Infinite Chimera Creation

But just now, you proved your excellence to me once again through your actions. You didn't question my decision to let Ikkyu go, yet you came to the conclusion that "Ikkyu is lying." Although this conclusion is extremely simple, it is undoubtedly proof that you have thought it through yourself.

Furthermore, I am very satisfied with your actions after you reached your conclusion. After Ikkyu left, you simply reported to me the information that could prove your conclusion, without saying anything unnecessary.

If it had been West standing in your position, he probably would have shouted something like, "Father, he's lying! Catch him!" before Ikkyu even left.

Although his intention was to protect my interests, it undoubtedly questioned my decision and even suggested that he wanted to make the decision for me.

And this is unacceptable.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Rescue

"Hueco Mundo is too chaotic. This land needs a qualified king to rule it. However, the future king has not realized his responsibility and willfully refuses to take on his responsibilities for the sake of ridiculous freedom."

Walking on the land of Hueco Mundo, Yuan Yuan's lips curled into a cruel smile. Through the Heavenly Void, he casually gave orders to the demons stationed at the Third Special Research Institute.

"The king recognizes his responsibilities and needs help. Since no one has appeared to provide him with help yet, let me give him a push. Wraith, go to Hueco Mundo and amplify the current Hueco Mundo King, Barragan, and Ruisenbon's desire for conquest."

After the demon on the other side of the Heavenly Void respectfully accepted the order, Yuan Yuan dispelled his demonic possession and turned his gaze to the distant north. There, in Hueco Mundo, lay the newly rising power, the [Buddhist Kingdom].

"When everything one possesses is taken away by a king, and one is forced to abandon dignity and flee for one's life just to save oneself from the king, even the Buddha would yearn to become a king."

Turning his gaze away, Yuan Yuan continued walking westward, where his destination lay.

"Now that the Hueco Mundo King's physical body is ready, all that's needed next are the Human World King and the Soul Society King. I hope this harvest will satisfy me."

Behind Yuan Yuan, Karim followed silently, like a shadow. This boy, whose original form was Karim the Scorpion, shared the same indifference as Yuan Yuan, but was even more taciturn. He wouldn't utter a single word unless absolutely necessary.

.........

Vastod, the title of a high-ranking Hollow, represents the absolute pinnacle of Hollow power. Those at this level undoubtedly stand at the very top of Hueco Mundo.

To reach the Vastod stage, many things are required, the most severe of which is the [fear of regression] of the Adjuchas stage.

When the Kylians risked everything, hunting down their own kind and evading the detection of the higher-ranking Hollows, and successfully advanced to Adjuchas, what awaited them was not a happy life with power, but rather the fear of regression.

Neither Vastodes, nor Kyrians, nor even the lowest-ranking Hollows, will ever degenerate. Degeneration is a characteristic unique to the Adjuchas at this stage of Hollowfication.

Once the Kylians become Adjuchas, their instincts clearly tell them: "You need to hunt down other Adjuchas and devour them. Otherwise, you will degenerate, and once you degenerate and revert to being a Kylian, you will irreversibly lose your sanity."

Driven by irrational fear, all Adjuchas will frantically hunt down other Adjuchas of similar or even greater strength, all in order to evolve into Vastodes and escape the torment of the fear of regression.

Some of these hunts succeed, the victors licking their wounds, grateful that they could maintain their sanity for a while longer. Others fail, the losers transforming into spiritual particles, becoming nourishment for other Hollows to advance further.

Under the torment of this fear, even the closest friends who have promised never to betray you, the lovers who are determined to support each other, and the subordinates who have sworn absolute loyalty can become stepping stones for evolution.

Of course, compared to these Hollows who would stop at nothing to evolve into Vastodes, many more Hollows chose to give up. Their hearts were corrupted by fear, they abandoned evolution, willingly offering their masks to be devoured by other Adjuchas, thus ensuring they would not degenerate, but also forever unable to evolve.

Those who could successfully evolve into Vastodes under such fear undoubtedly possessed an unwavering belief that supported them, allowing them to transcend the Adjuchas stage.

This belief, or even an obsession, can be described as such.

To put it bluntly, not everyone who has an obsession is Vastod, but Vastod certainly has one.

"Is the first obsession you've found [sacrifice]? Hmm? No, this feeling is more like [salvation] than [sacrifice]. This kind of obsession with [salvation] is really a headache."

Rubbing his temples, Yuan Yuan looked at the shark-shaped Hollow in the distance, which had already begun to take on a human form and was radiating a powerful spiritual pressure, about to deliver the final blow to its opponent. He couldn't help but feel helpless.

Upon seeing the white snake-shaped Hollow behind the shark Hollow, Yuan Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his helplessness deepening.

"Moreover, he's a Vastod who protects the weak. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed that, apart from that brainless freak sheep knight, there are any other Void beings who would have the idea of ​​'helping the weak'."

