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Chapter 68: Hunter Among Hollows I
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Voldemort returned immediately to the inner world, his form melting into the chains curling around the black sphere embedded in Akashi's chest.
The Gillians stirred in confusion and disorder.
Then came the staff.
From the chains winding his right arm, darkness poured forth like black mercury, shaping itself into a long, elegant staff with an obsidian sheen and silver inlays carved like writhing script.
It crackled softly with restrained violence. The moment it formed, Akashi's spiritual pressure shifted; smooth and dark, like oil sliding over glass.
"Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui."
His voice was quiet, but Kurayami corrupted the spell mid-cast. The blue-white energy turned black and pulsing, and as it left the staff, it carried a corrosive hiss that echoed like static in the wind.
The twin orbs of fire surged out in a spiraling motion, merging into a torrent of blackened flame.
It hit the nearest cluster of Gillians and detonated.
There was no explosion; just dissolution. Their colossal bodies melted as if soaked in acid, the Cero forming in their mouths extinguished before they could fully charge.
One Gillian collapsed forward in slow motion, its mask crumbling before it even hit the ground. The stench of evaporated flesh and spiritual energy filled the air.
But the closest Gillian had moved while Akashi cast. It brought its massive head down, sharp, beak-like nose descending like a spear aimed straight at his skull.
Akashi didn't even look.
He raised his left arm.
From the chains around that arm, darkness pulsed again; this time widening, hardening into a round, spiked shield.
It locked into place just as the white nose struck. The impact sent a tremor through the cracked stone beneath Akashi's feet, and his arm ached, but he didn't move.
Dust swirled, and the behemoth reeled back, its nose shattered, mask fracturing.
For the first time, Akashi displayed what he called Perfect Shikai.
Kurayami's true form wasn't the sword or the staff or the shield. It was the black sphere.
The rest; manifested blades, constructs, tools; were all extensions of it, extensions of Darkness connected through the chains it exhaled into the world.
Because of this, he could wield multiple forms at once without breaking the Shikai's nature: they were not separate weapons, but limbs of the same body.
Only when he pushed to three or more forms at once did the structure collapse, made brittle and weak by the overextension.
Now, the staff and shield vanished in a mist of darkness.
In their place, two identical blades formed, long and curved, like elongated wakizashi, serrated near the tip and gleaming with polished edges of blackened silver.
Akashi moved.
He flashed past the still-standing Gillian, whose mask had fractured. His blade caught its side, and half its body erupted into corrupted mist.
He didn't pause.
The Gillians stirred to attack, but Akashi had already vanished again, cutting through another's leg with a downward stroke.
The blade met bone, caught, and then tore through it with brutal force.
A third Gillian tried to retaliate, swinging an enormous limb in desperation, but Akashi ducked low and dashed forward.
He drove one blade up through its throat while the other carved a line down its gut. Darkness flowed into the wound, rotting it from within.
He didn't waste movement. His steps were exact, graceful even, yet each swing of the blade held brutal finality.
He'd grown in this endless war; his strikes now cleaner, faster, less hesitant.
Where once he might have aimed for the mask and retreated, now he danced in and out of reach like a shadow made solid, severing limbs and crushing Cero with shields before the energy could reach coherence.
If one slash wasn't enough, he followed with another, then another, endlessly slicing through the Gillians with a fighting style akin to a graceful dance.
Other times, it was a lot more brutal as he brought down his halberd upon them with such force that it caused the air to distort.
The final Gillian tried to turn and flee, its primitive instincts finally catching up to its doom.
Akashi clenched Kurayami as it transformed into a spear, then he hurled it directly at the Gillian; still chained to his wrist; and it pierced the monster's spine.
As it collapsed, he reappeared atop its shoulder, retrieving the spear with a sharp pull, and drove it into the mask.
Silence returned to the forest.
But not for long.
He felt it before he saw it; a flicker, a hum, like a blade slicing air.
He raised his shield just in time.
The impact was powerful, his boots skidding back slightly against the dirt as a slender figure collided with his guard.
Akashi lashed out with his long blade, but the attacker retreated in a blur of speed, unharmed.
The figure landed opposite him, crouched. Its hollow mask resembled a gazelle's skull; horned, sleek, strange.
Brown fur covered parts of its body, and its limbs were lean but powerful.
An Adjuchas.
Or so it seemed.
The creature attacked again; this time aiming low, a blade sweeping to take Akashi's legs.
Akashi flipped backward, parried a following strike with his blade, and used the shield to shove the creature back.
Its reactions were almost... too precise, too fast.
Another clash. Another flurry of motion. The Adjuchas moved quickly, but Akashi didn't press the offensive. He parried, blocked, and watched. Studied, his expression morphing into a frown.
Then he spoke, voice calm but edged with curiosity.
"Why are you attacking me?"
The creature hesitated. It didn't respond, simply tensed, readying another attack.
Akashi's eyes narrowed, "Just stop. I sense no malice from you, and your darkness is pitiful in comparison to even the average Hollow."
That struck a nerve.
The Adjuchas froze, surprised behind the mask. The words were incomprehensible. What darkness is he talking about? But the creature realized, it must be his Zanpakuto ability.
Slowly, almost cautiously, the creature reached up and removed its mask.
Underneath was no Adjuchas, but a Shinigami.
Peach skin, a strong jawline, sharp, red-brownish spiky hair, dark eyes that studied Akashi with subtle calculation.
"Ashido Kano," The man introduced, brushing dust off his ragged clothes. "My apologies for attacking you. I wanted to test your strength... but it seems that's unnecessary."
Akashi raised an eyebrow, lowering his weapon, and introduced himself, "Akashi. I didn't expect to find a Shinigami here."
Ashido tilted his head, "Neither did I. How did you end up here?" He asked, his eyes sharp.
Akashi paused, as if considering whether to tell the truth, "I was on a date. Then kidnapped to here and stayed. Hueco Mundo's good for training, so I stayed."
Ashido blinked. "That's... Weird."
"You?"
"I'm here to kill Hollows. Been here a long time. Someone's got to stop them from escaping to the World of the Living."
Akashi looked around at the shattered Gillian corpses. "Sounds like a fruitless endeavor. They're endless after all."
"Then I will endlessly slay them," Ashido responded.
"That's... Amirable," Akashi narrowed his eyes. Honestly, he doesn't remember such a character having existed.
Could he have missed him in the story? Or was he a small side character? Akashi had to wonder and be careful.
The person in front of him, after all, is at Captain level, at least. Akashi can feel it.
He is very strong, which is why he found it strange that he doesn't remember him.
Ashido's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You want to come with me? It's not safe wandering alone. I've got a place nearby; safe, secure."
Akashi paused for only a second. He studied Ashido's spiritual signature again. Then he studied his darkness. It was minimal. Defensive, if anything.
"Sure," He said at last. "I'm a newcomer here, after all."
Ashido nodded and led the way.
The path was winding, deeper into the quieter side of the Forest.
After ten minutes of flashing through bone-colored trees and eerie stillness, they reached a cave hidden by thick spiritual pressure and natural camouflage.
He could even sense faint traces of Kido.
Akashi stepped inside, glancing around. It was simple... Not bad. Well, very bad when he has an entire city within him.
For now, though, it would do.
He has many doubts to solve and endless questions to ask.
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