The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

With Erlang slung over his shoulder, Gu Shi began searching for Xu's whereabouts with a cheerful expression.

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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Silencing

The Death Girl charged forward at full speed, not stopping even when she encountered various Hollows along the way, heading straight for the place where she had placed the bearded man.

However, even though she had used her fastest speed, when she arrived at the cave, the broken trees piled up at the entrance had already been violently knocked aside, and the bearded Grim Reaper was no longer in the cave.

……

Taking a deep breath, the Death Girl suppressed her anger, reached out and grabbed at the air, and strands of spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, one of which was jet black and conspicuous.

Without a word, she grabbed the black spiritual network, sensed the spiritual energy within it, and the death goddess girl decisively turned around and began to track it.

The bearded man is dead, so be it. As long as we leave his territory as soon as possible and erase all traces of ourselves, we can get away with this.

But before that, the Hollow that ate the bearded man must die!

Once the search team arrives in the human world, their first suspect will undoubtedly be the Hollows active here. If the Hollow that ate the bearded man reveals to the search team that the bearded man was already incapacitated and imprisoned in a cave when he encountered the team, it will inevitably make the search team realize that there are people other than Hollows involved in this matter.

At that time, she, who lives next to the bearded man in the jurisdiction, will definitely be included in the list of suspects.

must!

Before the search team arrives, silence that damned Hollow!

With murderous intent churning and brewing within her, guided by her spiritual network, the Death Girl quickly found her target.

Fortunately, after eating the bearded man, the Hollow didn't seem to intend to flee far away and continued to roam the area, saving the Death Girl a lot of trouble.

From afar, the Death Girl heard the smug, arrogant laughter of the Void, and that one sentence—

"Hahaha, Heaven is truly looking out for me! First, I discovered a crippled Grim Reaper, and now I've encountered such a delicious soul. Little guy, don't run away, let me devour you! This is Heaven's arrangement!"

Upon hearing these words, the Death Girl's killing intent surged, but she also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, beings like the Hollow, having lost positive emotions during their Hollowfication, often become extreme, arrogant, ruthless, and irritable even after regaining their thinking abilities through cannibalism. Whenever they encounter someone they can communicate with, they can't wait to reveal what they consider worthwhile to boast about, satisfying their inflated vanity and incidentally undermining their opponent's confidence.

Thank goodness they found him. Otherwise, if this guy had run into the search team, the search team's Grim Reaper might have just given him a few words of guidance and he would have told the whole story of how he ate the bearded man.

Having found her target, the Shinigami girl was no longer in a hurry. She stopped, adjusted her somewhat rapid breathing, and returned to her best condition before releasing her Zanpakuto. She silently used Shunpo to move behind the Hollow and slashed at the back of its neck.

Although the Death Girl is not known for her strength, her Zanpakuto and her exceptional speed make up for this weakness.

When the first strike came down, it could only cut through the Hollow's thick skin before being blocked by its strong muscles. However, thanks to the Zanpakuto's ability to steal power, the second strike, which came down quickly, left a shallow cut on the Hollow's cervical vertebrae.

At this moment, Xu, who had been slashed twice, realized that he had been ambushed. He was not weak and had rich combat experience. Instead of foolishly trying to turn around to see who ambushed him, he immediately rushed forward, trying to widen the distance between himself and the ambush.

But the moment he made a move, the golden binding spell landed on him. The binding spell, which was not chanted, was not very effective and could only slightly slow down his movements.

But in the brief moment he was delayed, the third strike came down, using the power stolen from the first two strikes to cleanly sever his head.

Even as his head rolled off the ground, Xu still wanted to roar and fight back, but the fourth slash came immediately, splitting his head in two and severing his life force.

The textbooks for all four years of Bleach repeatedly emphasize that some Hollows with special abilities can continue to use their severed limbs to launch sneak attacks against the Shinigami even after their limbs or heads have been cut off. The textbooks also warn students to be vigilant and to finish off Hollows in time when fighting them.

However, many Shinigami don't care about the academic subjects taught in school. They are more concerned with how to train their Kido and communicate with their Zanpakuto. They don't care about things that can't directly improve their strength.

Therefore, among the new graduates each year, some will inevitably die on issues that have already been warned about in textbooks, becoming the next case study, written into textbooks to warn the next batch of students not to be as foolish as they were.

Although there are just as many idiots in every class, the cases recorded in the textbooks are only used as after-dinner jokes and are not taken seriously at all.

