"Roar!" "Roar!" "Roar!"
Hundreds of Gillians echoed Hubert Allen's mighty roar, their voices merging into a terrifying cacophony that shook the very air. The sheer force of their synchronized cries sent a strange wave through Ren's body, making his spiritual pressure feel slightly unstable.
"Is this a combined technique?"
Ren hadn't expected an Adjuchas to have the ability to coordinate so many Gillians in such a manner. It was a headache-inducing situation, to say the least.
"You carry Ian Gray's presence on you," a cold, hissing voice called out from above. "That idiot. If he's dead, it's his own fault. He actually led you here by exposing my spiritual pressure on purpose. And you, as a hollow, actually wield the Zanpakutō of a Soul Reaper? Interesting."
A figure slithered out from the massive tree nest, emerging onto a thick trunk. It was a half-human, half-serpent being with piercing, calculating eyes fixed on Ren.
"You? You think you can kill me? What a joke! The moment you killed Ian Gray, I sensed the mark I left on him. I've been expecting you."
Ren gazed up at the tree trunk, his keen eyes studying the new opponent. The sheer magnitude of the spiritual pressure radiating from this creature confirmed that he was the leader of the Gillians. The strange spiritual energy Ren had detected earlier within the half-human scorpion had indeed belonged to the Adjuchas before him.
This was the first time Ren had encountered a serious Adjuchas, and he couldn't help but study him curiously.
"Now, I'll give you a choice," Hubert Allen sneered, his forked tongue flicking out for a moment. "Pledge your loyalty to me. Injure yourself and allow me to plant my venom in you, swear allegiance to me, Hubert Allen, and I will let you live. What do you say?"
Hubert Allen clearly saw Ren as another Adjuchas, just like Ian Gray had.
Of course, his request for self-inflicted injury was not out of kindness—he intended to weaken Ren, forcing him to fall from his supposed Adjuchas rank. What he never could have imagined was that Ren was neither Adjuchas nor even a proper Gillian yet—just an exceptionally powerful Gillian.
"Click!"
With a snap of his fingers, Hubert Allen signaled his army. The surrounding Gillians began to scatter, surrounding Ren in an organized formation, their energy gathering ominously.
Seeing this, Ren sighed. "What a hassle."
Then, without hesitation, he gripped his blade tightly in his right hand—and severed his own left arm in one swift motion.
A crimson fountain of blood erupted from the wound.
"To you... I offer my loyalty, Lord Hubert Allen."
Ren let his Zanpakutō drop to the ground, raising his severed arm high towards Hubert Allen, as if presenting an offering.
Hubert Allen stared, momentarily stunned by Ren's actions, before breaking into a triumphant laugh.
"Hahaha! Now that's the kind of decisiveness I like!"
With another snap of his fingers, the Gillians around him halted their attacks, their gathered power dispersing. Hubert Allen himself slithered forward, reaching towards the severed limb Ren held high.
But then—
The bleeding stopped.
In an instant, rapid granulation spread across Ren's wound, and before Hubert Allen's eyes, his left arm regenerated completely.
Lightning crackled as a dark golden thunder whip materialized in his new hand, and without hesitation, Ren lashed it toward Hubert Allen.
"This is... Super-!"
Hubert Allen barely had time to react. He twisted backward, retreating with astonishing speed—but the thunder whip followed him relentlessly, as if it had a mind of its own. Faster than even his reflexes, it struck him directly across the face.
"Roar!"
A pained howl erupted from Hubert Allen's throat. A jagged crack split his mask, and a thin trail of crimson blood dripped from his cheek.
His breath hitched in disbelief. His body—his mask—had been damaged.
"You... you dare to wound me?!"
For an Adjuchas, a damaged mask was a death sentence. The crack meant he had lost his chance to evolve into the supreme rank of Vasto Lorde. From this moment onward, he would have to continuously devour Gillians just to maintain himself at the Adjuchas level.
The cunning warrior before him not only possessed the ultra-speed regeneration that all Adjuchas coveted but had also stolen his future.
"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"
Hubert Allen shrieked, his rage uncontainable. His body convulsed with fury, spiritual pressure exploding outward in an uncontrollable wave.
"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!!!"
With a furious command, he prepared to unleash his full force, summoning his Gillians to form a deadly battle formation to destroy Ren once and for all.
How could Ren give him a chance? The Zanpakutō on the ground trembled slightly before flying back into his hand. Without hesitation, he swung his blade multiple times, sending sharp arcs of energy slashing toward Hubert Allen's face.
The half-human, half-snake Adjuchas hissed and recoiled, retreating swiftly. At the same time, his fingernails elongated into razor-sharp talons, each one carrying a black-and-red spiritual pressure. With a flick of his claws, the ten deadly nails shot out like projectiles, colliding with Ren's sword slashes and filling the air with smoke and debris.
"Damn it! You lowly sneak attacker!"
Hubert Allen seethed with rage, still shaken by Ren's cunning feint and ambush.
"Noisy!"
Ren paid him no mind, lifting his left hand slightly. In mere moments, a crimson-black Cero crackled to life at his fingertips, surging with immense power before launching directly at Hubert Allen's face.
With a furious hiss, Hubert Allen coiled his serpentine tail, gathering his own spiritual energy. A second black-and-red Cero ignited at the tip, roaring forth to meet Ren's attack.
"Boom!"
The two blasts clashed in midair, creating a violent explosion that filled the sky with dust and shattered debris. The sheer force of the collision sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
Hubert Allen's Cero struck first, tearing through the remnants of Ren's attack and piercing his side. A deep wound opened at Ren's waist, crimson blood spraying into the air.
"Agh...!" Ren coughed, gritting his teeth. "Tch. It's still a bit reckless to challenge an Adjuchas two levels above me."
Ren was undoubtedly stronger than Ian Gray, the special Gillian he had fought earlier, but there was still a noticeable gap between him and a true Adjuchas. His earlier success had come from the element of surprise rather than sheer strength.
Even though Ren had managed to damage Hubert Allen's mask, causing irreversible harm to his evolution, the Adjuchas had not yet begun to weaken significantly. His spiritual pressure remained overwhelming. Ren knew he couldn't afford to show weakness.
With a surge of energy, his wound began closing rapidly. His high-speed regeneration activated, sealing the injury within moments. However, such rapid recovery placed an enormous strain on his spiritual pressure.
Ren knew what had to be done—he had to end this fight quickly.
Hubert Allen's eyes narrowed in pure hatred as he watched Ren heal. "Damn it...! If only I had high-speed regeneration, I could repair my body too...!"
Jealousy and rage twisted Hubert Allen's expression. With a furious cry, he commanded his stunned Gillian army to unleash a barrage of Ceros upon Ren, filling the sky with streaks of deadly crimson light.
Ren clenched his Zanpakutō tighter. He had no time to waste. If he allowed them to surround him, he would be finished. His only option was to strike first.
Gathering every last ounce of his spiritual pressure, Ren focused all of his power into his blade, lightning crackling along its length. Sparks danced in the air as the energy condensed, forming a terrifying surge of destructive force.
"Roaring Thunder Slash!"
This was the pinnacle of Ren's abilities, a technique born from both the battle techniques he had absorbed from Itokai's memories and his own mastery over lightning.
With a thunderous roar, he swung his blade down, releasing a devastating wave of dark golden energy infused with crackling lightning. The attack tore through the air like a raging storm, aimed directly at Hubert Allen and his army.
A flash of terror crossed Hubert Allen's face as he realized—this was no ordinary attack. This was Ren's ultimate move!