Time skip
It had been a few hours, and well... he was bored. He had spent the last four or so hours hunting Hollows.
Now, he sat atop the jagged remains of countless Gillians' corpses, his claws still dripping with the blood from the massacre that had taken place earlier.
Strangely enough, even though the Gillians were dead, none of them had started decomposing. The reason was simple—Gabriel was keeping them alive.
He crafted a cube from one of the Gillians and examined it in his hands. He could feel the writhing, the desperate souls inside struggling against their inevitable fate.
His Pesquisa had sharpened considerably.
He could now sense everything within a two-mile radius.
These abilities had been dormant when he had first awakened as an Adjucha, but after hunting Gillians for a while... well, they had begun to awaken.
That made his hunt much easier.
He could also harden his skin, making it far tougher than steel. At this point, he was basically the perfect hunting machine.
But he had finished mastering his abilities on Gillians. They were too weak for him now. His sights were set on much, much more powerful threats...
Spreading out Pesquisa, he detected a group of wandering Gillians nearby. He ignored them.
None of his business.
Then, his focus locked onto something else—a group of Adjuchas.
They seemed to have just finished feasting on some prey.
Five presences.
A pack of Adjuchas.
They moved together, shifting carefully through the Menos Forest, their Reiryoku fluctuating in sync.
A pack.
That was fine.
It just meant there would be more to eat.
Gabriel lifted his hand, and for the first time, he did something new.
He fused souls.
Now, since Hollows' whole schtick was consuming souls, this should have just resulted in a buff Gillian.
However, he wanted to make something better for this occasion.
Not just two souls—but dozens.
He twisted them together, molding them like clay, forcing them into a single entity with unnatural stability. Instead of violently rejecting each other, they melded, compacting into something far stronger than an ordinary Hollow.
A Polymorphic Soul Isomer.
A grotesque fusion of souls, moving with one singular purpose—to attack.
Gabriel admired his creation.
It didn't speak. It didn't think. It only obeyed.
Good. His little project worked. Now, it was time to test its worth.
And it was strong.
Very strong.
He created six of them.
Then, without hesitation, he sent them at the Adjuchas.
Meanwhile, he himself fused back with the sand.
Pov change.
A tiger-like Hollow crouched over the mangled corpse of another Hollow, its powerful jaws tearing flesh apart with slow, deliberate bites. Surrounding the predatory beast were four other Adjucha-class Hollows—a hawk-like Hollow perched on a jagged rock, sharp eyes gleaming with malice; a crab Hollow with massive, armored pincers clicking menacingly; a grotesque pig-like Hollow with a bloated, rotund body; and an armadillo Hollow, its body encased in a nearly impenetrable shell.
The five of them devoured their fresh kill in eerie silence, savoring the primal satisfaction of feeding.
Then, the stillness was broken.
Six figures emerged from the shadows, stepping into view with undeniable intent.
The hawk Hollow let out a screeching laugh, its hooked beak curling into what could only be described as a sneer. "Aren't we blessed? Some snacks are coming our way."
The tiger-like Hollow barely spared them a glance, his golden eyes flickering with disinterest. "Handle them," he muttered, licking blood off his claws. "They're light work."
With a unified roar, the four Adjucha launched themselves forward, each moving with deadly precision.
The hawk Hollow shot into the air, wings flapping with enough force to kick up a cloud of dust. In an instant, it dove, talons glowing with raw energy as it aimed to skewer the nearest enemy. But before it could land a strike, one of Gabriel's creations—a monstrous, four-armed humanoid with segmented, chitinous armor—twisted unnaturally, avoiding the attack with an almost liquid-like movement. It countered with a jagged blade protruding from its wrist, slashing at the hawk Hollow mid-air.
The bird-like creature barely managed to swerve to the side, but the blade still caught its wingtip, sending it spiraling downward.
Meanwhile, the crab Hollow barreled toward one of Gabriel's other creations, swinging its enormous pincers in an attempt to crush the opponent in a single blow. Gabriel's creation, a sinewy, elongated beast with multiple eyes and a whip-like tail, ducked under the attack. With unnatural flexibility, it lashed out its tail, wrapping it around the crab Hollow's pincer and twisting. The sound of cracking exoskeleton echoed as the crab let out a piercing shriek.
The armadillo Hollow rolled itself into a spinning ball of destruction, tearing through two of Gabriel's creatures like a runaway boulder. Chunks of flesh flew as it crashed through them, only to unravel from its protective shell in a fluid motion, its plated tail slamming down like a war hammer, shattering the ground beneath them.
The pig Hollow, standing further back, observed the battlefield with a cruel smirk.
"CERO!"
A massive, crimson blast surged from its snout, engulfing the battlefield in a violent explosion. Sand and debris erupted into the air, momentarily obscuring everything from sight.
The pig Hollow chuckled. "That should take care of those pests."
But then... silence.
Something felt off.
As the dust cleared, the pig Hollow realized something terrifying—his comrades were gone.
Where once stood the hawk, the crab, and the armadillo, there was only empty space. No bodies. No remains. Just an eerie stillness that made his blood run cold.
Then, before he could react, something grabbed him from below.
A hand—a grotesque, clawed appendage—burst from the sand, gripping his ankle like a vice.
"Wh—?!"
Before he could even process what was happening, he was yanked underground.
For a brief moment, muffled screams could be heard.
Then—
BOOM!
A geyser of blood erupted from the sand, followed by the pig Hollow's severed head exploding like a detonation, bits of flesh and bone scattering in every direction.
Gabriel, standing on the edge of the battlefield, smirked. "Fourth down."
His creations were getting better.
But the real fun was yet to begin.
Upon noticing him, it growled annoyed.
"Tcth, to think they were so weak"
No pity at all, he was just disgusted by their weakness, how could they have lost easily to that one hollow, weakling?
Upon finishing his meal...The hollow looked at Gabriel with an annoyed look.
"Since you kill them, I guess it's only fair if I eat you" As those words left its mouth, the creature Reiatsu came pouring out from its body.
Holy shit, it felt potent, it felt strong, yet Gabriel's own Reiatsu was around the same level if not a bit above.
So he met the challenge head-on and unleashed his full Reiatsu while looking at the beast, he wouldn't back down from a fight.
He was going to become the strongest after, and no strongest would bow down to someone weaker than them.
Bearing his fang, he was getting ready to utterly beat that guy.