But the Death Girl was clearly not an exception. After severing the Hollow's head, she did not relax. She split the head in two and then cut off all four limbs of the corpse, securing them with binding spells before finally relaxing.

At this moment, the Death Girl noticed that a young woman's body lay a little further away, and not far away, a boy who looked to be underage was lying on the ground in a disheveled state.

Clearly, the object of that stupid beast's loud boasting was this poor little guy.

After a moment's thought, the Death Girl wiped the Hollow blood splattered on her face, revealed a kind smile, and quickly walked towards the poor boy.

"Little guy, are you alright? I've already killed that monster, you're safe now."

As she spoke, the Death Girl walked up to the boy, knelt on one knee, and smiled as she reached out her hand to him, seemingly to help him up.

The next instant, the hand accelerated, piercing through the boy's chest and crushing his still-beating heart.

The fact that the boy was described as delicious by the Void, and that he was able to escape from the Void's pursuit for a period of time, is enough to prove that the boy can see the Void and hear its voice.

In other words, he must have heard what this boastful creature said about "discovering the crippled Grim Reaper."

When silencing witnesses, it must be done thoroughly. Although search teams usually don't ask living people for information when looking for clues, even the smallest potential threat must be nipped in the bud.

Just then, the Death Girl suddenly noticed something unusual. The boy she had killed had obvious pain and despair in his eyes, but why did he look so bewildered? And why did his gaze seem to be focused on her, as if he had no idea who had killed him?

[Strange, can't he see the Grim Reaper and the Hollows?]

Just as the Death Girl was filled with doubt, a terrifying roar suddenly erupted from the boy's corpse. A thick arm covered in barbs emerged from the boy's chest and slammed heavily onto the Death Girl's head, leaving four gruesome wounds on her face and knocking her to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a hideous creature leaped out from the boy's corpse, letting out a desperate and painful wail.

However, this ethereal being was not a product of the boy's ethereal transformation, because on her other paw, she was carefully holding the boy's soul.

Chapter Thirty: Tears

The Grim Reaper girl, caught off guard by a sneak attack, covered her bloodied and mangled face, trembling as she got up. Her burning rage made her burst into laughter.

With blood-red eyes fixed on the boy's soul in the ethereal claws, the Death Girl extended a finger, a ferocious smile curving her lips.

"Hado No. 4, White Lightning".

Instantly, a beam of pale white lightning shot out, heading straight for the boy's forehead. Even though it was only a level four broken path, it was still enough to easily obliterate an ordinary soul.

The groaning ghost was startled and quickly turned around, shielding the boy's soul in its arms and taking the blow from the ghost with its own back, which was not particularly powerful.

The white lightning bolt number four struck Hollow's back, leaving only a shallow crater. Given Hollow's constitution, such a minor injury was negligible.

But before she could even catch her breath, another bolt of white lightning shot out, its target still the soul of the boy in her arms.

The death girl used the Shunpo technique to constantly change her position, continuously shooting out lightning from her fingertips, each time aiming directly at the boy's soul.

Watching the Void use its own body as a shield to block attacks for the boy time and time again, leaving bloody pits on its body, the Death Girl's laughter grew even louder.

"Hahaha! Not bad, not bad! Well done, well done! If I'm not mistaken, you're the woman who died over there!"

"It's because the obsession with protecting this cute boy was so strong that even after death, the soul still hides in his body, helping him evade the Hollow's pursuit, right!"

"Oh my god, how touching! Such deep obsession, no wonder you immediately went into the ethereal realm the moment that adorable boy died~"

"Oh dear, you didn't do a good enough job! Look, my lightning bolt hit the cute boy's leg! You have to protect him!"

"Yes, yes, that's it! Make full use of your physical advantages and help him defend against the attacks!"

"Oh, right, did you know? After a Hollow is injured, its urge to eat people will become stronger and stronger in order to have enough spiritual energy to repair its injuries. Look at the little cutie in your hand, doesn't it look more and more delicious?"

"Come on, come on! Let me see how long your obsession with protecting him can last under the influence of your cannibalistic instincts! I can't wait to see you eat him. It must feel so wonderful to eat the person you would have protected even in death!"

The maniacal laughter grew increasingly shrill, and Xu's body was covered in wounds, with hardly a single unscathed spot visible.

During this time, she tried to escape with the boy in her arms many times, but she was just a newborn Hollow and had no ability to break through the pursuit of Shunpo. She could only take the initiative to use her body to crash into the white lightning shot by the Grim Reaper.

