Four figures galloped across the desolate wilderness.
The further west they traveled, the more bleak the surrounding scenery became. Beneath the dim horizon, the silhouette of a deep green mountain forest gradually sharpened. That was the area where the signal of the vanguard squad had last disappeared.
The group came to a halt as they reached the edge of the woods.
"It's just ahead."
The forest before them appeared much denser and deeper than it had from a distance. The trees were towering, their foliage layered in thick canopies. Coupled with the darkening sky, the entire forest was a realm of shadows, looking like the gaping maw of a giant abyss waiting for prey to walk into its trap.
"They entered the mountains from here."
"The footprints are orderly; they likely met with foul play only after penetrating deep into the forest."
Suō Tsukasa's gaze swept the area. With a flicker of movement, he arrived at a patch of open ground. Looking at the various footprints of differing depths left in the soil, he offered his analysis.
"Can you track them, Tsukasa?" Kaien Shiba walked to his side and inquired.
"The residual spiritual pressure is very faint. I'll try."
"Miss Rangiku, Toshiro, spread out to the flanks and help keep watch."
Suō Tsukasa nodded, his expression focusing.
"Understood."
The two nodded in affirmation, resting their hands on their hilts as they guarded the left and right sides. Suō Tsukasa and Kaien Shiba stood back-to-back in the center. Tsukasa knelt down, his fingertip hovering before a mark on the ground as a spiritual light flickered.
A low incantation rang out.
"Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, toe of the east; arrive with the wind and depart with the rain!"
"Bakudo #58: Kakushimeiki!"
Starting from the spark at Tsukasa's fingertip, a complex runic array materialized out of thin air, rotating and expanding like a compass to envelop the traces on the ground. As the spell activated, an invisible ripple of spiritual pressure spread out from Tsukasa like a wave on water, silently shrouding the entire forest area.
Extremely fine detection spiritual threads darted through the woods, capturing the lingering traces of spiritual pressure in the air and on the branches. In Tsukasa's spiritual perception, the world shed its material form and transformed into an intricate network of reishi.
The residual spiritual pressure of the vanguard members was already very weak, scattered like tiny specks of light through the trees. Following these traces, Tsukasa clearly outlined the path the squad had taken after entering the mountains.
Initially, the traces were orderly, reflecting the process of a cautious exploration. That was until they reached a certain area, where the traces abruptly became chaotic—like a flock of startled birds exploding outward in an instant, leaving behind countless fragmented marks.
That was the terminal point where the squad members had met their end.
Amidst the lingering scents of the site, he captured a distinct, entirely different residue of spiritual pressure. The nature of this pressure was highly peculiar; unlike any Hollow they had encountered before, its essence was a jumble of components, yet it weirdly maintained a twisted sort of unity.
More importantly, this eerie trace did not exist in isolation. It extended from the center of the battlefield toward the deeper reaches of the forest, mingled with the spiritual pressure of one of the squad members.
The Hollow had taken a member back to its lair as food.
It was this cruel act that exposed its trail, pointing Tsukasa clearly toward the direction of its hiding spot.
The information gathering was complete.
Suō Tsukasa opened his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.
"I found it."
"There is only one Hollow."
"And that Hollow did not kill and devour all the members on the spot. It took one person who was still alive, which allowed me to find the location of the lair."
A cold, heavy reality settled in everyone's hearts. They all knew that the comrade who had been dragged away was likely facing a grim fate, perhaps even enduring unimaginable agony. However, precisely because of this, they could not give up as long as there was a glimmer of hope.
A chilling killing intent began to spread silently among the four.
"Let's go!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the four figures vanished into the mountain forest like arrows released from a bow.
The deeper they went, the more massive and crowded the trees became. Suō Tsukasa, at the front of the group, used the light on his body to drive away a small patch of the oppressive darkness, serving as a beacon to guide the way.
They traveled in silence. Only the faint sound of footsteps over branches merged with the deathly stillness of the forest. Along the way, they saw bloodstains scattered across the forest floor, fragments of black Shihakusho, and several pieces of broken blade tips.
These were the final traces left behind by the other members of the vanguard squad. Each one was a silent testament to the tragedy and despair that had occurred here not long ago.
When Rangiku Matsumoto passed a large fragment of a Shihakusho and saw the clear Squad 10 insignia on the lining, her eyes trembled. She didn't speak, but her grip tightened; her nails nearly dug into her palms.
Toshiro kept his eyes fixed forward. His face was as calm as frozen ice, but a piercing chill radiated from his body.
The four did not pause for a second, pushing all emotions to the depths of their hearts. Their Shunpo was lightning fast as they lunged toward the direction Tsukasa was leading.
Finally, they reached a clearing in the woods. At the end of the clearing, pressed against a rock wall, a deep, pitch-black cave entrance loomed. In front of the entrance, a clear dragging trail and scattered bloodstains led directly into the darkness within.
The four stopped before the massive cavern. Before they could make a move, a viscous gurgling sound and a raspy, low chuckle drifted clearly from the depths of the cave. The laughter was as ear-grating as rusted iron scraping together.
"Hehehehehe....
"The scent of food is so sweet. Four of them at once... it truly makes my skin crawl with anticipation....
"Hollows naturally feed on souls with high reishi density. Unlike ordinary squad members, the mere spiritual pressure leaking from the movements of Tsukasa's group acted like top-tier bait, thoroughly igniting the greed and desire of the Hollow inside the cave.
The stronger the Shinigami, the more delicious they were.
Heavy footsteps approached from the distance, gradually drawing closer to the four.
Under the moonlight, a massive Hollow of extremely disproportionate form slowly emerged from the shadows of the cave, revealing its terrifying and sickening visage. Six incredibly thick arms supported its torso as it walked, and dark red tentacles extended from the top of its white mask like hair. Residual dark red bloodstains were clearly visible between the rows of jagged, pale teeth inside the gaping mouth of the mask.
The creature's tubular eye sockets beneath the mask's markings greedily locked onto the four. It showed no nervousness or fear at being surrounded; it was filled only with excitement and gluttony for the prey that had delivered itself to the door.
The malice radiating from that twisted shell was as thick as a physical substance, causing the atmosphere in the clearing to drop to freezing point. The air became heavy and foul.
It understood Shinigami all too well. It knew of the ridiculous and pathetic sense of comradeship that existed between these creatures in black robes. As long as it caught one, the rest wouldn't run away; instead, they would take the initiative to step onto the battlefield, one after another.
The survivor left with a breath of life inside the cave was precisely the bait it had meticulously arranged.
Its eye sockets slowly scanned the four who stood ready. Drool spilled from the corner of its mouth as it spoke in a low rumble.
"Hehe... who shall I start with?"
Its gaze landed on Rangiku Matsumoto, whose figure was graceful, on the left side of the group. It had regretted that there were no female Shinigami in the batch of food it ate earlier. What a grand surprise!
"You then!"
One arm slowly rose to point at her, the tentacles on its head dancing excitedly with the movement.