Boom! The slash of the sword erupted like a spring thunder, a devastating force that echoed across the battlefield. This was precisely why Ren had named the move Thunder Slash. As he swung his sword, the spiritual pressure within him drained rapidly, nearly 70% of his reserves consumed in an instant. A massive dark golden thunder, charged with an unparalleled sword aura, hurtled forward, cutting through the air like a divine judgment aimed directly at Hubert Allen.
"What a swift strike!" Hubert Allen gasped as he felt the overwhelming power of Ren's attack. Without hesitation, he activated his natal ability, opening his mouth to release a dense mass of black fog toxins. The dark vapors twisted and condensed, forming a colossal poisonous fog serpent. The monstrous entity slithered through the air, lunging toward Ren's thunderous slash with a menacing hiss.
At the same moment, the Gillians under Hubert Allen's command gathered their strength, preparing a coordinated assault. Hundreds of black-purple beams of energy formed in the air, all aimed directly at Ren before being unleashed in a relentless volley.
Bang! The Thunder Slash, resembling a roaring dragon, clashed violently against the toxic serpent, creating an earth-shattering explosion. The sheer force of the impact split the venomous beast in two, cutting a devastating path straight through to Hubert Allen, who had been using it as a shield. His eyes widened in horror as the sword's energy surged toward him. But before he could react further, the hundreds of dark beams rained down upon Ren at the same time.
A storm of dust and debris erupted, obscuring the battlefield in a chaotic whirlwind.
"This... this is impossible! I refuse to accept this!!!" Hubert Allen's terrified scream was the last sound he made before his body was ripped apart, disintegrating into nothingness.
Poof! As the smoke and dust gradually settled, Ren emerged from the massive crater left in the aftermath of the battle. He staggered slightly, then spat out a mouthful of bloodied foam. His entire right shoulder was missing—blown away by the sheer force of the enemy's attack.
"I barely escaped that... If I hadn't moved quickly, I would've been obliterated," Ren muttered, glancing at the devastation around him with lingering dread.
The moment he had released the strongest slash in his arsenal, he had realized the incoming danger. With no time to spare, he had used the energy blasts from the Gillians' attack against themselves—creating a hole in the ground and diving into it to avoid the brunt of the assault. Even so, he had not emerged unscathed. His shoulder was gone, his body battered, but at least his head and internal organs had been protected.
Despite the grievous injury, the granulum within his wounds began to writhe and regenerate. Flesh and bone knit back together at an unnatural speed, and within moments, Ren, who had been on the brink of death, stood whole once again. However, though his body had recovered, his spiritual pressure had dwindled to a mere flicker of what it once was.
But there was no time to rest. He forced himself to move, staggering toward Hubert Allen's corpse. With a deep breath, he activated his soul-devouring ability, absorbing the remnants of the defeated foe's spirit. Even before he had the chance to fully digest the power, he tightened his grip on his blade and turned toward the remaining Gillians.
Without their leader, the creatures moved sluggishly, their actions dulled by the absence of direct command. Though they were formidable in numbers, they lacked intelligence, controlled only by snake venom. Their slow reactions made them easy prey.
Despite his weakened state, Ren charged forward, cutting them down one by one. He consumed their souls as he went, replenishing his energy with every kill. Yet, even before he could fully process the absorbed power, an overwhelming sense of fullness set in, forcing him to suppress the effects and continue the massacre.
Only when the last of the Gillian Security Department forces lay defeated did Ren ascend to the peak that had once belonged to Hubert Allen. Finally, he allowed himself to stop holding back. The power he had swallowed surged within him, pushing him toward the inevitable transformation.
Ren curled up as dark golden spiritual pressure erupted from his body in tidal waves, filling the sky with its immense presence. A towering column of golden-black energy shot into the heavens, stretching beyond sight. The sheer force of his ascension sent shockwaves rippling through the surrounding land, and for hundreds of miles, creatures trembled at the overwhelming aura.
In the northern reaches, nearly a hundred miles away, a solitary centaur-shaped Adjuchas froze in place. His expression shifted from curiosity to sheer terror as he turned toward the source of the energy.
"This... Is this the ascension to Vasto lorde?!" he murmured in disbelief.
