Hueco Mundo Palace.
As its name suggests, this is a grand palace where the night is etched into everything, eternally standing in the center of the pale desert.
Looking out, massive pillars support a heavy, pitch-black ceiling like the earth itself, completely blocking the moonlight and extending straight to the core.
One by one, the Adjuchas walk upright like loyal soldiers guarding the perimeter.
Until they reach the throne.
Bayorugon sits atop a skeleton at the highest point in the center, his hand propping up his chin.
Since he truly ascended to the pinnacle of Hueco Mundo, Bayorugon has spent most of his time in this posture.
After an unimaginably long time, both friends and foes have become quite novel to him.
The endless time seems unable to leave any trace on his body, which has mastered "aging."
In his long memory, the last interesting person was that bastard named Jajacuba a few thousand years ago.
In the end, he recklessly went to the Soul King's Palace to seek death and was never heard from again.
Bayorugon has long decayed.
Naturally, he is self-aware.
Having experienced such a long time, he knows there are absolute taboos in this world that cannot be touched.
Under these constraints and taboos, his life has naturally become long and boring.
Fortunately, a new amusement has recently appeared.
"Tap, tap, tap!"
The crisp sound of high heels on the black tiles of Hueco Mundo Palace grows louder.
With the light, melody-like footsteps, a tall figure with pink hair appears in Bayorugon's sight.
Compared to the other Adjuchas in the corridor, his figure is incredibly small.
Clearly, this is also an existence at the top of Hueco Mundo's ecosystem—a Vasto Lorde.
However, among Vasto Lordes, there are huge differences in rank and strength.
At least, Bayorugon, the "King," and the amusement before him are two entirely different beings.
As Bayorugon's gaze falls, two Adjuchas standing before his throne step in front of the pink-haired figure, their voices deep:
"Lord Salapollo, Lord Bayorugon has not summoned you."
However, if you listen carefully, you can hear a slight tremor in the Adjucha's voice.
As if fearing something.
The pink-haired figure merely glances at him, then raises a finger, shaping it like a gun.
"Bang! Wrong answer!"
"Today, it's Lord Ilfort who woke up first!"
Almost as the words fall, the Adjucha freezes, then immediately kneels, instinctively trying to turn and flee.
But the next second.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
The unlucky Adjucha's body swells like multiple balloons, layer upon layer, inflating from a few meters to over ten meters in the blink of an eye. Its steel skin, bones, and mask are stretched to near transparency, reaching their limit.
"Ba... Bayorugon... Lord..."
The Adjucha instinctively wails.
But Bayorugon's gaze doesn't linger on him for a moment.
"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, the Adjucha cleanly turns into a bloody fireworks display.
However, whether it's Bayorugon, Salapollo, or the other trembling Adjucha, they all watch silently.
No one speaks for him.
This is the world of Hollows.
Hierarchy, evolution, status, strength.
All are absolute!
Only Vasto Lordes can stand and speak with Vasto Lordes.
"Enough, Granz."
Bayorugon lazily looks at him, calmly saying:
"Adjuchas are precious troops. Even the weakest can be thrown into the arena to fight and produce a strong one."
"Don't waste my resources."
"Yes~ yes~"
"Lord Bayorugon~"
Salapollo still stretches his signature double syllables, sticky and nauseating, as if his body, similar to a normal human's, houses two different identities.
In reality, that's exactly the case.
"However, I've submitted many experiment reports, haven't I?" Salapollo raises his chin, arrogantly raising his tone, "You should know, what I'm doing now is an unprecedented feat!"
"We're creating a 'perfect being'!"
"Imagine, a Hollow with a 'heart'—doesn't this deserve all your power to support my experiment?!"
"This is a masterpiece of the ages, Lord Bayorugon!"
Salapollo raises his tone, almost instinctively pinching his throat, producing a nearly mad tone, suddenly widening his eyes.
At the same time, his lips curl into an equally sinister smile, emitting another person's voice:
"That's right!"
"My brother's intelligence is unparalleled!"
"His alchemy can conquer everyone in the world!"
"You can fully trust him."
Then, Salapollo's expression changes, sinking:
"Ilfort, I've reminded you countless times—don't interrupt when I'm describing my dreams!"
"Sal, this is my body too!"
Just as he finishes speaking, the two in his body start arguing on their own.
Bayorugon watches leisurely.
As a strong being who has lived for an unknown number of years, Bayorugon no longer bothers with small matters like mental issues.
Sometimes, even he wants to try having two people in one body to see what it feels like.
This is the downside of boredom.
However, his interest in the person before him isn't solely due to his unique condition.
The real reason is simple.
The chatterbox before him is also a Vasto Lorde.
Moreover, one who survived his full-strength attack.
Everything in Hueco Mundo belongs to the strong.
This is the iron rule of this world.
"Shut up."
Until the argument annoys him, Bayorugon speaks faintly.
Salapollo is still reluctant.
Then, he hears Bayorugon slowly add:
"I've sent Dragone out. New materials should arrive soon."
"Oh~ that useless guy!"
"But...
"It's acceptable."
