Chapter #9,5 - Regrouping

Four Hollows could be seen hiding in a cave, resting. A trio of lion, deer and snake, the Hollow pack had managed to retreat on the orders of their leader, a swordswoman.

They had survived thanks to the self-sacrifice of Kizuna, a relatively new member. Everyone here was aware of this. Even the deer, the most respectful to their leader, knew it. For this reason, there had been a secret mourning for the last few days.

After their last hunt, they ate their prey in silence. Tier Harribel was comparatively more thoughtful. "Could there have been a better case scenario?" The thought undoubtedly affected her more than anyone else as a leader.

Was sacrifice a necessity? Given the situation at the time, perhaps her involvement would have worked out better. She had thought that Kizuna's amount of reiatsu was close to being a Vasto Lorde. If she had fought with someone like that, she would have been able to defeat those strangely powerful Hollows.

But why had she chosen to flee at that moment? The answer was obvious. It was the uncertainty of the outcome of this battle of extreme power. She did not want to risk the others. Saving the majority with the sacrifice of one was the most appropriate decision at that moment.

She knew this, of course, but knowing that she had lived through him left a bad taste in her mouth. She felt she owed it to herself to avenge him whenever possible.

Just then she saw a wolf approaching the cave. In the lands of Hueco Mundo, it could easily be camouflaged, but its reiatsu, which it didn't even try to hide, made it palpable. Its reiatsu was almost identical to that of an ordinary Adjuchas.

Looking up and looking around, the silver reiatsu of this wolf made her sense a strange familiarity. It was also a foreign feeling. As if to confirm this, Apacci raised her head and shouted.

"Isn't that Kizuna's reiatsu?"

Franceska, next to her, was equally puzzled.

"Did he seriously win against those two? Isn't that…"

Franceska didn't know how to go on. The resemblance was recognizable, but it was also different. It was much… smaller and stranger.

Sung-Sun also looked up, puzzled, but more calmly than the others. She spoke in a slightly sarcastic yet confused tone as if answering them both:

"It's not him. It's weird. You two are a bit..."

But before she could continue, Harribel stood up. This caused her to stop talking. Harribel calmly took a few steps while everyone looked at her curiously.

The wolf's footsteps left paw prints in the soil. On the wolf's body the silver reiatsu formed a weak layer. In the darkness, it glowed with a mesmerizing allure.

Harribel stood cautiously in front of the cave and turned her head to the right, looking at the others out of the corner of her eye.

"Stay back."

Then Harribel stopped and waited for it to come. The wolf's steps were slow. When the wolf stopped, they were ten paces apart.

They looked at each other. Harribel looked into its eyes and asked:

"What are you and what are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, the wolf responded by tilting its upper body with its neck. When it bent down so that its nose touched the ground, its faint reiatsus swelled even more and Harribel's mind flashed back to Kizuna's kneeling position.

'Hm? That's odd.'

Harribel paused when she saw the wolves appearing on the horizon as she was about to renew her question. Each of the dozens of wolves that appeared on the horizon resembled the wolf in front of her. The most striking detail of the wolf bowing to her was its owl-like top mask.

The other wolves... each had a different top mask. Despite their different masks and size differences, they were all silver wolves. And you could see similar reiatsu on all of them. Each one came with slow steps.

It was a mesmerizing and frightening sight. It was as if they were blockaded. But Harribel - nope, no one sensed any danger. The fact that they sensed no evil intent caused them to cautiously allow wolves to move.

The wolves came one after another. Tens, hundreds, even thousands of wolves... They all bowed to Tier Harribel, mimicking the first wolf as they came, leaving an opening. The biggest and most flamboyant wolf among them all, broke through the other wolves and locked eyes with Tier Harribel.

Larger than the others, more wolf-like, this wolf had a kind of white mane over its silver fur. The wind caused it to ripple, while its sharp black eyes were locked on Tier Harribel.

"Finally... I found you."

These words were accompanied by a growl. Tier Harribel easily recognized the voice. There was a flash of surprise in her eyes. At that very moment, all the wolves around glowed with a silver light!

Each one intertwined into a silver tornado that surrounded the largest wolf. Even though they called it a tornado, the effect was like a gust of wind. Their quick but gentle transformation was dazzling.

And when all this happened, at last he took human form. Happily, he was finally able to say these words:

"I'm back. Harribel-sama and the girls..."

Not only Harribel, but everyone there was stunned by his transformation. It was obvious that it was Kizuna. His dominant reiatsu could easily recognize him. But what had happened to him?

While the other girls were particularly confused about it, Harribel was more aware of the situation and therefore extra surprised.

"You are a..."

Kizuna nodded with a bright smile.

"A little more than that. If I had to describe myself right now, I think it would be... Beyond."

He was clearly not a Vasto Lorde. He had moved beyond that. He was sure that if he was a Vasto Lorde, the form he would take would not be fully human, even in a humanoid form. Given the gaps and fractures in his mask, he doubted that it could be anything more than that.

If not, he was almost certain that he was one of the most powerful ones of the Vasto Lorde. He could see in Harribel's gaze that she agreed. Right now, Kizuna was very powerful. Too powerful!

Kizuna smiled at Harribel and the others while hiding his reiatsu.

"Shall we have a little chat?"