Another chapter for today!
I had chosen the shortest route, so I should have arrived quickly. However, I spent the entire walk brooding over the Adjuchas until night finally fell over the desert. A solitary, crescent moon illuminated the waste of Hueco Mundo from a dark sky. But even that sky was a fabrication. If I hadn't seen the original manga, I probably never would have suspected that Hueco Mundo and Las Noches occupied such layered dimensions.
'Ah, I need to crawl out of this Menos Grande skin as soon as possible.'
That was exactly why I had come to this Adjuchas territory. Yet, upon arriving, I couldn't sense even a flicker of Reiatsu in the vicinity. Still, assuming that the combatants often gathered here or had established bases nearby, I had no choice but to stand there like a massive, mindless statue.
'The downside of being this huge is I can't even lie down to sleep.'
Due to the sheer bulk of a Menos Grande, lying down was out of the question. I had to settle for sleeping on my feet. Having spent three months as a Gillian, I'd grown somewhat accustomed to this awkward, upright slumber.
'I have to find one tomorrow...'
Just before drifting off, I prayed to encounter an Adjuchas. Honestly, while I was terrified, my desire to grow stronger meant I wanted to start observing them immediately. But since there were none in sight, I let my eyelids drop, hoping for a productive morning.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
'Wh-What?!'
The sudden, thunderous roar jolted me awake. The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a battle unfolding. One side was an Adjuchas—a strange, beast-like creature wearing a bone-white mask. When I looked at its opponent, however, I nearly blacked out from shock.
It was a woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Her face was partially covered by a white Hollow mask, and her body was encased in a white, armor-like hide. Her right arm had taken the shape of a massive blade, and from the back of her head, a shark-like tail extended. Yes, if my memory served me correctly, that was the form of Tier Halibel as a Vasto Lorde, long before she became an Arrancar.
'Unbelievable... then that massive Reiatsu I sensed was Halibel's?'
The confrontation was so lopsided it was insulting to call it a