battlefield. Without hesitation, Ren's enormous centipede-like tail coiled around Gilllian's legs, locking them in place.
Gillian's enormous feet, pale as bone, were ensnared within seconds. Sensing the opportunity, Ren channeled a crackling surge of thunder through his tail.
The violent arcs of lightning coursed through Gillian's trapped limbs, sending jolts of searing pain through his body. The Gillian howled in agony, his deafening roar shaking the very trees of the Great Void Forest. But in an instant, his massive head twisted around unnaturally, his gaping maw aimed directly at Ren. The air between them darkened as the Gillian charged up a devastating black and red Cero.
Ren didn't flinch. He tensed his tail, pulling with immense force.
"Roar!"
Gillian bellowed in pain as his legs were wrenched out from under him, causing his immense body to crash to the ground.
"Boom!"
The impact sent shockwaves through the land, toppling ancient trees like mere twigs. The charged Cero, now unstable, detonated prematurely within Gillian's own mouth, sending an explosion of spiritual energy outward.
Seizing the opening, Ren uncoiled his thunder-infused tail, transforming it into a deadly whip. With a swift motion, the crackling energy lashed through the Gillian's massive form, splitting his body cleanly in two.
The battle had ended. The once-menacing Gillian now lay motionless, his severed remains scattered across the forest floor.
Ren took a moment to study the creature. His eyes trailed over the sharp bone spurs protruding from Gillian's neck, confirming his suspicions—these were the very same spurs he had once obtained from a Chameleon Hollow.
Originally, he had planned to forge them into twin blades upon his evolution to a higher form. However, now, with his growing power, the bone spurs were no longer as formidable as before. Instead of wasting them, he activated his Ghoul Soul ability.
Ren raised his tail high, a dark golden spiritual pressure surging from the spikes along its length. A vortex of raw energy formed in the air, engulfing Gillian's severed remains, breaking them down into pure spiritual particles.
As the surge of energy flooded into Ren's body, he stretched out his arms and exhaled in satisfaction.
"Comfortable."
The influx of power was far greater than expected. Devouring a single Gillian had increased his spiritual pressure by at least 60 or 70 percent.
Feeling the immense surge of power within him, Ren flexed his claws. The sensation was intoxicating.
"If a lone mindless Gillian could boost my strength this much, how will I fare against an alien Gillian?"
Though he had yet to ascend to the rank of Gillian himself, it was clear that ordinary, mindless Gillians no longer posed any threat to him. With his current strength, only the Adjuchas-class Hollows—those who had fully embraced their evolution—could give him a challenge.
Even so, Ren knew that as long as he didn't stumble upon a group of Adjuchas or one of the rare and terrifying Vasto Lordes, his life wouldn't be in any real danger.
And as for Vasto Lordes ,there were so few in the entire Void Circle that he doubted he would run into one. His luck wasn't that bad.
Besides, his ability to suppress his spiritual presence was nearly perfected. If he activated it at full strength, even Adjuchas would have difficulty sensing him.
Emboldened by this realization, Ren continued deeper into the Great Void Forest. He moved carefully, keeping his presence concealed as much as possible. He wasn't in a rush—he had plenty of time to grow stronger.
Throughout his journey, he encountered many lesser Hollows. Some he ignored, others he devoured. Each time, he grew stronger, his spiritual energy compounding at an incredible rate.
The Great Void Forest was a treasure trove for someone like Ren.
Unlike other Hollows, who had to waste time physically consuming their prey, he had the Ghoul Soul ability—his method was far more efficient.
For most, devouring a fellow Hollow was a dangerous and time-consuming process. The bodies of their victims would gradually dissolve into reishi, dissipating into the air if not consumed quickly. Worse still, feeding left them vulnerable—any mistake, any distraction, and they could become prey themselves.
But Ren? He could absorb his prey's power instantaneously, ensuring he was never exposed for too long.
In the lawless realm of the Void Circle, that made all the difference.
With a smirk, Ren continued his hunt, his ambitions growing with each step.
One day, he would rise above them all.
"It's great to make a difference without middlemen!"
Ren pursued a giant Hollow resembling an electric eel. This creature emitted a light blue voltage as it slithered through the air. Ren had a strong premonition—if he could devour its spiritual pressure, his mastery over Flashing Thunder would improve significantly. With that goal in mind, he launched a relentless chase.
The electric eel was remarkably fast, even by the standards of giant Hollows. It darted through the air, leaving streaks of crackling energy in its wake. Ren had to use several bursts of sonido before finally closing the gap.
With a flick of his tail, a thunder whip lashed out toward the eel. But the creature reacted instantly, its body surging forward in a flash of blue electricity, covering nearly a hundred meters in an instant. The speed was impressive—faster than Ren's whip attack.
However, Ren wasn't about to let it escape. Another thunder whip cracked through the air, striking the eel squarely in its path. The jolt sent the creature spiraling downward. In the next moment, Ren appeared before it, his centipede-like tail slicing horizontally, cutting the eel cleanly in half. Without hesitation, he activated his soul-devouring ability, absorbing its spiritual pressure completely.
As the Hollow's essence merged with his own, Ren slowly opened his eyes. A dark golden light flickered across his hand, and his thunder whip materialized once more.
"Just as I thought..." Ren murmured, his masked face betraying a hint of ecstasy.
Swallowing the electric eel hadn't significantly increased his overall spiritual pressure, but something far more valuable had happened—his understanding of Flashing Thunder had evolved.
Previously, the thunder whip had functioned more like an external weapon, akin to a tangible whip of raw energy. Now, it felt different. It was no longer just a tool—it had become an extension of his very being. He could feel the energy surging through him as if it were another limb. With a mere thought, the whip could lengthen, shorten, harden, or soften at will. It responded as naturally as his own arms or tail.
As Ren reveled in his newfound mastery, a sudden sensation made him freeze.
A strange spiritual pressure.
It was faint—so weak it could have been mistaken for a flicker of candlelight in the wind.
Ren narrowed his eyes. This was different from Hollow spiritual pressure. If a Hollow's energy was like roaring flames, then what he just sensed was like a shard of ice.
"A... Soul Reaper?" Ren muttered under his breath.
His mind raced. Soul Reapers rarely appeared in the Forest of Void unless they had a purpose. Yet, this spiritual pressure was abnormally weak—almost as if its owner was on the verge of death.
Ren hesitated for only a moment before making his decision. Whatever it was, it posed no immediate threat to him. And if there was something valuable to be gained from this encounter, he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
Tracking the fading spiritual pressure, he arrived at a massive, lush tree. He could still sense the presence of energy, but there was nothing in sight.
"The signal should be coming from here..." he mused.
His sharp gaze swept over the area, searching for any clues. That's when he noticed a narrow hole near the base of the tree.
A tree hollow?
For most beings, this hole would be relatively large, but for Ren—who towered over twenty meters long—his upper body alone reached nearly ten meters in height. There was no way he could fit his massive frame into such a confined space.
Annoyed by the size restriction, Ren awkwardly reached into the hollow, his claws scraping against the rough bark. With some effort, he finally managed to grasp something solid.
As he pulled his arm back, his eyes gleamed with curiosity.
"It turned out to be..."