Watching the shark-like Hollow hand over the enemy's corpse to the white serpent Hollow behind it, allowing it to devour it before preparing to leave, Yuan Yuan lost the desire to observe any further.

"Alright, let's go and negotiate first. If the negotiation fails, we'll just destroy it and take it with us. Even though that turns it from a reusable item into a disposable one, it's still a worthwhile gain."

Lowering his hand from his temples, Yuan Yuan no longer concealed his spiritual pressure and strolled towards the shark-like Hollow.

Sensing Yuan Yuan's immense spiritual power, the White Serpent Hollow's body suddenly stiffened, unable to move an inch. In fact, if the Shark Hollow hadn't stood in front of her the instant it sensed Yuan Yuan's spiritual power, shielding her from most of Yuan Yuan's spiritual pressure, this newly transformed Adjuchas white serpent would likely have been overwhelmed and knocked unconscious without any resistance.

"Now, this shark..."

After glancing at the other person's chest, Yuan Yuan confirmed their gender.

"Miss Shark, may I ask your name? I think knowing each other's names is the foundation for continued communication, isn't it?"

Without answering Yuan Yuan's question, the Great Void Shark raised its right fin, which had transformed into a large sword-shaped forelimb, pointing it directly at Yuan Yuan and uttering a cold, indifferent voice.

"Death, state your purpose, or I will consider you an enemy."

"Why does everyone assume that Hollows and Shinigami are necessarily enemies? Wouldn't it be better to sit down somewhere and have a proper talk?"

Seeing the still vigilant and wary Shark Hollow, Yuan Yuan sighed helplessly and vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was behind the Shark Hollow, leaning forward and whispering in its ear.

"Besides, is it really a good idea to label me as an enemy?"

Reaching out and placing his hand on the shoulder of the shark-like Hollow, Yuan Yuan unleashed a massive surge of spiritual pressure, easily suppressing the Vasto Lorde's attempt at resistance. The helplessness on Yuan Yuan's face vanished, replaced by an icy coldness.

Now, tell me your name.

Sensing the immense killing intent emanating from Yuan Yuan, the Shark Void spoke in a dry voice.

“Tia, Tia Heliber.”

Chapter Sixty-Seven Sacrifice

Tia Harribel thought that in her hundreds of years of life, after witnessing the idiotic Grim Reaper who licked his sword after saying "My sword is coated with poison"; the self-proclaimed king who, despite his great strength, was a centuries-old, delusional Hollow; and the little Quincy who shot an arrow of light into her brother's heart, claiming it would help him evolve, nothing could ever make her lose her composure again.

But today, reality proved to her that she still hadn't seen enough.

In at least the previous hundreds of years of her life, Tia Heliber had never seen anyone offer tea to a person whose arms were as long as giant swords.

"I appreciate your kindness in pouring me tea, but as you can see, my body is not designed to perform such delicate movements as holding a teacup."

Raising his right hand, which was sharp and indistinguishable from a giant sword, and then raising his left hand, which was still in the form of a shark fin, Halibel tried his best to keep his expression calm so as not to anger the powerful Grim Reaper opposite him.

Although the Grim Reaper named Yuan Yuan was now behaving like an ordinary person, even slightly frowning because the tea was too hot, Halibel hadn't forgotten that just minutes before, this seemingly ordinary Grim Reaper had suppressed his full-force resistance with a single hand. And with a chillingly terrifying killing intent, he had forced Halibel to have a "heart-to-heart talk" with him in a cave that had been casually created and was in danger of collapsing at any moment.

Halibel originally thought that serving tea to someone who couldn't hold a teacup was Death's twisted sense of humor, that he wanted to see her make a fool of herself.

But to Halibel's surprise, the man didn't show any expression of satisfaction or something similar. He merely raised an eyebrow in confusion, then released his hand from the teacup, condensing his pale spiritual energy into a hand shape, picked up the teacup, frowned, and took a sip of the obviously scalding tea. Then, like a teacher, he spoke with considerable authority.

“While ordinary Hollows have chaotic spiritual energy and cannot control it to this extent, it should be quite simple for Vastod, who has purified his spiritual energy to your level. Give it a try.”

After a moment's hesitation, given the opponent's overwhelming strength, Halibel released his spiritual power and cautiously began to try.

And just as the Grim Reaper had predicted, on his very first attempt, Halibel successfully condensed the shape of a hand using his golden spiritual energy. The first time, his spiritual energy was too little, passing directly through the teacup; the second time, his spiritual energy was too much, nearly crushing the teacup. But on his third attempt, Halibel successfully lifted the teacup with his spiritual energy hand.

"Three times, that's not too stupid."

Although the Grim Reaper seemed to genuinely regard her as a teacher, putting on a serious demeanor as he gave his critiques, Halibel decided to let such a small matter go unnoticed because of a strange surge of joy within her.

