Saitō Furafushi swung her blade with a cool, effortless motion, flicking off the blood before sheathing it. The splattered blood painted the pale desert sand in deep crimson streaks.
The limbs of the Vasto Lorde still twitched and squirmed.
For a Menos of this level, no matter how weak, their basic vitality was nothing short of formidable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lived long enough to reach this stage.
Fujimiya Makoto watched the scene unfold before him, a faint sigh escaping his lips.
Even though Saitō usually seemed like an utterly unreliable airhead, when it came to actual combat, her strength was undeniably top-tier.
After all, she was someone who had survived their teacher's blade.
Too bad she couldn't handle praise.
The moment she sheathed her sword, the wicked, cool smirk on the twin-tailed girl's face instantly morphed into the expression of an overexcited husky.
She practically bounced on the spot, turning toward Fujimiya and crowing arrogantly:
"Hey! See that?!"
"This is what Saitō-sama's power looks like!"
"Get it now?!"
"Chop chop, three hits and this idiot was done! Super easy!"
Saitō Furafushi planted her hands on her hips and thrust her chest forward with pride.
Hah! This old lady's one hell of a Shinigami!
"Yeah, yeah."
"Saitō-sama is amazing."
Fujimiya played along, his tone appropriately sycophantic.
Then, in the blink of an eye, his expression flipped.
"Why are you just standing there? Move aside."
"You didn't shatter that Vasto Lorde's mask, did you?"
"I just thought of a way to use it!"
"Hah?!"
This wasn't the first time someone had dared to speak to Saitō so arrogantly, but it still pissed her off.
Just as she was about to unleash a verbal assault, though, she froze.
The girl looked up to see Fujimiya dragging the bound form of the mermaid-like Arrancar—Halibel—by the Bakudō restraints, leaving a long trail in the pale sand.
Saitō Furafushi blinked in confusion. "What else could you possibly do with a Hollow besides killing it?"
"Oh, there are plenty of uses."
Fujimiya's smile was anything but kind.
A faint sense of foreboding prickled at Saitō's back, and she couldn't help but shoot Halibel a look of pity.
Halibel, of course, understood their conversation. After being captured by Shinigami, she had already braced herself for the worst.
So, this was where her life would end?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Fujimiya kicked the massive bone armor covering her chest and casually ordered:
"Hey."
"Eat that thing."
"Eh?!" x2
Both Saitō and Halibel stared at him in shock, as if he'd lost his mind.
"What are you looking at me for? Eat it!"
Fujimiya kicked her chest again. "You don't want to live in fear of degenerating back into a Gillian forever, do you? Devouring a Vasto Lorde should give you a decent boost."
"Wh-what are you planning?"
Though still bound by the Bakudō, Halibel's entire body tensed with wariness as she glared at the Shinigami before her.
What could a Shinigami possibly want with a Hollow?
In this land, nothing good ever came without a price.
Halibel had always believed that.
But...
Her gaze drifted toward the Vasto Lorde's corpse.
Just as Fujimiya had said, the remains of a higher-tier Hollow—rare even in Hueco Mundo—were an irresistible temptation.
She couldn't refuse!
But not just Halibel was skeptical. Even Saitō couldn't help but shout:
"Wait, wait, wait!"
"Makoto, I call you an idiot, but that doesn't mean you should actually act like one!"
"If you let her eat that thing, won't we just end up with a new Vasto Lorde soon?!"
Even an airhead like Saitō could see the obvious problem.
But Fujimiya just sighed. "If anyone should be confused, it's me, Saitō."
"Hah?"
Saitō-sama didn't get it.
So Fujimiya broke it down. "Saitō, don't you think it's stupid for us to come all the way from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo, hunting down Menos one by one?"
"These are Hollows we're talking about."
"A species born to devour and slaughter each other."
"If we want to weaken Hueco Mundo, why not let them fight amongst themselves?"
"..."
Saitō paused.
Huh. That… actually made sense?
And Makoto was the smartest one among them.
This intellectual "authority" made Saitō seriously consider it.
Hollows evolved by eating other Hollows.
Even if they didn't have time to consume their prey, they'd still kill anything that got too close.
So… they didn't need to do the work themselves?
"Wait a second!"
"What does that have to do with feeding her that corpse?!"
Saitō-sama was still confused!
Fujimiya turned his gaze toward Halibel, his eyes brimming with an almost "kind" light.
It sent shivers down her spine.
"That's why I said you're dumb."
Fujimiya sighed. "They fear neither death nor exhaustion—only dying before they can evolve."
"Such excellent soldiers, yet no one's ever thought to use them…"
"What a waste."
"Especially when 'he' made such good use of them in the future."
The last sentence trailed off into a murmur as Fujimiya's gaze grew even more intense.
"Hey."
He suddenly spoke.
The young Halibel flinched involuntarily.
Fujimiya crouched down, smiling as he patted the bone mask covering her face, ignoring her wary glare:
"How about a deal?"
"Wh-what kind of deal?"
Halibel's voice was still guarded.
But hearing that she might have something to bargain with eased her tension slightly.
If… if there was still a way to survive…
Who would choose to die now?
Especially for Hollows like her, who had fought tooth and nail just to stay alive.
The sunk cost was far too heavy.
And besides…
Halibel's masked gaze flicked toward the slowly dissipating Vasto Lorde corpse.
She was hungry.
Fujimiya's smile deepened, but he pretended not to notice her desperation, continuing calmly:
"For example, you help us lure other Menos."
