The virtual circle, the forest of Void.
Ren held a small centipede covered with dark gold patterns in his hand. He opened his mouth and spit out a small spot of light that emitted a faint white glow.
Ren's mouth, which held the small light spot mask, was almost raised to the sky.
"This kid Ginjo Kogo is quite capable. You found the second Spirit King fragment so soon!"
"Ghoul Soul!"
With the launch of the ghoul soul, the Spirit King fragment turned into a pure white spirit and was completely absorbed by him.
"Ah, this feeling is so wonderful!"
Feeling the comforting sensation flowing between his limbs and bones, Ren moaned in satisfaction.
"As long as I find two more, I will definitely be able to break the face and succeed!"
After successfully absorbing the second Spirit King fragment, Ren's little centipede clone opened the black cavity and returned to Kogo.
Ren transformed into a dazzling lightning bolt and rushed to the Great Void House he had created with his own hands.
Just as he was passing by the once new land, he sensed three spiritual pressures bursting out dozens of miles ahead to his left. One of which its spiritual pressure was nearly on par with Halibel.
The remaining two spiritual pressures were extremely violent and seemed a little unstable, exactly like the incompletely broken faces that Makoto Ito had encountered during the soul burial assessment!
"Another Vasto Lorde! Could it be..."
Thinking of this, Ren immediately changed direction, a lightning flash streaking toward the spiritual pressure explosion!
"Bang!"
A half-human, sheep-shaped Vasto Lorde, covered with a skeletal mask with a double-horned spear, was now in a state of chaos.
"Impossible! You are just Adjuchas, how could you..."
Nelly Ellu looked at the two Adjuchas who had drastically changed before her with confusion.
"Hahaha, Adjuchas? We are no longer that kind of low-level beings. Now, we exist beyond the boundaries of the virtual world—we have broken the surface!"
A pig-headed man with a broken mask, an incomplete broken face, and a fat belly sneered at Nelly Ellu.
The incomplete broken face of the horse-headed man beside him, also wearing a broken mask, grinned, his steel teeth exposed, the corners of his mouth covered in saliva.
"You never expected this, did you? As a natural Vasto Lorde, you're about to be killed by Adjuchas you once defeated! Cry and wail, let me see what you look like when you beg for mercy!"
The horse-headed man's incomplete broken face grew more excited as he spoke, laughing maniacally.
"Broken face..."
Nelly, covered in wounds, fell into a sand pit. She gritted her teeth and prepared to throw the bone spear in her hand, determined to fight to the death.
Both broken faces pointed their hands at Nelly Ellu and began to flash.
Seeing this, Nelly's lips curled into an unintentional smirk from within the sand pit.
The two voices echoed with powerful flashes, mixed with sharp laughter from the incompletely broken ones, as they shot towards Nelly below.
The next moment, a scene unfolded that left the two broken faces dumbfounded. Vasto Lorde, who had seemed unable to fight back, suddenly opened her mouth and swallowed the two fissures they had fired!
Then, the original black and red color of the fictitious flash mixed with a pink hue. The three fictitious flashes intertwined, their power tripled in an instant, and they exploded toward the two incomplete broken humanoids.
"Fluttering chorus!"
"Boom!"
The two horse-headed men, reacting just in time, quickly moved to avoid the flickering chorus. However, the pig-headed man, who was half a beat slower, was not as lucky. Half of his body was obliterated, leaving only his fat lower half falling to the ground!
Ren hid in the darkness and clicked his tongue.
"Aizen's surface breaking experiment seems to be progressing a bit too slowly. Why is the level of surface breaking still so low? Work harder, Lord Aizen. I hope you can refine my grand dreams!"
The ideal state of breaking the surface using Single Bengyu should allow Adjuchas to surpass a Vasto Lorde that had not yet broken the surface. Yet, here, two Achukas were struggling against one Vasto Lorde , and one of them had even been killed. Clearly, the quality of these broken faces was still too low.
"I don't even have the chance to step in as a hero to save the beauty!"
Watching the two incomplete broken ones, Ren shook his head in frustration from the shadows.
On the battlefield, Nelly Ellu, who had just used her flash chorus against the pig-headed man, staggered to her feet. Raising the double-headed spear in her hand, she prepared to throw it at the remaining horse-headed man.
The horse-headed man, terrified, released several bursts of sonido to dodge.
"Bang!"
But as soon as they gathered again, before they could even raise their hands, Nelly collapsed into the sand pit once more.
The centaur, who had retreated hundreds of feet, observed the completely exhausted Nelly. Realizing her weakened state, he turned around and advanced toward her, ready to end it.
"I didn't expect that I would have the last laugh. Now, I can finally savor the flesh and blood of a Vasto Lorde slowly!"
"Damn it!"
Nelly, lying powerless in the sand pit, watched as the centaur loomed over her, ready to strike. She could do nothing but roar in frustration.
In an instant, a dark golden thunderbolt struck from the sky. The centaur, who had been secretly rejoicing, froze in horror as the thunder engulfed him, charring his body from the outside while searing his insides.
Nelly struggled to open her eyelids, her vision blurred. A shadowy human figure stood before her—but before she could make sense of it, darkness consumed her, and she fainted.
Ren gazed down at the two shattered corpses on the ground and activated his ghoul soul.
Within moments, the remnants of the fallen Adjuchas were devoured by his power.
"Hmm? That's it?"
Ren frowned, assessing the spiritual energy provided by their bodies. While their spiritual pressure was no different from that of ordinary Adjuchas, there was something else—an additional essence, faintly resembling a degraded version of the Spirit King's power. However, the amount was minuscule, barely perceptible to him.
Before long, Nelly stirred from unconsciousness. Her body was still weak, but she noticed that her wounds had been crudely treated. More importantly, the centaur—who had been moments away from devouring her—had vanished without a trace.
Her gaze landed on the dark-eyed, dark-haired figure standing before her. Under her mask, her large eyes flickered with curiosity and wariness. She hesitated, her front hooves stirring the sand as she spoke in a small, uncertain voice:
"Did you… save me?"
Ren observed her timid, uneasy demeanor and couldn't help but find it amusing. For a Hollow, she was surprisingly adorable—almost more so than a human. It made him wonder… could a Hollow truly be "cute"?
With a slight smirk, he introduced himself.
"My name is Ren. I'm searching for strong and kind-hearted allies—just like you."
Then, he extended an offer:
"Would you like to join us, mysterious Vasto Lorde?"
Nelly blinked in surprise, her expression shifting from confusion to contemplation. Slowly, she lifted her head, standing taller with newfound confidence. Though she had yet to fully evolve, her form already hinted at a proud, imposing presence—one that would, in time, become unrivaled in the Three Realms.
After a moment, she stretched out her hand toward Ren.
"Hello, my name is Nelly Ellu. Please take care of me from now on, my partner!"