Ren devoured at the same time as the swarm of hollows in the Forest of Great Void.
Somewhere in the vast desert of the Void Circle, a towering figure with a special pattern on his mask stood, confronting another wounded hollow.
Had Ren been present, he would have immediately recognized the being—it was the same alien Gilian he had encountered upon first arriving in the Void Circle!
The opponent standing before Gilian was a slender, three-meter-tall figure with an inverted triangular head. A sinister white mask resembling a clown covered his face, and his sharp nails extended like ten deadly blades.
Scattered around them were the broken limbs of countless ordinary Gilians, evidence of a brutal battle that had already taken place.
"You dare to slaughter all of my subordinates?" The clown-masked hollow sneered. "You should consider yourself honored to be given this chance—submit to me, swear your eternal loyalty, and I, Sta Mrev, shall spare your life. I may even grant you the privilege of serving under the great Lord Beligang Louisenbairn!"
Sta Mrev's voice dripped with arrogance as he sized up the powerful alien Gilian before him.
"Riffraff like you think you can make me surrender?" Gilian scoffed. "One day, I will storm Las Noches, defeat Beligang, and take the throne for myself!"
Disdain filled Gilian's voice as he opened his mouth and unleashed a blinding Cero directly at Sta Mrev.
Seeing the attack, Sta Mrev raised his hands above his head and fired his own Cero to counter it.
"BOOM!"
The two devastating blasts collided, shaking the desert and sending violent winds roaring in every direction.
As the smoke and dust cleared, both figures remained standing—unharmed and unwavering. Their Ceros had clashed with equal force!
Sta Mrev's eyes widened in shock. As an Adjuchas, he had never expected to be evenly matched in a Cero clash against a mere Gilian, let alone one that was already injured. If word of this battle reached Las Noches, his reputation would be in ruins.
Yet, refusing to show weakness, he straightened his posture and spoke in an icy tone. "You fool! How dare you defy me, Sta Mrev, an Adjuchas superior to you?"
Hearing this, Gilian let out a laugh—a deep, mocking sound almost human in its amusement.
"Hah! You still dare call yourself an Adjuchas? What a joke!" Gilian sneered. "You're nothing but a failure, a coward who stagnated in evolution long ago. Your body is incomplete, and you barely maintain your rank by endlessly devouring Gilians. You've stopped evolving, and you know it!"
Sta Mrev trembled with rage. His hands clenched into fists, but no words came. His clown mask, once ghostly white, flushed red, the color spreading like a creeping stain of humiliation.
And when his mask turned fully red, he looked even more like a twisted, monstrous clown.
"ROAR!"
Sta Mrev let out an enraged howl, his spiritual pressure surging violently. Between his palms, purple-black energy condensed into explosive spheres, which he hurled toward Gilian in rapid succession.
They were Bala—fast, deadly bursts of compressed spiritual power.
Almost simultaneously, Sta Mrev disappeared with a Sonído, reappearing beside Gilian in an instant, his blade-like nails aiming straight for Gilian's throat.
Yet, just as the deadly claws were about to pierce his flesh, Gilian vanished with his own Sonído, barely dodging in time. He reappeared above Sta Mrev, raising his foot—a massive, bony appendage—before slamming it down with crushing force.
The impact sent white sand flying in all directions, and Sta Mrev was driven deep into the ground.
"CLANG!"
A sound like clashing steel echoed through the air as Sta Mrev, his upper body exposed above the sand, managed to catch Gilian's foot with his hands. Sparks flew as his razor-sharp nails scraped against the dense bone of Gilian's sole.
"You damn Gilian!" Sta Mrev howled, his rage reaching a fever pitch.
Summoning his full strength, he unleashed a surge of spiritual pressure, forcing Gilian's foot away before launching himself from the sand in a blur of motion.
Now wrapped in a cloak of swirling purple-black energy, Sta Mrev lifted his arms high and interlocked his fingers. His spiritual power spiked to its peak.
"The Bite of the Fallen Evil!" he roared.
With that, Sta Mrev transformed into a streak of black and purple light, hurtling toward Gilian at terrifying speed. His form distorted into a ghastly, demonic visage, its fanged mouth aimed straight at Gilian's neck.
As the attack connected, Gilian's neck sizzled and melted as though doused in concentrated acid. The corrosive energy ate away at his flesh, burning through a third of his thick neck within mere seconds.
At this moment, the alien Gilian grabbed his left hand out of thin air at his injured neck, and Sta Mrev, who was originally hiding his body, was caught in his grasp.
"Caught you!"
The alien Gilian ignored the wound on his neck and clenched his left hand tightly.
Sta Mrev's body started to dissolve under the immense pressure of Gilian's grip.
"Heh, my evil bite spreads through my body surface. If you grab me like this, you'll only accelerate your own demise!" Sta Mrev sneered confidently.
However, there was no panic on the face of the alien Gilian. With unwavering resolve, he lifted Sta Mrev toward his mouth.
"You think you can dissolve me? Let's see who vanishes first—me or you!"
"No! No! You...!"
Realizing the alien Gilian's madness, Sta Mrev's smug expression crumbled into sheer terror. He struggled to escape, but it was too late—the Gilian swallowed him whole.
"AHHH!"
The alien Gilian let out an agonized scream, his body trembling as Sta Mrev burned his esophagus from within. He dropped to one knee in the desert, his body convulsing in pain. Hours passed, the once-motionless Gilian suddenly stirred, struggling to his feet. A purple-black spiritual pressure radiated from him, slowly mending his wounds.
A smirk stretched across his face as he patted his stomach.
"That pitiful spiritual pressure wasn't enough to push me to evolution, and yet he dared to call himself an Adjuchas? I refuse to be just another Gilian. I have a name."
His piercing eyes flashed with newfound determination.
"My name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!"
Deep within the Forest of Void , Ren, who had just finished a satisfying feast, roamed the dark, endless expanse, searching for his next target.
"ROAR!"
A powerful cry echoed through the forest, sending vibrations through the air.
"That sound... a lone Gilian?"
Ren swiftly followed the direction of the roar, his anticipation growing. As he arrived at the scene, his eyes fell upon a towering, mindless Gilian, its body twitching in aggression.
"What a pity... just an ordinary, mindless Gilian," Ren mused, his expression turning into a sinister grin. "But you'll do just fine to test my strength!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Ren lunged forward, his aura crackling with power, ready to engage in battle.