Meanwhile, within the heart of the golden pillar, Ren let out a deep, euphoric sigh. "So this is what it feels like... the leap of life itself!"
He felt as though he was being cradled by warmth, enveloped in an indescribable sensation—something akin to a gentle spring breeze caressing his soul. The feeling was intoxicating, beyond words.
Then, as abruptly as it had appeared, the pillar of light dissipated, revealing Ren's transformed figure. He stood tall, his body now a hundred meters in height. Unlike the majority of Gillians who had evolved before him—those who became grotesque, formless masses—Ren had retained a distinctly humanoid shape, appearing more like a transcendent being than a beast.
A new era had begun, and Ren stood at its precipice, ready to carve his name into history.
His whole body was as dark as ink, with dark golden lightning patterns covering him from head to toe. The original centipede-like tail had transformed into an armor-like structure, merging seamlessly with the helmet-like mask that now extended down his back, reinforcing his newly evolved form.
The imaginary holes that had once been scattered across his waist, abdomen, and tail had now converged into a single void at the center of his chest, signifying his enhanced evolution.
Feeling the overwhelming surge of spiritual pressure coursing through his body, Ren could not help but marvel at his newfound strength. The Adjuchas that had once given him a grueling battle would likely not even survive a single casual strike from his blade now.
Ren, now towering over 100 meters tall, glanced down at his skeletal-like feet and jumped in excitement. The impact of his landing sent tremors rippling through the earth, causing the very ground beneath him to quake violently.
Surveying his transformed physique, Ren noted that his feet bore the closest resemblance to those of a Gillian. However, rather than feeling discontent, he was quite pleased. Previously, he had been forced to rely on his tail for movement, but now, with fully formed legs, he had regained the ability to walk freely.
"You've gotten bigger too, huh?"
Ren turned his gaze toward his Zanpakuto, the massive blade in his hand, which had grown to an impressive forty meters in length. He smirked knowingly. The weapon had scaled up proportionally with his own transformation, adapting to his newfound stature.
"Heh... but..."
With a strange chuckle, Ren activated his newly awakened ability. In an instant, his massive form began to shrink at an alarming rate, rapidly compressing until he stood at a mere two meters in height—nearly indistinguishable from a normal human. His enormous blade followed suit, condensing into a more manageable size akin to an ordinary sword.
This was Ren's newly acquired ability after his promotion to a great Gillian -Ruyi.
Ruyi had a singular function: the ability to alter his size within a proportional range. Using this power, Ren had compressed himself to his smallest possible form, assuming the appearance of a human-like figure. Given his refined, humanoid stature and the immense spiritual pressure radiating from him, anyone who laid eyes on him would undoubtedly mistake him for a Vasto Lorde.
Ren decided that this smaller form would be his default appearance moving forward. His full-sized Gillian body was far too cumbersome. Even if he suppressed his spiritual pressure, his mountainous form would still be impossible to conceal.
To test his strength, Ren casually swung his sword. A brilliant arc of energy shot forward, slicing effortlessly through the dense forest. More than ten towering trees collapsed in rapid succession, felled as easily as blades of grass before a scythe.
"Not bad! This is at least ten times stronger than before my promotion!"
Ren's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"I wonder... could I defeat Itokai in this state?"
The thrill of battle surged through him. Though he had only just ascended to the rank of subordinate Great Gillian, he was no ordinary Gillian. He defied the conventional limits of his kind. After all, no Gillian in recorded history had ever slain Adjuchas as if they were mere prey.
Itokai, the third seat of the 11th Division, was known to be one of the strongest among the vice-captains. He would serve as the perfect benchmark to gauge Ren's current capabilities.
Without hesitation, Ren followed his usual method—channeling his spiritual pressure into his Zanpakutō while simultaneously reaching out with his consciousness to the inner world hidden within the blade.
A familiar wave of dizziness swept over him as the surroundings began to distort and blur. The towering trees of the Great Void Forest melted away, replaced by the low, earthen houses of a different realm.
It was Rukongai—the Soul Society's outer district, formed from the memories of Itokai.
"It's possible!" Ren muttered, determination flaring in his eyes. The real test of his newfound power was about to begin