Salapollo still speaks in his sticky tone but nods slightly, his eyes showing a hint of satisfaction.
That was his first experimental creation after joining Hueco Mundo Palace.
Though called an experiment, it was merely testing the Hollow's instincts.
At the time, he used Bayorugon's power to collect hundreds of Adjuchas in Hueco Mundo, locking them in the palace's basement. They fought and devoured each other day and night in pairs.
In this long competition, the final victor was Dragone.
However, the result was obvious.
A victor produced artificially lacked something crucial compared to Vasto Lordes who had endured long ages.
Salapollo studied for a long time before confirming what this "something" was.
It was the missing link in their Hollow holes.
A heart.
Hollows are beings that lost their "hearts" and immersed themselves in fighting and devouring for endless time.
They're like mindless zombies, constantly trying to fill their stomachs but never feeling satisfied.
However, this endless fighting isn't entirely useless.
At least, when they reach a certain evolutionary node, they naturally comprehend the most persistent point in their will.
This is the key to their evolution, supporting them from hundreds of Hollows fused into a Gillian and continuously evolving.
Loneliness, aging, sacrifice, emptiness, despair...
The void caused by the heart's absence can only be filled by a true heart.
Thus, Dragone, who merely filled his stomach, is among the weakest Vasto Lordes.
However, just as Salapollo prepares to leave, both pause.
Salapollo's eyes widen slightly, showing a hint of madness, as if sensing something.
He turns, meeting Bayorugon's gaze.
"As expected."
"That useless guy is dead."
Bayorugon slowly turns, looking at Salapollo:
"However, he died for your cause."
"Granz, it's your job to handle it."
"Of course!"
Salapollo is equally excited, pinching his fingers, "But, but, but! I need to solve some experimental issues first."
"As you wish."
Bayorugon waves at him.
Salapollo quickly leaves the hall with lighter steps.
Once outside, his eyes burn with fiercer madness.
Looks like he'll meet an interesting Vasto Lorde.
Truly... exciting.
Thinking this, he quickly turns a corner, heading to the dark underground laboratory.
As Hueco Mundo's greatest researcher, he naturally has his own "territory."
He walks down the hard stairs, murmuring softly, his voice light like a song:
"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth."
"To a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary."
"The angel came to her and said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.'"
"Mary was greatly troubled, wondering what this greeting meant."
"The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus.'"
As the song-like recitation ends, Salapollo reaches the deepest part of the underground.
Suddenly, light appears before him.
In front of him are two rows of Adjuchas, gradually arranged and nailed to giant crosses.
If you look closely, all of them have obvious female characteristics on their bodies.
At the same time, all of them have huge, round bellies.
If you stand close, you can see their steel skin is nearly translucent, glowing faintly.
Occasionally, you can hear faint, indistinct wails.
Thick, complex tubes are inserted into the Adjuchas' bodies, some even cracking their crucial masks.
Sticky blood flows on the ground.
The air is filled with a pungent, bloody smell.
Facing this scene, Salapollo seems to see a beautiful sight, his expression ecstatic as he spreads his arms, sighing:
"The Annunciation!"
"This is... the right path!"
"Truly curious."
"What would a Hollow born with a 'heart' look like?"
...
Soon after Dragone's death, both the 13th Division in Seireitei and the Hueco Mundo expeditionary force in Hueco Mundo detected multiple spiritual pressure fluctuations.
A large number of Adjuchas, driven by unknown reasons, gathered into small groups of a dozen or so.
They seemed to be guarding against something.
Even Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto faced considerable pressure.
To him, these Adjuchas were no threat, but he still had hundreds of ordinary squad members and officers!
For them, even Gillian were formidable enemies, let alone Adjuchas.
The Shinigami squads sent out to explore faced many obstacles, with some teams completely wiped out.
However, for Fujimiya Makoto's group, it wasn't much of a threat.
Rather, it was like delivering prey to their door.
...
"Whoosh—"
Like a swimming fish, Halibel's figure leaps through the desert, her eyes quickly scanning the surroundings, seemingly unaware of anything, carefully swimming toward an Adjucha's corpse on the sand dune's edge.
However, just as she's about to touch the corpse.
"Boom!"
Several sand dunes suddenly erupt with huge spiritual pressure reactions.
Halibel's eyes show surprise.
An ambush!
The next moment, she turns without hesitation, diving back toward where she came from.
But Hollows have their own survival methods.
One four-armed Adjucha slams the ground, sending a massive wave of sand flying.
Halibel is directly flipped out of the sand.
"Trying to run?!"
"Fool!"
"You're surrounded!"
Five Adjuchas appear around Halibel, who has fallen to the ground.
One nods in confirmation:
"Indeed, this is the small fry Dragone tracked before."
"Don't break its body!"
"Got it, got it!"
However, as their encirclement tightens, Halibel suddenly smiles sarcastically.
"The ones surrounded are you."
The next moment, two tiny figures appear at either end of the Adjuchas group.
Fujimiya Makoto and Saito Futaba smile simultaneously.
Indeed!
Fishing is still the fastest method!