Harribel emerged from the shadows, her presence instantly commanding attention. Her golden eyes locked onto Mila Rose, and with a calm yet firm voice, she spoke.
"That's enough."
As his gaze landed on the voice, he felt his heart... Well, he didn't have one of those anymore. His heart had basically become his mask now.
Shark mommy.
She was basically a shark Hollow, yet she was more humanoid. He could see some human skin alongside golden hair.
Just looking at her had his heart beating.
He began remembering his father's words.
"Eat good food, find a good woman... and be proud of who you are."
Alongside the stuff he had added—be strong enough to protect who you love...
Even the shape of her soul was more perfect than his. Granted, his soul was a lot more stable and powerful, yet the way hers was... it seemed like a step above his.
Slowly, he was shaping his soul to look like hers. Shit was taking a while... though it seemed like his soul did not have enough juice for it.
No... more like there was an unknown requirement he hadn't fulfilled yet.
Upon looking at the shark Vasto Lorde, Gabriel made up his mind. He didn't care about anything anymore.
His relentless pursuit of strength did not matter.
Right now, all that mattered was this woman.
"Marry me."
Yup. No hesitation. No asking for dates. Not even dinner first.
Straight to the point.
Apacci audibly choked. Mila Rose blinked in disbelief. Sun-Sun covered her mouth with her tail.
As if trying to hold herself back from laughing at the sheer guts this male Hollow possessed.
Harribel, for her part, remained unreadable. She had expected a lot of things to come out of his mouth—asking for a challenge, him trying to kill her, him trying to run away, even him trying to kill her three followers. Though, if he had tried that last option, she would have brutally beaten him.
Not just beaten—she would have killed him.
Without any hesitation.
However, being as cool and reserved as she was, she had no intention of getting into a relationship.
"I refuse," she said, her voice neutral yet firm. There was no mockery—just a simple rejection.
'Why did I say that?' he thought to himself. It was as if he had no filter, as if his hidden desires were just laid out for the world to see.
As if he was acting on primal instinct.
Gabriel's body began changing inside. He changed his goal.
He would follow the way his father had won his mother over.
He would start by gaining her trust first.
"Alright, then let me join your group."
Harribel tilted her head slightly. "And why should I allow that?"
"Because I want to be with you," he said, completely serious.
Yeah, he was not going to back down now.
Never back down, never give up.
The three Hollows behind her visibly tensed at his response.
Apacci clicked her tongue. "Tch. Like hell we'd let you in, creep."
Oh damn, their view of him did not seem that high.
"Exactly. Just because you have a death wish doesn't mean you can join our group," Mila Rose scoffed. The hate in her voice was barely hidden.
Okay, now it was sounding like they had something against male Hollows... Gabriel remembered his experience with male Hollows... okay, that made sense.
Sun-Sun hummed. "Fufufu, how bold. But trust isn't something easily given."
Harribel remained silent for a moment, observing Gabriel. There was something different about him. Despite his strength, he had yet to attack them. He had no hunger in his eyes—no bloodlust.
As a matter of fact, she could roughly tell that he had the potential to become a Vasto Lorde. The second she laid eyes on him, she felt that primal energy. Even if the boy didn't reach Vasto Lorde, if he were to achieve even 10% of his full potential, he could rival a Vasto Lorde as an Adjucha.
"You will have to earn their trust first," Harribel finally said.
Looking at them... if this was a video game, all of their scores would be close to zero... with the lion somehow being in the negative... negative 120, to be exact.
Holy damn, that was hate.
Under Hollow law, he was stronger than them, and thus, they would be considered lesser than him. Even at 1/4 of his power, he could take all three of them and win.
For Christ's sake, Ifrit would one-shot them.
Yet that pride shit didn't matter now.
Gabriel didn't hesitate. He turned to the three female Hollows, bowed his head slightly, and asked, "Will you allow me to stay?"
The response was immediate and harsh.
"NO!"
Well, damn. That was quick.
Harribel turned away, signaling for her group to move.
He followed them, staying far behind, not to be a bother but always within viewing distance.
For three whole months, that's all he did.
Even though he barely ate, he did not regress. To be more exact, he could not regress.
The way he shaped his soul meant he did not have to fear regression.
As a matter of fact... every single day, working toward his goals... his power grew. By the end of the three months, he was 30 times stronger than when he started following them.
His diet included one Gillian a day and some Hueco Mundo sand. At night, when they slept, he would continue fusing some of that primordial energy into his system.
Slowly, he was shifting from a normal Hollow... to being around 30% something more.
Something dangerous.