"We kill ten, you get one."
"Once you evolve into a Vasto Lorde and escape the Adjuchas' degradation trap, you'll keep working for us."
"In return, we'll place a few… safeguards to ensure your loyalty."
"How about it?"
Halibel's pupils shrank behind her mask.
What kind of deal was this?!
Adjuchas shall never be enslaved—unless room and board are included!
But this was even better—not just room and board, but evolution and protection!
This was basically free real estate!
[Pfft!]
[You just want her body after she becomes a Vasto Lorde!]
[Look at that a$$, those t!ts!]
[She's gonna be a total babe once she evolves!]
[Fujimiya, you've done well!]
The high-pitched voice of the zanpakutō spirit rang out from afar.
The cheeky remark reached both Saitō and Halibel's ears simultaneously.
Both froze.
"Deal!"
"No way!"
Halibel and Saitō's voices overlapped.
Fujimiya turned to Saitō, puzzled:
"Huh?"
Saitō met his gaze and faltered.
The twin-tailed girl suddenly realized that, logically, this scheme didn't seem bad for her.
Her slow-working brain struggled to find a counterargument.
As for why she wanted to oppose it…?
Even Saitō didn't know.
She just felt like arguing!
It wasn't about the a$$ or the t!ts—she couldn't care less about that.
But… right!
Saitō's single eye lit up as she puffed up indignantly:
"Hey! Makoto!"
"Are you even a Shinigami anymore?!"
"We're natural enemies with Hollows! Get it?!"
"How can you just let her go because she's useful?!"
But the moment the words left her mouth, Fujimiya gave her the most disappointed look.
The boy stared at her deadpan before delivering a crushing blow:
"Saitō!"
"You're Saitō!"
"Don't spout crap that sounds like something Old Man Yama would say!"
"That's not your character!"
Saitō-sama, defeated.
Meanwhile, Halibel's eyes gleamed with newfound hope.
This guy seemed to have real authority.
And besides…
Her gaze drifted to the faint scars on his body—wounds from his earlier high-speed clash with the Vasto Lorde.
A Shinigami who could brawl with a Vasto Lorde bare-handed…
Halibel had encountered other Shinigami before and knew their primary weapon was the zanpakutō.
If he could fight like this, it meant he was undoubtedly a top-tier fighter even among Shinigami, right?
In that case, she had to seize this opportunity!
Dignity and resolve meant nothing in the face of survival and evolution.
That was the law of Hueco Mundo.
The strong decided everything.
"I… can become your subordinate," Halibel said, eyeing the half-dissipated corpse with barely restrained hunger. "As long as you keep your word."
"Oh?"
Fujimiya kept his hand firmly on her head, smiling gently. "Then let's start with exchanging names, as a sign of trust."
"My name is Fujimiya Makoto."
"And yours?"
The mermaid-like Hollow hesitated before answering in a low, raspy voice:
"Tier Harribel."
Fujimiya's eyes lit up.
Seemed like he'd caught a big fish.
He patted her head approvingly, like training a dog:
"Then it seems you'll be an excellent subordinate."
"Go ahead."
With that, Fujimiya released the Bakudō binding her.
Halibel shot forward like a bullet, lunging for the corpse already being nibbled at by swarms of tiny, scavenger Hollows.
She violently swatted away the lesser spirits and grabbed the remains.
The Vasto Lorde's body began to dissolve like light, breaking apart into streams of dense reiryoku that flowed into her mouth, emitting faint spiritual pulses.
If one looked closely, they could see faint glows seeping through the cracks in Halibel's bone armor—a sign of her rapidly increasing spiritual pressure.
In moments, the once-massive corpse had crumbled into ashes, vanishing like embers.
But there was no sign of evolution.
Halibel turned back to Fujimiya and Saitō.
This time, her gaze held noticeably less wariness—even when looking at Saitō.
"So… what now?"
Her voice was still rough, layered with the Hollow's signature echo, though a faint feminine undertone could be heard if one listened closely.
In this state, even the zanpakutō spirit's usual thirst stayed silent.
"Just follow us for now."
Fujimiya's smile was disarmingly gentle—far kinder than when he spoke to Saitō.
"Hey! I never agreed to this!"
Saitō grumbled, trying to get a word in.
But Fujimiya ignored her effortlessly.
"Also, a Vasto Lorde wouldn't just randomly try to capture you, right?" Fujimiya asked casually. "Did you have history with them?"
"If we killed this one, would others come after you too?"
"I… don't know." As an Adjuchas, Halibel had enough rationality to hold a conversation and suppress her instinctual hunger for spiritual energy.
Still, eager to prove her worth, she quickly added:
"I haven't been an Adjuchas for long. I haven't made enemies with other groups."
"As for that Vasto Lorde… it said it served Las Noches—the domain of Baraggan, the strongest Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo."
"Rumor has it, only the strongest Adjuchas can join them… and they have multiple Vasto Lorde."
"If there's anything special about me…"
Halibel paused, then looked down at her body.
"Adjuchas like me, who retain a mostly feminine form, are rare."
"Most end up looking… grotesque."
"They… might have been interested in my body."
Fujimiya's expression turned odd.
He lowered his voice. "So… Hollows have those kinds of urges too?"
"No."
Halibel shook her head. "They've been conducting some strange experiments recently."
"But I only know the name."
"What name?" Fujimiya's curiosity was piqued.
Halibel's voice darkened.
"Something called… Annunciation of Conception."