Anyway, getting a few comments wouldn't hurt. Thinking this, Halibel took a small sip of her first tea in hundreds of years. Since her abilities included [Boiling Water], Halibel naturally didn't find it too hot like Yuan Yuan.

Instantly, the unique, slightly bitter yet fragrant aroma of the tea filled Halibel's mouth. This taste, different from the bitterness of Hollow flesh, the tastelessness of human flesh, and the sweet and pungent flavor of Shinigami flesh, made the usually composed senior Hollow widen his eyes slightly. The tension he had felt at the thought of being in the same room with a powerful Shinigami with unclear motives eased a little.

"Although the tea of ​​this era is indeed not very good, and my tea-brewing skills are not very good either, if you dare to say it doesn't taste good, I will make you the first Hollow in Hueco Mundo history to die from overeating tea."

However, the cold and vicious Grim Reaper immediately used venomous words to pull her out of that leisurely state of mind.

Halibel maintained her indifferent expression, but a wry smile crept across her face, one she herself didn't realize. She took another sip of the pleasant tea, her tone softening slightly as she spoke softly.

"I wonder what brings such a powerful Shinigami to Hueco Mundo, and specifically to see me."

Halibel had initially thought that this Grim Reaper, who, despite occasional displays of power and malice, had consistently maintained politeness since his appearance, would offer a reasonable explanation. However, the Grim Reaper proved to her through his actions that, "You don't understand me at all; everything you know is wrong!"

"Aha?"

The Grim Reaper raised an eyebrow, his expression turning mocking.

"It seems I need to help you face reality before we begin our conversation."

The Grim Reaper, with such a rather ironic opening remark, shattered the slightly warm illusion that had existed between the two.

“I came to Hueco Mundo not specifically to find you, but specifically to find those with ‘obsessions.’ However, since Vasto Lordes all possess obsessions, I came to find you high-ranking Menos Grande first.”

"Is that so? I understand."

As expected, Shinigami and Hollows can never coexist peacefully? With a silent sigh, Halibel's voice returned to its indifferent and detached tone.

"So, could you tell me how you plan to deal with those obsessions?"

Helibel was not puzzled by Yuan Yuan's mention of "obsession," as this was something that there was no need to keep secret among high-ranking Hollows.

"Is there even a question? Those who are willing to submit will naturally be brought under our control, and those who are unwilling to submit will be crippled and dragged back to the laboratory."

Unsurprisingly, the cruel answer came from the Grim Reaper's mouth. Although he had long understood the opposition between Grim Reapers and Hollows, because of the little lesson he had just received and the cup of tea that wasn't fancy but tasted surprisingly good, Halibel still spoke with a last glimmer of hope.

"Why do you do this? Just because you are a Shinigami and we are Hollows, does that mean you can treat us like objects to be taken at will without any remorse?"

"It's that same old Shinigami and Hollow thing again."

Under Halibel's astonished gaze, the man who was clearly Death, yet seemed utterly indifferent to it, frowned impatiently.

"In my eyes, there is no difference between Shinigami and Hollows. There is no such thing as racial discrimination as you mentioned. The reason I came to Hueco Mundo specifically to collect [Obsessions] is because the Shinigami in the Soul Society are all too useless. Not a single one of them can generate [Obsessions]."

[This obsession] is crucial to my upcoming plans. To achieve my grand scheme, and to ensure the happiness of the majority, the sacrifice of a few is essential.

"Sacrifice is indispensable."

With mixed feelings, Tia Heliber softly repeated Yuan Yuan's words.

Chapter Sixty-Eight Errors

"Sacrifice is essential. I can't refute that statement, but can you tell me what your plan is? I want to know if the sacrifices you speak of are truly worthwhile."

Hearing Halibel's visibly wavering voice, Yuan Yuan slightly curled the corners of his lips, looked directly into her eyes, and his voice became deep and seductive.

"This world is flawed."

The opening line is something that would make ordinary people think he's crazy.

The world is constantly repeating tragedies.

The Void yearns to devour humanity, to devour Death, hoping to quell its inescapable hunger through consumption. They sacrifice human and Death's lives, shaping the world through harm.

Shinigami, in the name of justice and protection, indiscriminately hunt Hollows and keep humans captive. They sacrifice the lives of Hollows and the freedom of humans, shaping a world with lies.

Humanity, hunted by illusions and blinded by death, is like livestock living in a barn, without even the chance to know the true nature of the world. They sacrifice everything to shape the world with ignorance.

Whether it's harm, lies, or ignorance, all are undoubtedly accompanied by sacrifice. And sacrifice has become the foundation of this blood-soaked world.

Mistakes and sacrifices create a tragic, blood-soaked cycle. It is precisely because of this endless cycle of error and relentless reincarnation that we, the Hollows, the Grim Reapers, humanity, and all living beings experience suffering.