Gabriel tilted his head. "I mean... yeah?"
He wasn't really wrong; he had just changed her soul to be more complete. He wondered what the big fuss was about.
And yes, he was doing this for a chance at being close to Shark Mommy—he meant Shark Lady.
The shit dussy does to a man. Actually, he didn't even think Hollows had those (yet). Well, having his head between her thighs or between her breasts would always be a good option.
So, um, yes. He was willing to fucking change their bodies down to the cellular level if that meant his current 0% chance of getting to hit was now a 0.5%. Any bump up is appreciated.
Mila Rose clenched her fists, trembling—not in fear, but in something more volatile. Something emotional.
Her entire existence had been a battle against regression. A constant, gnawing fear that if she wasn't strong enough, she'd be devoured by the very souls inside her, reduced to a mindless Gillian. Every fight, every meal, every moment of her life had been dictated by that one inevitability.
And to have that fear just removed from her body altogether, as if it had never existed to begin with?
All of it?
And now, it was gone.
Her throat tightened.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to fight. She wanted to hit something. She wanted—
She didn't even realize she had grabbed Gabriel by the collar until she was already yanking him toward her.
"...What the hell did you just do to me?" she asked, her voice raw.
Gabriel blinked. He was expecting a thank you, maybe some acknowledgment, but to be held like this by a lion—how the fuck did she even manage that? She had paws, and Gabriel's Hollow form didn't even have a collar to grab onto.
The heck was this? "Hum, I freed you from the cycle."
Mila Rose's grip tightened. Her eyes burned into his.
Holy fuck, how could a Hollow's gaze be so fierce? He just wanted some buns; no need to do this to him.
Harribel stepped closer. "Is it true?"
Yay, she spoke to him! Happiness flooded his system. He was so happy, so eager.
Mila Rose hesitated. She had to be sure. She reached inward, searching for that ever-present hunger, that dread that whispered at the edges of her mind.
It was gone.
No hunger. No fear.
For the first time in her existence... she was free.
Her grip on Gabriel loosened.
"...Shit."
That was all she could say.
Wait. Why did she sound like she was annoyed that she would have to apologize to him? Was it really that bad?
Come on, maybe he had touched her fur for a bit too long.
Come on, her mane was fluffy, okay? It wasn't his fault he wanted to touch it.
Also, why did she act like he was touching her breasts or something? She didn't even have those.
The only person here with a pair of tits was Shark Lady.
Apacci crossed her arms. "Even if it's true, why the hell would you do this? What do you get out of it?"
Gabriel smirked. "Well, I get to be near Miss Shark Lady over there, so that's a win in my book."
Mila Rose growled, pushing him back. "So you did this just to get closer to Harribel? How typical."
Why did Gabriel feel like she just found an excuse to still hate him? As if she needed a reason to justify it?
Why did he feel like she just hated all male Hollows?
Sun-Sun chuckled behind her sleeve. "Fufu~ This is certainly interesting. A Hollow who alters the very foundation of our existence, and all for love at first sight? How romantic~"
Mila Rose clicked her tongue, crossing her arms.
Okay, so Snake Lady is a tease, Lion Lady has a temper, and Deer Lady is a tomboy.
Harribel remained unreadable. Her eyes lingered on Gabriel, thoughts swirling behind them.
Finally, she spoke.
"...If what you say is true, then you may stay."
Mila Rose snapped her head toward her. "Wait, what?! Just like that?"
Apacci looked just as stunned. "Boss, you're really letting this creep in?"
Sun-Sun smirked. "My, my~ It seems our leader has made her decision."
Gabriel, ever the smooth bastard, simply grinned.
"Nice."
He won. A smile appeared on his face as he got one step closer to realizing his goals. His soul began to shift. His power began to grow.
His soul began to shift, though no one around him seemed to notice what was happening to this boy.
Hollows were driven by instinct, by the urge to survive—to devour in order to avoid being devoured.
Souls of humans who were overcome by despair became Hollows. With grief in their hearts, they turned into something they would have been disgusted by in their human life.
A creature whose sole goal was to devour and eat until it was full.
The thing was, it would never be full.
A Hollow's heart was their mask. Gabriel's regret was the fact that he could not let his father see him grow into a strong man, or have kids.
The words he heard from his dad before he turned into a Hollow were engraved into his very soul.
Eat good food, and find a wife.
He added the extra part—get strong enough to protect them. Ever since he became a Hollow, he had lived by those ideals and never really strayed from them.
His rapid growth was proof of that. Chances were, if he continued living by those ideals, he would continuously evolve.
"Why do I seem untrusting to you all?" he asked calmly, tilting his head to the side.
"Your hollow hole... it's outside your body, and your entire presence feels like death and hell."
He glanced back at his hollow hole. Well, of course it was outside; he had never taken it seriously. It wasn't that bad, was it?
The maws of hell seemed ready to break loose... but he was sure that meant nothing.
A/N Looking at the drafts, quite some arcs, so a small mini arc of him gaining their trust, and when I say mini, I mean Kaede special level mini arc, Baragan becomes aware of his existence...stuff happen, natural born arrancar, more stuff happen, kindgon, more stuff happen, sin system, more stuff happen....he may or may not have added Starrk to his army, more stuff happen.
A lot of stuff happens in the middle, the sin system is completed....
Project Nephilim.....This one should be very obvious, but if you don't get it, I am not explaining it.
Kingdom building...more stuff happens.
The reason for the war happened around there.
1948 – (44 years after Gabriel's{human} death and 1 year after he became king)
Gabriel's age: 63
Time elapsed since the last time skip: 28 years.
Kingdom age: 43
Current timeline: It has only been like 6 months since his death, so do the math. And you get the year he died.
He was 19 when he died.