Even though the boy she held in her claws cried out for her to abandon him and run away, it was all in vain. His cries only excited the Death Girl more, causing her to shoot white lightning at him at an even faster speed.

Gradually, the minor injuries accumulated, making Hollow's movements increasingly sluggish and his breathing increasingly erratic. The Death Girl also "considerately" slowed down her attacks, laughing and coaxing him gently.

"That's right, that's exactly it. You're very hungry, aren't you? Look at your hand, isn't that piece of meat incredibly delicious and tempting? Don't hesitate, eat it, and you won't be hungry anymore."

"What are you still hesitating about? Do you know him? No, no, no, in the instant you faded away, you were no longer who you used to be. You've long forgotten him, you just have this obsession to protect him, don't you? Is this pathetic obsession more important than filling your stomach?"

The weakened Xu's eyes glowed with an increasingly intense red light. Finally, driven by her surging instincts, she suddenly raised her claws and shoved the tearful boy into her mouth. She chewed him forcefully a few times, and crimson blood flowed from between her teeth.

At this moment, the anger in the Grim Reaper girl's heart finally subsided. She raised her hand to use healing magic on herself, wiping away the still bleeding wounds on her face. Then, in the instant the Hollow tried to escape, she activated Shunpo and severed its head with a single strike.

"Phew, I feel refreshed. It's a good way to vent all the anger I've been holding in against that big guy lately. Not bad, not bad."

With the hideous head beneath her feet, the Death Girl slapped her cheeks hard, a bright smile returning to her face, and waved a friendly hand at the head beneath her feet.

"Goodbye, little cutie. There's an even cuter big guy waiting for me at home, so I won't stay with you any longer."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Death Girl cleaved the head at her feet in two with a single stroke, then used Instant Step to follow the pure white spiritual vein in her vision, easily and happily embarking on her return journey.

Shortly after the Death Girl left, the head, split in two, suddenly trembled slightly again, and a boy with bloody tears and empty eyes slowly crawled out of the Hollow's mouth.

The death girl's last strike not only cleaved Hollow's head in two, but also cut him in half at the waist, leaving his legs inside the other half of his head.

However, the boy who had been cut in half at the waist seemed to feel no pain. He just stared blankly at his head, which had been bitten to pieces by its owner, and uttered mutterings that no one could hear.

Blood-red tears slid down, merging with the crimson stain that covered the boy's entire body, gradually becoming indistinguishable from one another.

Amidst the crimson expanse, the only striking white spot was the boy's chest. On the chain separating man from the void, white sap sprouted sharp teeth, rapidly gnawing away at the remaining pieces of the chain.

Finally, amidst the boy's murmurs, the chains vanished completely, revealing a pitch-black void in the center of his collarbone. Pure white liquid spiritual energy surged forth, completely enveloping the boy and the two halves of his head that he was tightly embracing, forming a massive cocoon of white bones.

A moment later, a crisp cracking sound rang out, the bone cocoon shattered piece by piece, and a bat-shaped void crawled out from it, its empty eyes surveying the familiar yet strange world. On the pure white mask, two glaring tear tracks were deeply imprinted beneath its eyes, as if carved.

The moment he saw the enormous corpse lying to the side, tears welled up in his eyes. The newly born Xu wiped the tears off his mask, his eyes filled with confusion. He didn't understand why he was crying.

Mingming felt a void in her heart, devoid of both despair and sorrow.

Why do I cry?

Mingming had no memories in his mind; it was as blank as a sheet of paper.

Why did I feel an overwhelming sense of familiarity with that corpse?

The newborn Void knew nothing; it simply followed its instincts, spread its wings, and soared high into the sky, following the scent of spiritual energy in the air, chasing after something in a certain direction.

He didn't know what he was chasing or what he would do after catching up, but he had a strong intuition that he "had to catch up."

Since that's the case, let's go after them and see.

The bat flapped its wings in a daze, and between the rise and fall of those wings, it seemed to always be able to piece together a blurry smiling face.

P.S.: In the early episodes of the TV series, I remember there was a two-headed Hollow, which was formed by the fusion of the souls of two dogs. So, it shouldn't be a problem for two souls to form one Hollow.

Secondly, regarding the bat and the tear stain, everyone should be able to tell that I'm writing about Ulquiorra. Although it's not really necessary, I'll add some background information and make a secondary interpretation: Ulquiorra's ability to release in his second form is because he is a Hollow formed by the fusion of two souls. That feels a little more comfortable (?).

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Chapter Thirty-One: Cero

"Hey, big guy, I'm back!"