Over the next two days, Sombravida carefully surveyed the outer perimeter of the dead forest, gradually building a mental map of the terrain surrounding it.
The forest was not large — only a few kilometers across. Such regions were common in Hueco Mundo's lower strata, where scattered reishi formations allowed withered trees and rocky outcroppings to gather, forming temporary habitats for lesser Hollows.
Sombravida's slow progress was not due to caution alone.
Within several hundred meters of the forest edge, he encountered almost no Hollows he could confidently consider weak.
The few he did sense were large, predatory types whose spiritual pressure far exceeded his own. Fortunately, they entered the forest without detecting him.
During these two days, Sombravida witnessed more than a dozen strangely shaped Hollows move into the woods. Several clashed violently before disappearing among the skeletal trees, their reiatsu flaring and fading like distant thunder.
Sombravida did not dare approach.
His goal was not scavenging or opportunistic feeding.
He needed to understand his own strength first.
From what he had observed, he might have been overly optimistic about his current abilities.
He had transmigrated without any miraculous advantage — no system, no power granted from beyond. All he possessed was awareness, restraint, and a desperate instinct to survive.
At present, he might truly rank among the weakest Hollows in Hueco Mundo.
On the third day, Sombravida finally found a suitable target amid a field of broken stone and collapsed rock formations.
Perched atop a dead tree was a lizard-shaped Hollow.
Sombravida crouched low and observed it for a long time.
Its movements were simple and repetitive. Its spiritual pressure fluctuated weakly and irregularly. There was no sign of higher cognition — only predatory instinct.
A typical low-level Hollow.
The creature measured roughly one meter in length.
Sombravida decided to attack.
After confirming no other reiatsu signatures were nearby, he began to move.
"If it's something like this… I should manage."
One step.
Two steps.
He lowered his posture and approached from behind.
When he was only a few steps away, the lizard Hollow suddenly turned its head.
A faint wave of reiatsu spread outward.
Sombravida's body stiffened for a fraction of a second — the instinctive response of a Hollow sensing another's presence.
But in that instant of contact, he felt it clearly:
Its spiritual pressure was weaker than his own.
Sombravida lunged forward.
He closed the distance in a single burst and raised his left fist to strike—
At that moment, the lizard Hollow opened its jaws.
A stream of black fluid infused with spiritual particles sprayed toward him.
Sombravida reacted immediately.
He pushed off the sand, pivoted left, and avoided the spray by a narrow margin. Using the momentum of his turn, he rotated on his lead foot and brought down his right claw in a decisive arc.
Pfft—!
The lizard Hollow — along with the dead tree beneath it — was cleaved into five clean sections.
The severed head hit the sand, twitching violently as dark fluid seeped outward.
Within seconds, its movements slowed.
After nearly half a minute, it fell completely still.
Sombravida exhaled slowly.
"…Even low-level Hollows possess natural attack methods."
He glanced back at the black liquid that had nearly struck him.
Where it landed, the pale sand hissed and corroded.
He cautiously touched a small trace with his claw.
White smoke rose instantly.
He withdrew his hand and wiped the residue off in the sand.
Returning to the corpse, Sombravida crouched and examined it.
"According to what I remember… when a Hollow is purified by a Shinigami's Zanpakutō, the soul is cleansed and sent to Soul Society."
But this Hollow had not been purified.
It had been killed.
When Hollows devour or destroy one another, the defeated Hollow's reishi disperses and is absorbed, strengthening the victor.
As he watched, several severed segments began dissolving into spirit particles, drifting into the air like pale dust. Only the section attached to the mask retained cohesion.
Sombravida stared at it.
Days had passed without consuming spiritual energy.
Though Hollows do not hunger like humans, the instinct to feed is deeply embedded in their existence.
They devour souls.
They devour other Hollows.
Evolution demands it.
He lifted the remaining portion connected to the mask.
Dark fluid still clung to the flesh-like reishi structure.
He hesitated.
"…I can spit it out if I can't take it."
After a long pause, he opened his mouth and bit down.
To his surprise, it did not feel like tearing flesh.
The structure broke apart easily, its cohesion already weakening as the spiritual particles destabilized.
The substance dissolved instantly.
Warm energy flowed into his body.
There was almost no taste — only a faint warmth spreading through his limbs and core.
Sombravida shuddered.
Even without flavor, the psychological barrier remained.
But power in Hueco Mundo required predation.
Suppressing his discomfort, he continued feeding.
He devoured the remaining body segments until only the head and mask remained.
When he tore the mask free, the remaining structure rapidly disintegrated into drifting reishi, leaving only the bone mask behind.
Sombravida paused.
He could feel it.
The mask contained the densest concentration of spiritual particles.
Most of the Hollow's essence remained here.
Lower Hollows devoured prey whole by instinct, wasting nothing.
Sombravida hesitated only a moment before biting into the mask.
The mask dissolved instantly into a dense stream of spiritual particles.
The energy that surged into him was far richer than before, spreading through his body in a powerful, warming current.
Sombravida's claws tightened involuntarily as strength coursed through his frame.
The sensation was almost intoxicating.
When it ended, he exhaled slowly.
At that moment, Sombravida made a firm decision:
Unless absolutely necessary…
he would never again eat the flesh of a Hollow.
The mask alone was more than enough.
And far easier to accept.