The Great Hollow Forest, Black Night Jungle.
As its name suggests, this place was perpetually shrouded in darkness, without a single ray of light.
"My King, the surrounding Adjuchas have already been cleaned up by you."
An Adjuchas shaped like a fiery red goat, about three meters tall and five meters long, spoke to Yekawa with an ingratiating expression.
This goat Hollow, named Yuan Puck, like the strange fish Jiwa Barnes, was a subordinate who had swallowed a lightning ball and submitted to Yekawa's might.
Over the past few days in the Great Hollow Forest, Yekawa had encountered all of the dozen or so Adjuchas residing there. Aside from the strange fish and the goat who chose submission, the remaining ten or so had all been transformed into pure Reiatsu within Yekawa's body.
"My King, do not go any further. This Black Night Jungle is suspected to house another Vasto Lorde besides you."
Jiwa Barnes added hurriedly.
Evidently, these two Adjuchas firmly believed that their overwhelmingly powerful King was a true Vasto Lorde. They had no idea that their King was, in fact, only a Gillian.
"If you two don't dare to enter, then wait for me outside."
How could Yekawa fail to understand the meaning behind their words. These two Hollows had only been subdued through violence, and the time since their submission was short. Expecting them to risk their lives willingly was unrealistic. He therefore left them outside the Black Night Jungle without hesitation.
Yekawa intended to enter alone and meet the mysterious presence within.
Before departing, he glanced back at the two Adjuchas and smiled faintly.
"Oh, and don't stray too far. If I can no longer sense your Reiatsu, then the lightning balls inside you will probably…"
Before he finished speaking, both the goat and the strange fish stiffened, their fur and scales standing on end.
"How could we dare to flee. We will wait right here for our King to return in triumph."
Yekawa scoffed softly and ignored them. His figure blurred as he activated Sonido and stepped into the depths of the Black Night Jungle.
"Caw. Caw."
Within the jungle, the cries of crow Hollows echoed incessantly.
Yekawa paid them no attention. He merely released a trace of Reiatsu, and the scattered crow Hollows immediately fell silent. After he passed, the crow Hollows merged together, forming a gigantic crow.
The massive creature trembled, staring in the direction Yekawa had gone.
"Caw. Another one. Another one."
As he advanced, Yekawa noticed the trees growing shorter, with strands of spirit particles condensing into dewdrops that clung to their branches. Countless small bat Hollows hung upside down from the trees, their eyes shut tight.
The moment Yekawa entered their range, his powerful Reiatsu startled them awake.
Hundreds of thousands of bat Hollows stared at him, their eyes glowing a sickly green.
"Screech. Screech."
Their shrill cries overlapped, forming eerie sound waves that surged toward Yekawa.
"Noisy."
Dark golden Reiatsu surged from Yekawa's body, growing denser and denser until it formed a towering pillar of light that pierced the sky, illuminating the eternally dark Black Night Jungle.
The bat Hollows were instantly terrified. They scattered in all directions, plunging the entire jungle into chaos.
"Still not coming out."
Yekawa's expression remained calm as he gazed at the deep, seemingly endless nest ahead, shaped like a colossal black hole.
Suddenly, a deep green Reiatsu surged forth.
A tide of Reiatsu no weaker than Yekawa's erupted from the depths of the nest, colliding head-on with his overwhelming dark golden pressure.
"Such powerful Reiatsu. Worthy of a Vasto Lorde."
Yekawa carefully sensed it and was startled to find that this Reiatsu was comparable to his own, perhaps even slightly stronger.
At this moment, Yekawa's Reiatsu was nearly twice what it had been when he first became a Gillian. If his earlier level had merely brushed the edge of Third Class Reiatsu, then his current strength stood firmly among the elite of Squad Captain-level Reiatsu.
Yet even so, it was still faintly suppressed.
"As expected of a Vasto Lorde."
From the moment he sensed this distinctive deep green Reiatsu, Yekawa already knew the identity of the being hidden within.
Not long after, an extremely fast afterimage burst from the pitch-black cave.
It was a humanoid figure, entirely white, with a height and build nearly identical to that of a human. Its body was covered in pure white keratin, save for the bat wings folded neatly behind its back.
Deep green pupils gleamed like emeralds. A large Hollow hole gaped on the left side of its chest, where the heart should have been.
A bat-shaped white mask bore two streaks of dark green markings, like tear stains running from the corners of its eyes down to its jaw.
"So it really is you. Ulquiorra Cifer."
Yekawa's eyes brightened slightly with excitement.
"Who… are you."
Ulquiorra spoke slowly, his voice flat and emotionless. His speech was unhurried, as if he had not conversed with another being for an extremely long time.
"I am the future ruler of Hueco Mundo. I have come to conquer you. Submit to me, and I will lead you to find your heart."
Yekawa stated his purpose plainly.
The next instant—
Whoosh.
Ulquiorra vanished.
His Sonido was terrifyingly fast. In an instant, he appeared before Yekawa, his slender palm thrusting forward like a blade toward Yekawa's heart.
"I knew it."
Ulquiorra's habit of piercing hearts had clearly formed long ago.
"I already have a Hollow hole in my abdomen. I don't need you to make another one."
Yekawa roared and drew the Asauchi at his waist, slashing directly at Ulquiorra's hand.
Pfft.
Ulquiorra's left hand was torn open by a deep wound, blood splattering outward. Yet in the blink of an eye, the flesh wriggled and regenerated completely.
Speed Regeneration.
Seeing the attack fail, Ulquiorra immediately retreated, widening the distance between them.
Yekawa's fighting spirit surged. He grinned, tightened his grip on his blade, and pursued him fiercely.